Tom Marechek scored five goals and Dallas Eliuk stopped a critical penalty shot to push the Philadelphia Wings past the Vancouver Ravens, 18-14, at GM Place on Sunday.

Philadelphia opened the scoring on goals from Tom Ryan, Jeff Ratcliffe, and Kevin Finneran, putting the host Ravens on their heels and muting the home crowd. Only a late Craig Stevenson goal separated the Ravens from being shutout in the opening frame.

Vancouver's troubles carried into the second quarter, where Ratcliffe, Jason Clark, and Marechek scored early to put the home side in a five-goal hole. With offense this moribund, it's little wonder how the Ravens drew the nickname "Black Birds" from some of its faithful.

As it always seems to be in this league, though, when exceptional defense meets struggling offense, the adjectives never stick very long. All of a sudden, the Ravens' offensive weapons emerged from hiding, and just as suddenly, the Wings' defense apparently went out for coffee. Led by a pair of goals from rookie Peter Morgan, the Ravens ran off five goals in a row to bring the match back to all-square, then traded goals with the Wings to reach halftime at eight goals apiece.

Vancouver opened the second half the same way it ended the first -- scoring goals. Morgan and Chris Gill put the Ravens ahead, 10-8, before Philadelphia rallied its way to a 12-12 tie. The Wings closed the period with a four-goal run, capped off by the first of two Jeff Spano goals.

The rookie's tiebreaking strike left the Black Birds in a bit of trouble, now trailing with just fifteen minutes to play and with momentum clearly on the side of the Wings. An early Jake Bergey goal doubled the lead, and while Vancouver cut the lead back to one, desperation was slowly creeping in and the Ravens never brought the score back to level play.

Not that the chance to turn the tide failed to appear. Late in the game, Wings goaltender Dallas Eliuk threw his stick at a loose ball in his crease, which earns a penalty shot as punishment. A goal here would have brought the Ravens to within two and probably would have swung momentum back to Vancouver. Ryan O'Connor scored on a penalty shot in the second quarter (awarded because Philadelphia committed a time penalty while already two men down), but Chris Gill could not convert on his try in the closing minutes.

Dal Monte gave his best guys as much of a chance as he could, allowing the snipers to open fire in the quarter, outshooting the Wings, 18-9, in the fourth quarter. On the scoreboard, though, the doubling-up was inverted -- 4-2, Wings, thus far.

Gill's missed opportunity left the score at 17-14, and Spano nailed an empty-netter in the closing seconds to set the margin of victory at four.

Marechek led all goal-scorers, with five, but was joined in the high scorers' club by teammates Clark (one goal, eight assists), Ratcliffe (3 + 4), Bergey (1 + 6), and Finneran (3 + 3). Gill led a balanced Ravens attack, recording four goals and two assists.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Philadelphia Wings (1-1)              3  5  5  5  --  18
Vancouver Ravens (1-3)                1  7  4  2  --  14

PHILADELPHIA WINGS            VANCOUVER RAVENS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
J Clark        1 - 8     9    Gill           4 - 2     6
Marechek       5 - 2     7    Bowen          2 - 3     5
Ratcliffe      3 - 4     7    Morgan         3 - 1     4
Bergey         1 - 6     7    O'Connor       2 - 2     4
Finneran       3 - 3     6    Stevenson      1 - 3     4
Spano          2 - 0     2    Maetche        0 - 3     3
Phair          1 - 1     2    Stewardson     1 - 1     2
Ryan           1 - 1     2    Dwane          1 - 0     1
Slate          1 - 0     1    K Goundrey     0 - 1     1
A Martin       0 - 1     1    Hamilton       0 - 1     1
Stilley        0 - 1     1    Hanson         0 - 1     1
                              B Murray       0 - 1     1
                              Olson          0 - 1     1
                              Reisig         0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           53    Shots on goal           61
Saves made by (GA)      47    Saves made by (GA)      35
   Eliuk (14)        47          Maetche (17)      35
Penalties               11    Penalties                9
Penalty Minutes         22    Penalty Minutes         18
Power Play Chances      10    Power Play Chances       8
Power Play Goals         4    Power Play Goals         4
Loose Balls             26    Loose Balls             46
   Stilley            5          O'Connor           5
   J Clark            3          Catton             4
   Marechek           3          Goundrey           4
                                 Hamilton           4
                                 B Murray           4
Faceoffs Won            18    Faceoffs Won            19
   Phair        (14-13)          Stevenson    (14-13)
   Stilley      ( 4- 6)          Stewardson   ( 4- 1)
                                 Reisig       ( 1- 4)

 *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH VANCOUVER RAVENS ***