Game Rewind

Saturday, March 10th Vs Muskegon (Kalamazoo 8-Muskegon 1)

Kalamazoo, MI – Needing a win to pull within a game of fourth place, the Kalamazoo Wings rung up one of their best efforts of the season to dismantle the Muskegon Fury 8-1 on ZOOperstars! Night.

Before the enthusiastic crowd of 4,950 at Wings Stadium got settled in their seats, Muskegon’s Adam Bartholomay (14th) deflected a Dave Van Drunen blast past Jeff Reynaert to give the Fury a 1-0 lead.

Kalamazoo answered back five minutes later with a tally from Lucas Drake (12th), which knotted the game at 1-1 and extended the forward’s point streak to seven games.

Kory Karlander (31st) propelled the K-Wings ahead for good midway in the period scoring on his own rebound to give Kalamazoo a 2-1 lead.

Pouring it on in the second, Kalamazoo exploded for four unanswered tallies. Karlander recorded his second of the night and 32nd of the season on a power-play strike 7:34 into the period.

Three minutes later on a rebound, Drake (13th) tickled the twine for his second of the night. Kalamazoo’s power-play punched in two more goals from Travis Granbois (7th) and Mike Manley (11th) to extend their lead to 6-1.

Drake (14th) notched his first hat trick of the season with a knuckle puck from the slot 31 seconds into the third. The hat trick was the K-Wings fourth this season and third against Muskegon.

Ryan Markham (6th) added salt into the Fury’s wound scoring on a one-timer at the 16:42 mark to closeout the scoring for the K-Wings.

Sunday March 9th Vs Bloomington (Kalamazoo 1-Bloomington 0- Overtime)

Kalamazoo, MI – Since joining the K-Wings on February 7th, goaltender Jeff Reynaert, whose nickname is rock, has been more of a brick wall for the Kalamazoo Wings. Reynaert continued his masonry Sunday versus the Bloomington PrairieThunder, stoning all 25 shots he faced to earn a 1-0 overtime victory.

Kalamazoo secured the victory 48 seconds into overtime with a left point blast from Jamie Vanderveeken (11th). Forwards Kory Karlander and Nick Bootland set up the game-winner and their assists extended both player’s point streaks.

Karlander has now recorded points in a K-Wings current-high seven straight games, while Bootland upped his point streak to five games.

The shutout was Reynaert’s second of the year and the K-Wings fourth. Kalamazoo’s victory, coupled with Muskegon’s 7-4 loss Sunday to Flint, ties the K-Wings with the Fury for fourth place in the IHL.

Fast Forward

It’s three games in four nights for the Kalamazoo Wings starting this Wednesday, March 12th with a 10:30 a.m. face-off versus the Flint Generals on the second of two Education Day games presented by Culver’s. On the season, Kalamazoo is 7-4-0-0 versus Flint, who starts the week in second place.

The K-Wings will begin a brief two-game rivalry road weekend on Friday, March 14th with an 8 p.m. face-off against the Fort Wayne Komets. The first team to punch their IHL playoff ticket, the Komets lead the league with a record of 43-12-5-1 (92 points). Kalamazoo will try to avoid making history; Fort Wayne has won 18 straight home games, one shy of their franchise record. On the season, the K-Wings are 2-9-0-1 versus Fort Wayne.

Kalamazoo will finish off the week on Saturday, March 15th with a 7:30 p.m. encounter against the Muskegon Fury. The K-Wings snapped a three-game skid against the Fury with an 8-1 victory last Saturday at Wings Stadium. On the season, the K-Wings are 6-6-0-2 versus the Fury. Both teams start the week in fourth place in the league.

Nearing the Century Mark

Forward Justin Cross is nearing a career landmark. Cross’ next point will be the 100th in his career.

Back to School

Kalamazoo will host Flint in their second Education Day versus Flint this Wednesday. All-time Kalamazoo is 5-4-0-1 in games played in the morning, including 3-4-0-1 at Wings Stadium. The K-Wings are 1-2-0-0 versus the Generals in Education Games, including a 5-3 loss earlier this season. 

Heating Up

Scoring the Big Goals

Defenseman Jamie Vanderveeken scored 48 seconds into overtime to give the K-Wings a 1-0 victory. The game-winner from Vanderveeken was his second this season, which ties him for first among all IHL defensemen.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

Lucas Drake recorded a hat trick Saturday versus Muskegon. The trick was Drake's first of the season and the K-Wings fourth, with three of them occurring against the Fury.

Tickets! Get Your Tickets!!

Tickets for all K-Wings home games are now on sale. Catch all the action as your K-Wings play the very best the IHL has to offer. Tickets are on sale now by calling the Wings Stadium Ticket Office at (269) 345-5101.

Get On-Line

This season, the best way to keep track of the K-Wings is to log onto www.kwings.com. The site has player profiles, information about Wings Stadium events, and much, much more.

Manley and Nebus on the Radio

Join special guests Mike Manley and Mark Nebus as they join Head Coach Brian Curran and the “Voice of the K-Wings” Mike Modugno on “K-Wings Live”. The show is on The Classic Hits Station WLKM (95.9 FM) and online through the B-2 Networks through www.kwings.com from 7-8 p.m. at Old Burdick’s Bar and Grill inside the Holiday Inn Kalamazoo on South 11th Street. 

K-Wings on Radio

Catch all the K-Wings games, home and away, on the K-Wings Radio Network (95.9 FM WLKM & B-2 Networks on kwings.com). Join the “Voice of the K-Wings” Mike Modugno for all 76 regular season games plus the playoffs. Pre-game coverage begins with the Digital Highway Pre-Game Show 15 minutes prior to face-off. For the most complete coverage of the K-Wings from the opening face-off to the final buzzer, keep your radio tuned this season to the K-Wings Radio Network.

Upcoming Games

Wednesday, March 12th           Vs Flint                           10:30 AM (Education Day Presented by Culver’s)

Friday, March 14th                     @ Fort Wayne                 8:00 PM

Saturday, March 15th                @ Muskegon                   7:30 PM

Monday, March 17th                  Vs Fort Wayne               7:00 PM (27th Annual World Famous Fifth-Third Bank St. Patrick’s Day Green Ice Game Presented by WRKR and The CW 7)