Fort Wayne, IN– An apparent last second goal from Kory Karlander at the horn was waived off letting the Fort Wayne Komets escape Memorial Coliseum with a 4-3 victory over Kalamazoo and make IHL history for the most consecutive home games wins with 23.
Despite being outplayed for much of the opening 20 minutes of action, Fort Wayne gained the lead late in the period with a power-play strike from Luciano Aquino (35th).
Jamie Vanderveeken (14th) scored the equalizer 5:02 into the second with blast from the left point.
Kalamazoo’s power-play generated the next two tallies. Nick Bootland snuck in front and flipped the puck past Komet goaltender Nick Boucher at the 10:57 mark to give the K-Wings a 2-1 lead.
With 46 seconds remaining in the stanza, Travis Granbois (10th) tickled the twine with a wrist shot to make the score 3-1 in favor of Kalamazoo.
Fort Wayne answered back with three unanswered power-play goals, including the game-winner from Aquino (37th) who ended the night with a hat trick.
The K-Wings were without Head Coach Brian Curran, who was injured during the team’s morning skate. General Manager Wade Welsh, along with injured forward Glenn Detulleo, served as bench bosses for Kalamazoo.
For Game Stats: http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=533979.
Kalamazoo will continue their three-game road swing with the middle leg of the trip tomorrow, Saturday, March 29th with a 7:05 p.m. (CST) face-off against the Bloomington PrairieThunder.
The K-Wings will return to Wings Stadium on Friday, April 4th with a 7:30 p.m. showdown versus the Flint Generals on Team Poster Night sponsored by The Maurer Group and WRKR.
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.
