In a game marred by sloppy passing and poor shooting, but elevated by outstanding goaltending at each end of the floor, the Philadelphia Wings defeated the Buffalo Bandits, 8-7, Friday night at the First Union Center.

The Wings' defense played aggressively but allowed the Bandits 50 shots on goal, and only the outstanding goaltending of game MVP Dallas Eliuk kept the Wings in the game, holding Mike Accursi to only one goal and shutting out the dangerous John Tavares, the first time in his career that he has been held without a point.

The Wings came out firing in the first period, trying to establish the pace of the game. Buffalo scored the first goal on a shot from Accursi. Philadelphia controlled the rest of the quarter, however, both offensively and defensively. Jeff Ratcliffe scored his first goal of the game and was joined by two tallies by Jake Bergey to round out the scoring at 3-1 after one period. Shots were nearly identical, with a 9-8 advantage going to the Wings.

The second stanza belonged to the Bandits, who outshot the Wings, 14-11, and outscored them, 4-1. Bandit Pat McCready opened the scoring, followed 23 seconds later by teammate Pat Maddalena to tie the contest. Wing Tom Marechek snuck a goal in a few minutes later to regain the lead, but Buffalo quickly followed up with a score by former Wing Jason Clark. Chris Driscoll then scored his first bulls-eye of the evening to put the Bandits up 5-4 at the half.

The Wings were outshot again in the third quarter, but Eliuk turned away ten Bandit shots and limited them to just one goal. Scoring began on a goal by Kevin Finneran, tying the game at five apiece. Buffalo's McCready answered soon after to again move the Bandits to the front, but Jeff Ratcliffe tallied his second goal of the game to even up the game going into the final quarter.

Mark Millon found the net early in the final period of play, take the lead for Philadelphia for good, and Tom Marechek added an insurance goal later, which turned out to be the game-winner when Buffalo's Chris Driscoll scored late in the period. Despite having an advantage in shots, the Bandits were denied time after time by the stellar performance of Eliuk, who fiercely protected his net and turned away 43 shots on goal in a Game MVP performance.

Bandit goalie Steve Dietrich turned in a good effort with 35 saves, and Buffalo's defense was responsible for helping to keep the Wings' scoring to a minimum. Led by Driscoll and McCready, each with two goals, the Bandits were unable to capitalize on the mistakes made by Philadelphia's offense. The Wings had four players with four points each, with Ratcliffe and Marechek both scoring twice and adding two assists.

The game was played in front of an unusually small crowd of 11,785 at the First Union Center in Philadelphia. These teams will meet again in Buffalo on 22 February, a game originally scheduled for 29 December but postponed after seven feet of snow was dumped upon the Buffalo area. Buffalo travels to Montreal next weekend to face the Express on Friday and will host the Columbus Landsharks on Saturday night. The Wings will welcome the Rochester Knighthawks to Philadelphia next Friday hoping to avenge a Week Five loss in Rochester.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Buffalo Bandits (3-3)                 1  4  1  1  --   7
Philadelphia Wings (4-3)              3  1  2  2  --   8

BUFFALO BANDITS               PHILADELPHIA WINGS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Driscoll       2 - 0     2    Marechek       2 - 2     4
McCready       2 - 0     2    Ratcliffe      2 - 2     4
Accursi        1 - 0     1    Finneran       1 - 3     4
J Clark        1 - 0     1    Millon         1 - 3     4
Maddelena      1 - 0     1    Bergey         2 - 0     2
Couling        0 - 1     1
Dietrich       0 - 1     1
Kirkby         0 - 1     1
Ogilvie        0 - 1     1
Powell         0 - 1     1
Seller         0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           50    Shots on goal           43
Saves made by           35    Saves made by           43
   Dietrich          35          Eliuk             43
Penalties                3    Penalties                3
Penalty Minutes          6    Penalty Minutes          6
Power Play Chances       3    Power Play Chances       3
Power Play Goals         0    Power Play Goals         2
   (None)                        Bergey             1
                                 Marechek           1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        0
Loose Balls             66    Loose Balls             86
   McCready           9          Eliuk             14
   Dietrich           8          Ryan               8
   Couling            6          Marechek           7
                                 Millon             7
                                 Stilley            7
Faceoffs Won             6    Faceoffs Won            13
   Kirkby       ( 4-11)          P Jacobs     (13- 6)
   R Kilgour    ( 1- 0)
   Langdale     ( 1- 1)
   McCready     ( 0- 1)

    *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH PHILA WINGS ***