The Philadelphia Wings got grounded and ground up, losing 17-11 to the Rock
in Toronto Friday night. The good news for Philly is that their season
didn't end, which is exactly what happened the previous two times they lost
in Toronto. Veteran goal poacher Tom Marachek had a great game in a losing
cause, scoring four highlight-reel goals. Though clearly displeased with
the outcome, Marachek traded a few words with PLPA correspondent Ben Knight after the game.
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What was the difference out there tonight?
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Ground balls. They got the ground balls and shoved it down our throats
early. It was 7-1 early in the second quarter. You can't go down that
fast. We have to favour the ball a bit more offensively, and learn to pick
it up defensively.
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You guys came right back into it, though. Your power play actually went
five-for-five in the second quarter.
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Yeah! That was probably our only highlight. It was good. We finally
had our power play working. Hopefully, that will carry us through the rest
of the season.
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How do you feel about the Philadelphia Wings so far this year?
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We're definitely good. We're still up there, and we're going to be good
the rest of the year.
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You scored a great behind-the-back goal in the first half. That was a
sweet piece of work.
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Well, it's something I've been doing since I was six. It obviously was
not very important in the outcome tonight. Winning a game is a little bit
more important than going behind the back. It's just part of my repertoire
of shots.
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You put four goals past Bob Watson tonight. Do you have a particular
theory on how to beat him, or do you just take whatever's out there?
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Whatever's out there. I don't know, I think I'm sort of in his head a
bit. It's just one of those things. People say shoot high against him,
other say don't shoot high against him. You've just got to pick your spots.
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You've been in pro lacrosse for eight years now. How has the game
changed in the time you've been here, and what do you think of the state of
the league right now?
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I think it's in a pretty good state. Teams like Toronto are doing a
great job of promoting the sport. It's good to see there's a strong fan
base in Canada, that's for sure. Hopefully, the league will branch out
maybe through Chicago and back to Detriot. If it gets there, maybe
eventually we can start looking to the west. But we have to do it little
be little. I think the league has obviously come a long way since it
started in 1986.
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What's it like playing in front of Philadelphia sports fans all the time?
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Aw, it's great! I still say we have the best fans in the league. It
makes it just a little bit easier for us to play at home. We have some
rowdy fans there.
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It's shaping up to be a really tough struggle for playoff spots this
year. What do the Wings have to do to be in it at the end?
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We just have to keep fighting. I don't think we're going to change too
much. We just have to iron out some mistakes, and hopefully just go from
there.
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