July 5, 2023
By Shaggy Shragis
The Philadelphia Phoenix improved to 5-4 as they handled the winless Montreal Royal 18 - 10. Reminiscent of their victory at home, the Hotbirds led wire-to-wire, kicking off the game with a hold and a break and only growing the lead throughout the game. Echoing the words of coach Roger in the victory huddle, “We won this game through consistency of effort.” Despite double digit hours in a bus, Philly were the more prepared team on Sunday.
In the Hotbird Huck, I predicted 70% offensive efficiency, and while the numbers do not appear quite that gaudy, they certainly got close. Despite going 8 for 16 on offense and 8 for 13 on holds, those numbers are skewed by receiving the pull with under 10 seconds in each of the first three quarters. None of the buzzer beaters were effective, but they also did not allow for a follow up break by Montreal or an opportunity to win the disc back for Philadelphia. If we remove those single second chances from the numbers, then the Hotbirds had an offensive efficiency of 62%, and a hold percentage of 80%. Those are league leading numbers.
Thorne had another perfect game, going 26 for 26 and picking up a very entertaining poach block. Thorne also led the charge for a Philly O-line that found success despite wind and Montreal’s defense taking away the huck. The Phoenix were just 6 for 14 on deep shots, yet the O-line played patient small ball, seizing scoring opportunities through methodical dumps and swings rather than launching huck after huck. A large part of the increased efficiency has been CJ Colicchio, whose return from injury has coincided with a career year for the seventh year AUDL journeyman. At the beginning of the season, an anonymous player wrote in the Player Chatter column, “CJ Colicchio is like a mini James Pollard. Can’t imagine Philly having success with both of them on offense.” Since that nonsense comment—made less biting by the player hiding behind their anonymity like a coward—not only has James put together another all star caliber campaign, but CJ is leading the offense in efficiency. Only four players have a higher completion percentage than Colicchio, and all of them play for the defense. CJ has taken a smaller role than he had in Pittsburgh, but he is doing it with brutal precision, compiling a 97% completion rate that is seven points higher than his career average.
As the offense had another crisp performance, the defense has continued its streak of squeezing the hope out of the opposition. They had back to back breaks three different times, and are now second in the entire league in break percentage, behind only the Austin Sol (whose numbers are buoyed by having played Houston and Dallas in half their games: two of the least efficient teams in the league). This game showcased their depth, with Ben Levy in his first pro game ever throwing two assists, and Ian Dietrich’s thunderous return from injury, picking up well timed D. Matt Hanna picked up another victim on the all-defense world tour, stunning a second Canadian opponent with two blocks, a goal, and two assists. The third year Hotbird has nine blocks on the year, and five of them have come against Canadian opponents. Playing without both team leaders in blocks (Witmer and Mad Max), seven different Philly defensemen picked up rejections of their own, to say nothing of the smothering pressure that led to two drops and 11 unforced throwaways by the overmatched Montreal Royale.
A pivotal piece of the Royale’s struggles was a repeat performance of Paul Owens’ evisceration guarding Kevin Quinlan. The Montreal career assist leader was held to no assists and just a single goal—with only one assist in the previous meeting—in a game where he routinely struggled to create space in the backfield. It was unclear in the June 17 game if Quinlan’s struggles were due to fatigue or Owens, but Paul put those questions to rest on Sunday, holding the best player in Canada to a minus two for the day. Also an enjoyable subplot in the D-line is Eric Nardelli’s refusal to grow the franchise block lead. Nardelli has just a single block this season—an invigorating callahan in Toronto—yet is sixth on the team in goals, scoring as often as anyone on the defense save Max Trifillis. After so many seasons of Nard’s crafty defense preventing opposition goals, Eric has found a new use for being in the right place at the right time: scoring Hotbirds goals.
This was the final away game for Philadelphia, as they return to Northeast Philly for three consecutive home games. It was also the fifth straight win for a team that started 0-4 and suddenly finds themselves just a half game back from Boston for the playoffs. With those same Boston Glory coming to town on Friday, the Hotbirds hopefully had reserved July 4th celebrations, pouring focus instead of alcohol towards a pivotal week 11 rematch. Barring highly unlikely circumstances, the winner of this Friday’s Boston vs Philadelphia game will determine the third and final playoff spot for the East. With all eyes turning from Canada to James Ramp Memorial stadium, the Phoenix will look to take the confidence of their five game win streak into the Ramp on Friday night for the biggest game of the 2023 Hotbird season.
