Kalamazoo, MI- Scratching and clawing all night long, the Kalamazoo Wings could pull ahead on the scoreboard, but in the end they still forged ahead in the North Division standings with a 6-5 shootout loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones.

Most fans would of guess that Wednesday’s night contest between the K-Wings and Cyclones would be a defensive battle and they would have presumed wrong.

Cincinnati pulled ahead with three unanswered goals, starting with the first shot of the game from Scott Reynolds (23rd) 1:39 into the game.

Stealing the puck from Ryan Nie, Dustin Sproat (22nd) slid the puck underneath the netminder to push Cincinnati up by two goals 11:35 into the period.

Continuing to light the lamp, a blue-line power-play blast from Jason Jozsa (4th) extended the Cyclones lead to 3-0.

Mounting a comeback, Dean Strong (14th), extended his home point streak to 14 games, with a power-play marker 16:35 into the period.

Two minutes later, Sam Ftorek (25th) finished off a two-on-one odd-man rush from a pass from Andrew Fournier to bring the K-Wings back to within a single goal.

In the second period, Kalamazoo kept the pendulum swinging their way, with a power-play equalizer from Jon Landry (10th).

Cincinnati regained the lead later in the period with a man-advantage goal from Jimmy Kilpatrick (15th).

Always relentless, Strong (15th) brought the game back to even scoring his second of the night.

Claiming the lead for the third time in the contest, Sproat gave the Cyclones a 5-4 lead just 18 seconds after Strong’s goal.

Entering the night, with only a two-point lead in the division, it was imperative that the K-Wings either win the game or at least force overtime. Rick Cleaver helped Kalamazoo achieve their objective recording his team-leading 69th point on his team-leading 31st goal of the season. Mathieu Curadeau, who received the primary assist on the tally, extended his point streak to four games.   

Eventually heading into overtime, neither team was able to score in the five-minute session. Kalamazoo had a best of the chances in overtime, as they finished the OT on a four-on-three power-play.

Outlasting the K-Wings in the shootout, the Cyclones won the contest in the fifth round with a goal from Barrett Ehgoetz. Cincinnati out-scored Kalamazoo 2-1 in the shootout, with the K-Wings lone tally coming from Matt Jones, who his now 3-for-3 in the extra session.

The teams each finished the game with 29 shots. Nie stopped 23 shots in the shootout loss, while Jeremy Smith turned aside 24 shots in the victory.

For Game Stats: http://echl.leaguestat.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=7869.       

The K-Wings will continue their home stand this Friday, April 2nd with a 7:30 p.m. face-off versus the Toledo Walleye on Celebration! Cinema Night. Friday night is also a Frugal Fan Friday, which features $1 beer and $1 hot dogs. All fans coming to the contest will also receive a FREE 2009-10 K-Wings team poster courtesy of Fed-Ex Office.   

Single-game tickets for any of the K-Wings 36 regular season home games are currently on sale at the Wings Stadium Ticket Office. Ticket Office hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information, call 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                        

 

                                                              

 

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