On a mild spring-like night in Philadelphia, the hometown Wings displayed their grit and determination to 15,097 fans Saturday night, upsetting the league-leading Buffalo Bandits, 15-12.

The loss snaps Buffalo's six-game winning streak, a run dating back to late January.

Wings captain Tom Marechek led the team in total scoring with two goals and six assists, joined up top by Dan Marohl, who had a six-point contribution of his own.

John Tavares led the scoring for the Bandits with two goals and five assists.

The long-standing rivalry became evident early, with roughing penalties being assessed in the first minute of play. Within 65 seconds, the Wings had jumped to a 3-0 lead, scoring on their first three shots, then added a fourth a short while later.

Marohl started the run, followed by a power play goal from Tony Henderson. Mark Frye tallied his first of the night, and then scored again on a shorthanded try.

Buffalo scored its first goal almost seven minutes into the contest, when Jason Crosbie beat Dallas Eliuk on the power play. John Tavares also scored on a man advantage, about a minute later.

At this point, the pushing and shoving escalated into fights, with most of the players on the floor involved in a battle. Thirty-five minutes worth of penalties were assessed after a delay of more than ten minutes, resulting in a five-minute Wings power play.

Keith Cromwell and Marohl each found rope during the man-up situation, after which Bandits goaltender Steve Dietrich was pulled in favor of Corey Quinn for the remainder of the quarter.

Cromwell added one more to the Wings total before Bandit Duane Jacobs added a late goal to bring the period to a close at 7-3.

The second quarter was much different. The Wings were unable to get quality shots, while the Bandits showed how they had obtained their league-leading 9-1 record by shutting down most of the Wings' best opportunities and capitalizing on Philadelphia's defensive miscues.

Ultimately, Buffalo would score all five goals of the period. Jonas Derks, Lindsay Plunkett, and Mark Steenhuis each scored one, while Jacobs added a pair, including a shorthander.

The teams entered the locker rooms at halftime with the Bandits in front, 8-7.

In the third stanza, Eliuk continued his stellar performance, turning away twelve of Buffalo's thirteen shots on goal. Jeff Ratcliffe opened the scoring to tie the game just three minutes into the quarter. Crosbie gave Buffalo the advantage with under five minutes to go, but Ratcliffe answered back with 1:16 to play in the period, rounding out the score at nine apiece.

The Wings' offense came alive again in the final period, tallying two goals in the first two minutes and six in all. Derks scored first in the quarter, putting Buffalo on top 10-9, but Marohl knotted the game just seconds later. Plunkett took the lead back, but Henderson quickly tied the game, allowing Drew Candy the opportunity to give the Wings the lead for good.

Marechek added a goal to extend the Wings' advantage to two, but Tavares halved the deficit with a shorthanded goal at 4:10.

The Wings held on, though, as Ratcliffe again extended the Wings' lead to two goals on the power play and Marechek iced it with his second goal.

Wings backup goaltender Nick Schroeder came into the game to replace Eliuk with just seven seconds to play, and quickly turned away three shots to keep the winning margin at three goals.

"It was one of the best wins I've been associated with," Wings head coach Adam Mueller said. "We had a lot of big ones in the past. But this one was up there, with Buffalo coming in with near-perfect record and us struggling."

"They have a very physical, tough, hard-nosed defense. Our offense showed they can stand up and play with anyone. We kept fighting and fighting and the goals fell. It was a great game."

The Wings travel to Toronto to face the Rock on Friday, then host the Calgary Roughnecks the following night.

Buffalo has a home-and-home series with the Ottawa Rebel next weekend, hosting Terry Sanderson's squad on Friday and traveling to eastern Ontario on Saturday.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Buffalo Bandits (9-2)                 3  5  1  3  --  12
Philadelphia Wings (7-5)              7  0  2  6  --  15

BUFFALO BANDITS               PHILADELPHIA WINGS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
J Tavares      2 - 5     7    Marechek       2 - 6     8
Crosbie        2 - 2     4    Marohl         3 - 3     6
Derks          2 - 2     4    Cromwell       2 - 4     6
D Jacobs       3 - 0     3    Ratcliffe      3 - 2     5
Plunkett       2 - 1     3    Henderson      2 - 3     5
Steenhuis      1 - 1     2    Frye           2 - 3     5
Accursi        0 - 2     2    Candy          1 - 0     1
Caines         0 - 2     2    Eliuk          0 - 1     1
R Kilgour      0 - 2     2    A Martin       0 - 1     1
Dietrich       0 - 1     1    Spano          0 - 1     1
                              R Traynor      0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           59    Shots on goal           44
Saves made by           29    Saves made by           47
   Dietrich                      Eliuk
   Quinn                         Schroeder
Penalties               10    Penalties               14
Penalty Minutes         34    Penalty Minutes         42
Power Play Chances       9    Power Play Chances       5
Power Play Goals         4    Power Play Goals         4
   Crosbie            1          Cromwell           1
   D Jacobs           1          Henderson          1
   Plunkett           1          Marohl             1
   J Tavares          1          Ratcliffe          1
Shorthanded Goals        2    Shorthanded Goals        1
   D Jacobs           1          Frye               1
   J Tavares          1
Loose Balls             80    Loose Balls             67
   Couling           11          Eliuk             11
   Steenhuis         11          A Martin           8
   J Tavares          9          Henderson          7
Faceoffs Won            18    Faceoffs Won            12
   Accursi      (13- 5)          P Jacobs     (11-18)
   R Kilgour    ( 5- 6)          R Traynor    ( 1- 0)
   Langdale     ( 0- 1)          

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