Game Rewind

Wednesday, February 24th Vs Gwinnett (Kalamazoo 4-Gwinnett 3-Overtime)

Kalamazoo, MI- A sellout crowd of 5,113, the largest this season at Wings Stadium, witness last second heroics, as the K-Wings defeated the Gwinnett Gladiators 4-3 in overtime on Education Day, presented by Borgess Health, ECUU, and also sponsored by Edison Electric, Putters Family Fun Center and Rx Optical. 

Instead of being beneficial a late power-play for Kalamazoo in the opening period, turned out to be disastrous. Coming down on a two-on-one with 40.9 seconds remaining in the period, Matt Francis found Andrew Founey (8th) cutting towards the net for a go ahead shorthanded goal from the Gladiators.

The action heated up in the second period as Darryl Lloyd wristed a shot towards Danny Taylor that trickled through the crease and into the net.  The K-Wings then went ahead 2-1 minutes later when Trent Daavettila notched his 16th tally of the season on a rebound.  

Gwinnett evened the score 6:55 into the stanza, when Founey found Sean Hurley (1st) camping out in front of the crease for an easy tip in. 

Later in the period, Daniel Sullivan (10th) found the back of the net, while on a power-play, to regain a single goal advantage for Gwinnett on a shot from the point.

As a K-Wings penalty was expiring late in the period, Sam Ftorek jumped off the bench and received a pass from Brian McGuirk. Ftorek went on a breakaway and proceeded to net the equalizer 18:48 into the second.

With the score knotted at 3-3, neither team was able to regain the lead in the third, which forced overtime.

In the extra session, an innocent shot from Jon Landry (6th) turned to jubilation for the sellout crowd, as it trickled through the legs of Taylor for the game-winner.

Friday, February 26th Vs Gwinnett (Kalamazoo 4-Gwinnett 3)

Kalamazoo, MI- Playing in close games as become second nature for the Kalamazoo Wings and Friday night was no different, as the K-Wings held on to defeat the Gwinnett Gladiators 4-3 at Wings Stadium.

Four seconds into a power-play, Mathieu Curadeau drew the face-off back to the left point, where Louis Liotti quickly snapped a wrist shot for his first professional goal. 

The K-Wings built on their lead midway into the stanza, when Trent Daavettila found Rick Cleaver open at the right circle. Cleaver one-timed a slap shot past Gwinnett’s Chad Brown for his team-leading 21st goal of the season, as well as his team-leading 49th point. 

Having trouble getting out of their own zone, a K-Wings turnover turned into good fortune for the Gladiators, as Tim Miller (12th) beat Ryan Nie to bring Gwinnett back to within one goal. 

Expanding their advantage to 3-1, Darryl Lloyd (16th) streaked up the left wing and buried a wrist shot over the shoulder of Brown 7:04 into the second period.

Kalamazoo lifted their cushion to three goals later in the frame, when the K-Wings completed some fast tick-tack-toe passing from Sam Ftorek and Lloyd who found the tape of Dean Strong, who netted his fourth lamp-lighter of the season. Strong, who also earned an assist on Lloyd’s tally, has gathered at least one point in each of his eight contests at Wings Stadium.

Battling back, Scott Milfsud (14th) gave the Gladiators a slight lift near the end of the period scoring on the power-play to cut the K-Wings lead to 4-2.

Gwinnett closed in to within a single goal with 3:30 remaining in regulation with a tally from Matt Francis (9th).

The 4-3 decision marked the fourth straight single-goal contest for the K-Wings (3-1), all of which will identical 4-3 scores.

The victory also extended the K-Wings home unbeaten in regulation streak to 11 games (10-0-0-1).

Saturday, February 27th Vs Charlotte (Kalamazoo 5-Charlotte 2)

Kalamazoo, MI- On Sport Clip Haircuts Night, the Kalamazoo Wings had no problems cutting into the conference standings, as the K-Wings defeated the Charlotte Checkers 5-2.

Maneuvering behind the net, Darryl Lloyd stole the puck from Charlotte goaltender Ryan Munce and quickly found Dean Strong (5th), who sent it into the empty net 1:06 into the game. The goal by Strong lengthens his home points streak to nine games.

Responding moments later, Matt Stefanishion (16th) knotted the game at 1-1, flinging a wrister from between the circles past Jeremy Duchesne.

Midway in the stanza, Kalamazoo turned a penalty-kill into a scoring opportunity. Despite Munce stopping three chances, Brian McGuirk (10th) registered his team-leading third shorthanded tally to give the K-Wings a 3-1 lead.

