Game Rewind

Saturday, January 30th Vs Cincinnati (Kalamazoo 6-Cincinnati 3)

Kalamazoo, MI- The Kalamazoo Wings didn’t disappoint the crowd of 4,950, the largest this season at Wings Stadium. The K-Wings struck early and often in a 6-3 victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones during the 2nd annual Golden Ice Game sponsored by McDonald’s.

On their very first shot of the night, Darryl Bootland notched his 10th goal of the campaign just 3:08 into the first stanza during a K-Wings power play on a beautiful centering pass from Andrew Fournier. 

Five minutes and thirty seconds later, Darryl Lloyd (10th) found the back of the net on a two-on-one break. 

A bone-rattling hit by K-Wing Olivier Legault set up a Blake Friesen shot from the left point that was deflected off of Cyclone goalie Robert Mayer and straight onto the waiting stick of Tyler Willis who scored his second goal of the season.  Mayer then left the game after the K-Wings scored on three of their first four shots of the period, marking the second time in as many appearances that Meyer was pulled before the completion of the game.

The second period started out much like the first for the K-Wings as Brian McGuirk (7th) wristed home a short-handed goal just over a minute into the second. The shot by McGuirk was the first on net against Jeremy Smith, who replaced Mayer. In total the K-Wings registered goals on four of their first five shots of the contest.

What looked like a run-away victory for the K-Wings soon turned into a nail-biter as the Cyclones notched two unanswered goals.  Cyclones earned their first goal of the contest when Maxime Lacroix beat Ryan Nie for his 8th goal of the season.  Then, with just over a minute remaining in the second period, Scott Reynolds brought the Cyclones to within two goals of the K-Wings, after a face-off victory from Jimmy Kilpatrick found itself on the tape of Reynolds, who tallied his 17th goal of the season and his eighth against the K-Wings. 

Kalamazoo once again gained the upper hand in the contest as Lloyd knocked in a rebound for his second goal of the game and 11th of the season. 

Keeping hopes of a comeback alive, Cincinnati answered with 5:52 remaining in the third period to make the score 5-3 in favor of the K-Wings. However, Sam Ftorek finished off the Cyclones when he found the back of the net on a loose rebound from a Willis shot for his 8th goal of the season.

With 33 saves, Ryan Nie earned the victory, while Smith with allowed three goals and made 17 saves in relief and was credited with the loss.

Fast Forward

The K-Wings will conclude their three-game home stand this Friday, February 5th as they host the Cincinnati Cyclones on a Frugal Fan Friday, which features $1 beers and $1 hot dogs. With three games in hand, Kalamazoo trails Cincinnati by only two points for first place in the North Division. On the season, the K-Wings are 4-6-1-0 against the Cyclones and are 4-1-1-0 versus Cincinnati at Wings Stadium.

On Saturday, February 6th, the K-Wings will finish the weekend on the road versus the Wheeling Nailers. Entering the week tied with the Nailers for third place, the K-Wings have four games in hand over Wheeling. Saturday will be the K-Wings second visit to the WesBanko Arena. Kalamazoo defeated Wheeling 6-5 in a shootout back on October 30th in their previous encounter in West Virginia. On the season, Kalamazoo is 2-1-0-0 versus Wheeling.

On a Roll

Defensemen Jon Landry and Ryan McGinnis have earned points in four straight games. The four-game streaks are the longest current point streaks by any K-Wings players.

Home Sweet Home

The K-Wings have won six straight at Wings Stadium. The six-game home winning streak is a season-high for Kalamazoo.

Daavettila Returns

Forward Trent Daavettila has been returned from the Adirondack Phantoms. Daavettila, who has missed the past two K-Wings games, has registered 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists) in 25 games with Kalamazoo.

Two for Lloyd

Forward Darryl Lloyd rung up two goals in the K-Wings 6-3 Golden Ice victory last Saturday. Lloyd’s two goal performance was the first for the forward since he registered back-to-back multi-goal games in the K-Wings first two contests this season.

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 ECHL 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.

Lloyd and Strong on the Radio

Join special guests Darryl Lloyd and Dean Strong as they join Head Coach Nick Bootland and the “Voice of the K-Wings” Mike Modugno tonight 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 72 regular season games plus the playoffs. Pre-game coverage begins with the Kalsee Credit Union 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.