Kalamazoo, MI– In the 27th Annual Fifth-Third Bank “World Famous” St. Patrick’s Day Green Ice Game, it was the Kalamazoo Wings that left the Fort Wayne Komets green with envy, as Kalamazoo defeated Fort Wayne 5-4 in a shootout in front of a crowd of 5,096 at Wings Stadium.
Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn (13th) gave Kalamazoo an early 1-0 lead scoring on a rebound 2:15 into the period off a wrist shot from the slot.
Fort Wayne answered later in the period with a pair of goals from Evgeny Saidachev (9th) and P.C. Druoin (20th) 16 seconds apart.
Remaining 2-1 in favor of Fort Wayne for a majority of the second period, Kalamazoo found the equalizer 18:40 in the stanza with a power-play blast from Travis Granbois (8th).
Special teams helped the K-Wings produce their first lead of the night, as Granbois (9th) collected his second of game midway through the third period.
Over a minute later at 11:54, a Brent Henley turnover proved costly for the Komets, as Glenn Detulleo found Lucas Drake (16th) upping the K-Wings lead to 4-2.
Always resilient, Fort Wayne chipped away at Kalamazoo's two-goal advantage by adding markers from Luciano Aquino (31st) and Konstantin Shafranov (18th) to force overtime.
After no scoring in the overtime, the contest headed into a shootout. Kalamazoo’s Ryan Markham, who was the K-Wings first shooter, buried the lone goal in the extra session to seal the 5-4 victory.
For Game Stats: http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=533962.
Kalamazoo will hit the road for two straight games starting this Wednesday, March 19th with a 7 p.m. face-off against the Port Huron Icehawks.
The K-Wings return to Wings Stadium this Saturday, March 22nd versus the Bloomington PrairieThunder, as the Easter Bunny visits. Face-off this Saturday is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Single game tickets for the entire K-Wings 2007-08 home schedule are currently on sale at the Wings Stadium Ticket Office. Tickets range from $9-$14. Prices for K-Wings games will increase $1 for premium game nights (Orange Ice, Pink Ice, Green Ice & New Years Eve). Fans are also encouraged to purchase their game tickets in advance, as they will save $1 per ticket by getting their seats prior to a game day.Ticket Office hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For moreinformation, call the Wings Stadium Ticket Office during regular business hours at (269) 345-5101.
For more information about tonight’s game, please contact Director of Public Relations/Broadcaster Mike Modugno at (269) 349-9772 extension 220.
