Keith Cromwell scored three goals and was one of eight Philadelphia goal scorers, as the Wings defeated the Rochester Knighthawks, 13-7, Saturday night at Blue Cross Arena.

The game was the first this season for each team.

Philadelphia scored the game's first five goals, silencing the War Memorial crowd with a parade to the net. Cromwell opened the scoring with a power play goal at 4:25. A minute later, Tom Marechek struck, followed by Andrew Guindon, Ryan Ward, and Jake Bergey, in a Who's Who of the Wings offense.

Marechek is Philadelphia's alltime leading scorer, Ward the much-touted first-round draft pick, and Bergey the recovering-from-knee-surgery captain.

As for Rochester, the only offensive player of great distinction in this game was John Grant, who had a hand in all but one Knighthawk goal.

When Derek Malawsky broke the shutout, a power-play marker with two minutes remaining in the first quarter, there was Grant, recording the secondary assist.

Philadelphia's 5-1 lead after one quarter had as much to do with Dallas Eliuk's fantastic play as anyone else, though. The All-World goaltender stood on his head, stopping thirteen Rochester shots.

Thirty seconds into the second quarter, Wings defender Thomas Hajek was sent off for holding. No worries -- 21 seconds later, Jeff Spano struck shorthanded.

Scott Evans answered back five minutes later, putting a Grant pass behind Eliuk. Neither team scored again in the period, and headed to their locker rooms at 6-2.

After Tony Henderson opened the second half by depositing a Marechek pass behind Knighthawks goaltender Pat O'Toole, Grant took over. Two man-up goals and an even-strength tally later, the pride of Peterborough had a natural hat trick and the Knighthawks were within two, at 7-5.

That, however, is as close as Rochester would come. Jeff Ratcliffe closed the period with a five-on-five goal, and although Mat Giles took it back to open the fourth quarter, Ward and Marechek soon widened the gap to 10-6.

Grant (who else?) scored his fourth of the night just six seconds after the Marechek goal, but it was all Philadelphia the rest of the way -- Cromwell twice, then Bergey.

In reality, the Knighthawks led all the lesser statistics, grabbing more loose balls, 78-67; winning more faceoffs, 14-10; and firing more shots on goal, 53-40.

The way the Wings played, though, it was easy to be tricked like that.

"We played strong first and fourth quarters," Wings head coach Adam Mueller said. "Dallas' performance kept us in the game during some weaker moments and we were able to grab a good early season win."

Mueller left the greatest concern unmentioned -- just like many of their games last season, the Wings softened up in the third quarter, and that's when Rochester did the bulk of its damage.

As a result, one can only wonder what carnage a full four-quarter assault could have produced.

Philadelphia undoubtedly will take what it got, though. The scoring was as balanced as possible, with the Wings' first eight goals coming from eight different scorers. Eight players had assists, and only game-high scorer Marechek (two goals, four assists) had more than one.

Also, the Philadelphia defense held Rochester's snipers at bay, aside from the irrepressible Grant (four goals, two assist). Derek Malawsky scored just one goal, and Shawn Williams didn't net any.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Philadelphia Wings (1-0)              5  1  2  5  --  13
Rochester Knighthawks (0-1)           1  1  3  2  --   7

PHILADELPHIA WINGS            ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Marechek       2 - 4     6    Grant          4 - 2     6
Cromwell       3 - 1     4    S Williams     0 - 3     3
Bergey         2 - 1     3    D Malawsky     1 - 1     2
Ward           2 - 0     2    Evans          1 - 0     1
Henderson      1 - 1     2    Giles          1 - 0     1
Ratcliffe      1 - 1     2    Schiller       0 - 1     1
Guindon        1 - 0     1    
Spano          1 - 0     1
P Jacobs       0 - 1     1
Nadelen        0 - 1     1
Tower          0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           40    Shots on goal           53
Saves made by (GA)      46    Saves made by (GA)      27
   Eliuk (7)         46          O'Toole (13)      27
Penalties                6    Penalties                6
Penalty Minutes         12    Penalty Minutes         12
Power Play Chances       6    Power Play Chances       6
Power Play Goals         3    Power Play Goals         3
   Cromwell           2          Grant              2
   Marechek           1          D Malawsky         1
Shorthanded Goals        1    Shorthanded Goals        0
   Spano              1          (None)
Loose Balls             67    Loose Balls             78
   Eliuk             11          Grant              8
   Guindon            7          Abrams             7
   P Jacobs           7          O'Toole            7
Faceoffs Won            10    Faceoffs Won            14
   P Jacobs     (10-14)          Thorpe       ( 9- 2)
                                 Soudan       ( 4- 8)
                                 Hollenbeck   ( 1- 0)

 *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH ROCHESTER K'HAWKS ***