The Philadelphia Wings defeated the Colorado Mammoth Saturday night, 13-11, in their home opener at the First Union Center, just a week after being soundly defeated by Colorado in a penalty-ridden match in Denver.

The Philadelphia crowd was expecting fireworks like those seen in the previous meeting, which saw a record number of combined penalties assessed, and a record penalty minutes assessed to a single player.

The slugfest was not to be, but fireworks were provided in the form of an explosive offensive performance by Paul Cantabene, whose five-goal, one-assist effort led to Game MVP honors in his home debut with the Wings.

Stellar goaltending from All-Pro Dallas Eliuk was also a major contribution to the win, as he blanked the Mammoth in the final period to ensure the victory with moves that had the crowd amazed.

Colorado's Bryan Cole found the net first, at 13:15, but was quickly answered by Andrew Guindon. The Mammoth then scored the next two goals on the power play, but Cantabene evened the score at three by scoring twice himself, the second goal coming on a power play.

After Ted Dowling put the Mammoth up twenty-one seconds in the second quarter, Cantabene completed his hat trick and assisted on a Marechek goal to provide the Wings with their first lead of the match.

Colorado’s Gary Gait answered with his first of the evening, and the teams traded goals until the Mammoth netted three in a row, including Gait’s second, in a flurry near the period’s end. Tom Marechek added his second goal with 3:29 left in the half, rounding out the scoring at 9-8 in Colorado’s favor.

Colorado opened the third stanza by scoring first yet again, going ahead by two. A minute later, a pair of quick goals by Tony Henderson and Cantabene brought the Wings even at ten goals, and Henderson added another on a shorthanded play to put Philadelphia ahead. The lead was short lived, however, as Gary Gait completed his own hat trick to finish up the scoring in the third period.

The anticipated rough stuff finally came to fruition during the final period of play, with eighteen minutes worth of penalties being assessed for roughing. These distractions did not affect the performance of Eliuk, who turned away seventeen shots, allowing the Wings to stay in the game.

With a little less than five minutes to play, Cantabene added his fifth goal, increasing the Wings’ lead to two for the final score of 13-11.

"It's great to be back home," Wings head coach Adam Mueller said. "After starting on the road last season, we started a winning streak when we came home. It's great for the guys and a great confidence booster."

"It was neck and neck through the entire game," Colorado general manager Steve Govett said. "This was a good effort, but the end of the game just slipped away from us."

The Wings play host to the Toronto Rock next Saturday night at 8:00 PM, while the Mammoth head back to Denver to host the New York Saints on Friday (9:00 PM).

During the game, the Wings announced the launch of "Inside The Wings" on WNJC 1360 AM in Philadelphia. The program, hosted by Dave Unkle, will air on Tuesdays from 4:30 to 6:00. Unfortunately, it's not currently available over the Internet.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Colorado Mammoth (2-2)                3  6  2  0  --  11
Philadelphia Wings (1-2)              3  5  3  2  --  13

COLORADO MAMMOTH              PHILADELPHIA WINGS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Gait           3 - 3     6    Cantabene      5 - 1     6
Dowling        2 - 4     6    Ratcliffe      1 - 5     6
Halladay       2 - 2     4    Marechek       2 - 3     5
Cole           1 - 1     2    Henderson      2 - 2     4
F Jenner       1 - 1     2    Cromwell       2 - 0     2
E Miller       0 - 2     2    A Guindon      1 - 1     2
Rosa           0 - 2     2    Ryan           0 - 2     2
Langtry        1 - 0     1    Spano          0 - 2     2
Oglesby        1 - 0     1    
Donovan        0 - 1     1    
Hanford        0 - 1     1    
Reese          0 - 1     1    

Shots on goal           48    Shots on goal           45
Saves made by           32    Saves made by           37
   E Miller          32          Eliuk             37
Penalties                9    Penalties               11
Penalty Minutes         21    Penalty Minutes         25
Power Play Chances       7    Power Play Chances       4
Power Play Goals         4    Power Play Goals         1
   F Jenner           2          Cantabene          1
   Gait               1
   Halladay           1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        2
   (None)                        Cromwell           1
                                 Henderson          1
Loose Balls             72    Loose Balls             76
   Sims              10          Ryan              12
   Dowling            9          Cantabene          8
   Gait               7          Eliuk              8
   E Miller           7
   Rosa               7
Faceoffs Won            13    Faceoffs Won            15
   Hanford      (13-11)          Cantabene    ( 7- 4)
   Cole         ( 0- 4)          P Jacobs     ( 7- 9)
                                 Marechek     ( 1- 0)

*** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH PHILADELPHIA WINGS ***