Goaltender Nick Damude made a franchise-record 60 saves to lead the Philadelphia Wings to a dominant 11-5 victory over the visiting Las Vegas Desert Dogs in an emotional home finale at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday.
The Wings' offense provided plenty of support for Damude's historic night. Lukas Nielsen led all scorers with four goals and three assists. Kyle Jackson contributed two goals and four assists, while Dalton Young added a goal and a team-high five assists. Sam LeClair scored twice for Philadelphia (5-12), which used a decisive second-quarter run to take control.
For the Desert Dogs (7-9), Adam Poitras and Kyle Killen each scored two goals. Poitras also had two assists. Mitch Jones, one of the league's top scorers, was held without a goal but managed to dish out four assists. Goaltender Landon Kells made 23 saves in relief of starter Alex Buque, who stopped five shots.
Philadelphia broke a 2-2 tie late in the first quarter and never looked back, scoring five consecutive goals to build a 7-2 lead in the second. After Las Vegas cut the deficit to 8-5 in the third period, the Wings' defense and Damude shut the door, holding the Desert Dogs scoreless in the final quarter while adding three more goals to seal the victory.
The game was played with heightened emotion, as it was the final home contest for the Wings under their current ownership, with the franchise's future in Philadelphia uncertain. The atmosphere was further charged by a third-quarter fight between Philadelphia's Eric Fannell and Las Vegas' Rhys Blake, which brought the energetic crowd to its feet.
Up next: The Desert Dogs visit the San Diego Seals on Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET, while the Wings travel to face the Vancouver Warriors at Rogers Arena on Saturday at 10 p.m. ET.
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