The Philadelphia Wings edged closer to the playoffs by defeating the Rochester Knighthawks, 12-8, Saturday night at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia goaltender Dallas Eliuk earned Game MVP honors for his 43-save performance, the key to the season-saving victory. The Wings would have been eliminated from playoff contention with a loss.

Philadelphia began the game by scoring early and often. Spencer Martin led off with an even-strength goal at 1:30, then followed up with a power play goal four minutes later. Jeff Ratcliffe tallied his first less than twenty seconds after that, and Brian Tower gave the Wings a 4-0 lead by mid quarter.

The shutout held up for another four minutes, until Shawn Williams finally put Rochester on the board at 11:36.

Philadelphia kept momentum in the second period, with Tower making his second mark of the game just 33 seconds into the stanza. He was followed by Ratcliffe less than a minute later, increasing the Wings’ lead to 6-1.

Kim Squire then took advantage of a power play to bring the Rochester total to two goals, and then a seven minute scoring drought ensued.

Tom Marechek broke the ice, putting the Wings in front by five again at 10:36, followed by Williams with his second goal of the contest. Ratcliffe answered back, scoring in the final second of the first half to give the Wings an 8-3 advantage.

Goaltending highlighted the third quarter, with Rochester’s Pat O’Toole recording eleven saves and Eliuk making ten of his own. A total of only three goals were scored, two by the Wings.

Rochester scored the first goal when Williams converted on the power play for his hat trick, but Philadelphia scored the other two goals, Ryan Ward netting the eventual game-winner and Dan Marohl rounding out the period with ten seconds remaining.

Rochester came out firing in the fourth quarter, taking sixteen shots on goal. Malawsky made the first tally of the period, followed by Williams' fourth goal seven minutes later.

An ill-timed major roughing penalty by Rochester’s Scott Evans took the wind out of the Knighthawks' sails, and Philadelphia capitalized. Ward scored first during the power play opportunity, and then Peter Jacobs obtained the ball and found some unprotected rope. Just over two minutes to play, and it's 12-6.

Rochester tried to put a run on late in the game and scored two goals, Williams with his fifth and Chris Schiller making the last of the Knighthawk goals, but there just wasn’t ample time to overcome the deficit.

"We played a good, controlled game," Philadelphia coach Adam Mueller said. "We had a couple late goals we're not happy about, but we had good offensive possession and solid defense the whole night. This is two weeks in a row and I think we're on a little run now. If we can complete this next week, we'll be really happy."

The Knighthawks and Wings are now tied at 6-8 in the race for the final Eastern Division playoff spot. They meet again next Saturday night in Rochester, in what is essentially a playoff game in itself -- the winner will get that final berth, and the loser is eliminated.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Rochester Knighthawks (6-8)           1  2  1  4  --   8
Philadelphia Wings (6-8)              4  4  2  2  --  12

ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS         PHILADELPHIA WINGS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
S Williams     5 - 1     6    Ratcliffe      3 - 3     6
D Malawsky     1 - 4     5    Marechek       1 - 4     5
Schiller       1 - 1     2    Marohl         1 - 4     5
Squire         1 - 1     2    S Martin       2 - 2     4
Giles          0 - 1     1    Ward           2 - 2     4
Harasym        0 - 1     1    Traynor        0 - 3     3
Hoar           0 - 1     1    Tower          2 - 0     2
Hollenbeck     0 - 1     1    Cromwell       0 - 2     2
Soudan         0 - 1     1    Jacobs         1 - 0     1
Thorpe         0 - 1     1    Hajek          0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           51    Shots on goal           44
Saves made by (GA)      32    Saves made by (GA)      43
   O'Toole (11)      31          Eliuk (8)         43
   Campbell (0)       1
   TEAM (1)           0
Penalties                6    Penalties                8
Penalty Minutes         15    Penalty Minutes         19
Power Play Chances       8    Power Play Chances       6
Power Play Goals         4    Power Play Goals         3
   S Williams         3          Jacobs             1
   Squire             1          S Martin           1
                                 Ward               1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        0
Empty Net Goals          0    Empty Net Goals          1
   (None)                        Jacobs             1
Loose Balls             75    Loose Balls             72
   Sc Evans           9          Jacobs             9
   S Williams         9          S Martin           8
   Hasen              8          Donovan            7
Faceoffs Won             8    Faceoffs Won            16
   Hoar         ( 7- 8)          Jacobs       (16- 6)
   Soudan       ( 1- 0)          Nadelen      ( 0- 2)
   Thorpe       ( 0- 8)

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