| October
1973 |
An
IHL expansion franchise is awarded to Kalamazoo, MI and
a group of investors headed by Ted and Martha Parfet. |
| February
1974 |
Wings
Stadium ground breaking ceremony is held, paving the
way for the Inaugural Season of the Kalamazoo Wings.
Construction of the arena is completed in less than 9
months. |
| June
1, 1974 |
Bob
Lemieux reports for duty as the first GM/Head Coach of
the Kalamazoo Wings. |
| October
18, 1974 |
The
K-Wings play their first IHL game, losing 6-3 at Flint. |
| October
30, 1974 |
The
K-Wings play their first home game in front of 4,157
fans, losing 7-3 to Saginaw. |
| November
24, 1974 |
The
K-Wings win for the first time against Columbus, in overtime
(2-1) at Wings Stadium. |
| December
6, 1974 |
Bob
Hope performs at Wings Stadium, marking the first major
event the venue has held. |
| December
8, 1974 |
The
first sellout crowd at Wings Stadium (5,196) watches
as the K-Wings lose to Muskegon, 2-1, in overtime. |
| December
19, 1974 |
The
Doobie Brothers are the first major musical act to play
at Wings Stadium. |
| July
12, 1975 |
Eric
Clapton performs for a sellout crowd of 8,596. Other
acts who sold out Wings Stadium in 1975 were the Beach
Boys, Jefferson Starship, Alice Cooper, and Chicago.
The Ice Capades, Royal Lipizzaner Stallions, The Globetrotters,
and the Ali/Frazier Fight also appeared at Wings that
year. |
| October
21, 1976 |
Elvis
Presley makes his first of two appearances at Wings Stadium.
Other popular acts to play that year were Frank Sinatra,
David Bowie, Peter Frampton, and Bob Seger. |
| April
23, 1977 |
A
franchise-record crowd of 5,758 packs Wings Stadium for
a play-off game against Saginaw. |
| December
27, 1977 |
Mike
Wanchuk's No. 22 jersey is retired. He remains as the
only K-Wing to be so honored. |
| May
22, 1979 |
The
Kalamazoo Wings clinch their first Turner Cup Championship
with a 5-2 Game 7 victory over the Grand Rapids Owls. |
| May
17, 1980 |
The
K-Wings take a second consecutive Turner Cup Championship
with a 5-1 victory over Fort Wayne in Game 6 of the finals. |
| March
17, 1982 |
A
new Kalamazoo tradition is born when Wings dye the ice
surface green for the first St. Patrick's Day Green Ice
Game. The promotion attracts 5,446 fans to Wings Stadium
to see a 4-1 win over Muskegon. |
| January
17, 1984 |
Wings
Stadium and the K-Wings host the IHL ALL-Star Game, pitting
the IHL stars against the U.S. Olympic Team. |
| April
13, 1985 |
Dave
Michayluk scores his league-leading and club-record 66th
goal of the season. |
| June
12, 1987 |
The
K-Wings sign their first primary affiliation agreement
with an NHL club, joining with the Minnesota Noth Stars. |
| June
1, 1988 |
The
K-Wings reveal that they will change their red, white,
and blue color scheme and switch to a green, gold, black,
and white scheme to reflect that of NHL parent Minnesota. |
| January
27, 1990 |
Kevin
Schamehorn scores the 239th and final goal of his K-Wings
career, tying him with Mike Wanchuk atop the franchises
all-time list. |
| April
8, 1990 |
Schamehorn
plays in his club 495th and final game, retiring as the
only K-Wing to wear the Wing in three different decades. |
| June
24, 1993 |
Dallas
appoints Ken Hitchcock head coach of the Kalamazoo Wings. |
| February
12, 1994 |
Rob
Brown extends his point-scoring streak to a club-record
26 games (13-47-60 pts.) with three assists in a 5-4
win at Phoenix. Later that year he will set an IHL record
with 113 assists. |
| May
16, 1995 |
The
Kalamazoo Wings franchise is renamed, becoming the Michigan
K-Wings. |
| January
26, 1996 |
The
three-millionth fan in K-Wings history passes through
the doors of the Stadium. |
| June
25, 1998 |
Bill
McDonald is named the 11th head coach in K-Wings history
by Dallas. |
| February
19, 1999 |
K-Wings
play their 2,000th regular-season IHL game and 1,000th
home game, a 4-3 shootout loss to Milwaukee. |
| April
17, 2000 |
The
Dallas Stars end their affiliation agreement with the
K-Wings, resulting in the franchise's request for inactive
status in the IHL. |
| July
27, 2000 |
The
Madison Kodiaks franchise of the United Hockey League
relocates to Kalamazoo. Ted Parfet grants the Kalamazoo
Wings name and logo to the new franchise. |
| August
17, 2000 |
Dennis
Desrosiers is named the first head coach of the UHL Kalamazoo
Wings. |
| October
11, 2000 |
The
Kalamazoo Wings play their first regular season UHL game,
a 2-1 win at Flint. Coincidentally, the game is played
at the IMA Sports Arena in Flint, the site of the original
Wings' first game in 1974. |
| October
20, 2000 |
The
first regular season UHL game at Wings Stadium sees the
Wings lose to the Quad City Mallards, 4-3. |
| March
17, 2001 |
The
storied Kalamazoo St. Patrick's Day tradition makes a
smooth transition into the UHL as the Wings stage the
20th Annual St. Patrick's Day Green Ice Game. A standing
room only crowd of 5,413 witnesses a 6-3 victory over
the Missouri River Otters. It is the Wings' first UHL
sellout. |
| April
6, 2001 |
The
Wings make the playoffs in their first UHL season, but
it is short-lived as the Muskegon Fury upend Kalamazoo
in a one-game wild card by a score of 6-3. |
|
September,
2004
|
Wings
Stadium hosts Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey’s
Hometown Edition Circus.
