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Wings eliminated from playoff contention after loss Saturday

The Wings' season essentially came to an end Saturday when they lost to the Toronto Rock, 10-9, at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.

The loss dropped the Wings to 5-11 and eliminated them from playoff contention. The win for the Rock (7-9) helped it clinch the third and final playoff spot in the NLL's East Division.

In a meeting between two teams fighting for their playoff lives, the game remained close throughout, as neither team could gain a lead greater than two goals. The Wings held a two-goal lead on two separate occasions.

The second occasion was during the beginning of the second quarter when Stephen Hoar reached the back of the night to make the score 6-4. The Rock then scored three consecutive goals to the lead, 7-6. Toronto's lead lasted a little more than three minutes, as Jordan Hall scored with an assist from Kevin Crowley to tie up at 7 heading into halftime.

Each team traded a goal during the third quarter and entered the final stanza tied up at 8. However, the Rock took the lead for good during the fourth quarter after goals from Stephan LeBlanc and Kasey Beirnes to make the score 10-8.

Crowley notched his fourth goal of the game to bring the score to within one, but the Wings could not salvage the game or the season.

Crowley led the Wings in points Saturday with six and attempted a team-high 14 shots. Right behind Crowley in points was Hall, who recorded five points with two goals and three assists. Hall's five points helped him reach 400 for his career.

Despite the chances of the playoffs being out of the window, the Wings still have two games left to play, starting at 10 p.m. April 19 when the Wings travel to Vancouver to face the Stealth (4-11) at the Langley Events Centre.