Special teams helped the K-Wings push their advantage to two goals, when Rick Cleaver (22nd) notched his team-leading 10th power-play goal of the season.

Kalamazoo’s cushion climbed to three goals in the second period, when Cleaver created a turnover at the blue line and sent a pass to McGuirk, who then found Patrick Asselin (8th) for a one-timer, to record the lone goal of the period.

Nearly half way through the third period, Kalamazoo extended their lead to four goals as a centering pass from Cleaver was tipped in front of the net by Lloyd and onto the waiting tape of Andrew Fournier who beat Munce for his 19th goal of the campaign. 

Just as the final buzzer was about to ring out at Wings Stadium, Charlotte added one more tally by David Marshall (15th) at the 19:54 mark to close out the scoring. 

The win extends the K-Wings home unbeaten streak to 12 games (11-0-0-1) and leaps Kalamazoo ahead of Charlotte for fourth place in the American Conference standings.           

Sunday, February 28th Vs Charlotte (Kalamazoo 4-Charlotte 2)

Kalamazoo, MI- Keeping up their winning ways at Wings Stadium, the Kalamazoo Wings defeated the Charlotte Checkers 4-2 on Sunday to extend their home unbeaten streak to 13 games (12-0-0-1) and their overall unbeaten streak to six (5-0-0-1).

Similar to the night before, Kalamazoo struck early. Skating into the attack zone, Brian McGuirk used Charlotte defenseman Kevin Schaeffer to screen goaltender Miiki Wiikman. McGuirk then snapped a wrist shot over the shoulder of Wiikman 2:14 into the game to give the K-Wings the early 1-0 lead.

Charlotte responded two minutes later with a goal from Tyler Doig (16th). With several players scrambling in front of the K-Wings net, Michel Leveille found the puck and sent it to Doig, who buried it into the open net.

After a K-Wings power-play goal was disallowed for being touched by a high stick; the Checkers made Kalamazoo pay on the ensuing face-off. Off the draw, Schaeffer (4th) right point slap shot gave the Checkers a 2-1 advantage.

Kalamazoo’s power-play did convert later in the period, as Dean Strong extended his home scoring streak to 10 games netting his sixth goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2.

The third period belonged to Sam Ftorek, as the K-Wings captain notched his 11th and 12th goals of the season.  The first came just 1:43 into the third stanza while the K-Wings were on the 5-on-3 power play.  Ftorek’s blast gave Kalamazoo a 3-2 lead and they would never look back. 

Nearly half-way through the period, Ftorek struck again, as a pass from Louis Liotti set up a blistering wrister that beat Wiikman giving the Kalamazoo the two goal cushion.   

Fast Forward

Kalamazoo will commence a season-high seven-game road swing this Wednesday, March 3rd with a 7:05 p.m. face-off versus the Johnstown Chiefs. On the season, Kalamazoo is 2-0-0-0 against Johnstown, who starts the week in fourth place in the East Division.

It will be must see hockey on Thursday, as the K-Wings head to the Sovereign Center to battle the Reading Royals at 7:05 p.m. Kalamazoo is 4-0-0-0 versus Reading on the season. This will be the K-Wings first visit to the Sovereign Center since opening night, back on October 15th.

On Saturday, March 6th, the K-Wings will travel to the First Arena to tangle with the Elmira Jackals. Saturday’s contest will be the first match-up in the ECHL between the teams and their first encounter since the 2006-07 season, when the teams were members of the United Hockey League. Elmira is 8-2-0-0 in their last 10 games and is in first place in the east.

Kalamazoo will conclude the week on Sunday, March 7th with a return engagement at the Sovereign Center against Reading. The Royals are currently in second place in the East Division.

Lloyd Nears Milestone

Forward Darryl Lloyd is closing in a on a personal milestone. Lloyd needs two more points to reach 200 in his career.

Rolling Along

Forward Dean Strong has earned points in four straight games for the K-Wings. The four-game points streak by Strong is the longest current point streak by a member of the K-Wings.

On the Road Again

With Wings Stadium preparing to host the USA Curling Nationals (Mar. 6th-13th), the K-Wings will get to spend sometime on the road. Starting Wednesday, Kalamazoo will commence a season-high seven-game road swing.

Earning Points

The K-Wings start the week on a six-game unbeaten streak. Kalamazoo is 5-0-0-1 during the current stretch.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

Kalamazoo’s next six games will be against teams from the East Division. On the season, the K-Wings are 9-1-0-0 versus teams from the east.

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.

McGuirk and Morrow on the Radio

Join special guests Brian McGuirk and Tom Morrow 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.