|
| October
6, 2004 |
Wings
Stadium unveils State-of-the-Art Scoreboard. |
| October
29, 2004 |
Relient
K comes to the complex. This is the first concert to
be held in The Annex. |
| October
30, 2004 |
The
Kalamazoo Wings play their first ever Orange Ice Game. |
| Janury
11, 2005 |
K-Wings
defensemen Daniel Carriere & Greg Labenski are selected
to participate in the UHL All-Star Classic in Glens Falls,
NY. |
| January
19, 2005 |
Chad
Alban sets the K-Wings UHL franchise record for consecutive
games won by a goaltender with 11. |
| January
21, 2005 |
The
K-Wings set the franchise record & ties the UHL record
for consecutive victories with 12, beating Elmira 4-1. |
| March
12, 2005 |
Wings
Stadium hosts the first “Guns ‘N’ Hoses” game,
featuring the Battle Creek Police Department & Kalamazoo
Public Safety. |
| May
11, 2005 |
Wings
Stadium announces plans to open a new casual dining/sports
bar inside of the Wings Stadium Complex, which will become
known as the Icehouse Bar & Grille. |
| April
3, 2005 |
The
K-Wings set the UHL record for consecutive road wins
with 11, beating the Quad City Mallards 4-2. |
| May,
2005 |
The
complex hosts the 1st Annual Wings Stadium RV Sale. |
| June
1, 2005 |
For
the first time ever, Kalamazoo Public Schools hold their
high school graduations at Wings Stadium. |
| August
4, 2005 |
Wings
Stadium hosts the Rock Never Stops Concert featuring
Cinderella, Ratt, Quit Riot and Firehouse. |
| September
25, 2005 |
The
Wings Stadium Complex host the Grand Opening of The Icehouse
Bar and Grille. The restaurant, which is located in the
Annex Viewing Area gives patrons a great place to dine
and drink. |
| September
29, 2005 |
Heavy
Metal Icons, Judas Priest performed at Wings Stadium. |
| October
24, 2005 |
Boxer
Damian Fuller highlighted the debut of the Midwest Professional
Boxing Series at the Wings Stadium Complex. |
| October
25, 2005 |
Wings
Stadium continued to bring in top concert acts, as Christian
Rock Band Audio Adrenaline rocked the complex. |
| December
16, 2005 |
The
K-Wings prove there is no place like home, as they start
the season going 9-0 at Wings Stadium. |
| January
25, 2006 |
The
K-Wings tie a UHL record by having five players represent
them at the UHL All-Star Classic in St. Charles, Missouri. |
| February
18, 2006 |
Motley
Crue entertains thousands of Wings Stadium guests during
their three hour performance. |
| March
17, 2006 |
K-Wings
raise over $32,000 during their Green Ice Jersey Auction,
which benefited the Great Lakes Burn Camp. |
| March
18, 2006 |
Molly
McMaster becomes the first-ever female to play for the
K-Wings. |
| March
25, 2006 |
Goaltender
Joel Martin set the UHL record for shutouts in season
(9) by blanking Muskegon 6-0. |
| April
2, 2006 |
K-Wings
break the 100-plateau with a 3-1 victory over Motor City. |
| April
14, 2006 |
K-Wings
capture their first Central Division Championship and
Tarry Cup with a 5-2 victory over Missouri. |
| April
27, 2006 |
For
the first-time in their UHL history, Kalamazoo advanced
out the first round of the playoffs with a sweep of the
Motor City Mechanics. |
| May
6, 2006 |
Lucas
Drake sets a UHL record for most goals in a playoff game
by netting five goals in the K-Wings 8-7 victory over
Rockford. |
| May
27, 2006 |
K-Wings
capture their first Colonial Cup and the first championship
of any kind in 26 years with a thrilling 4-3 overtime
victory in Danbury. Kalamazoo’s Lucas Drake scored
the game-winner 1:42 into the overtime session. |
| June
3, 2006 |
K-Wings
are the Grand Marshals of the Do-Dah Parade and the organization
holds a Colonial Cup Celebration Party at the Complex. |
| June
4, 2006 |
WWE
Smackdown Brand returned to the Wings Stadium Complex. |
| |
