Wings earn weekend sweep of Beast in home-and-home

BRAMPTON, ON, CA—Two third period goals separated by only ten seconds made the difference as the Kalamazoo Wings capped off a weekend sweep of the Brampton Beast by winning 5-4 on Sunday at Powerade Centre.

For the second straight night, Brampton notched the first goal of the game against Kalamazoo. While on a power play try, Stefan Fournier battled in front of the goal and was able to strike on a put-back tally after his first effort was stonewalled by Wings’ goalie Michael Garteig.

Earning an extended five-on-three power play, the Wings drew even with beautiful puck movement in the attacking zone. Danny Moynihan possessed the puck at the right-side faceoff circle, and a backdoor feed allowed Justin Taylor to tap in and tie the game at one.

Five minutes later, Taylor buried his second goal of the night and reached 150 in his career with a short-side wrister on another assist from Moyninhan. The goal gave the Wings a 2-1 lead which held through the rest of the period, and into the intermission.

The Beast came back to life in the second period and were on the fortunate end of an impossibly angled shot. Brandon MacLean’s effort from below the goal line ricocheted off the pads of Garteig and into the goal.

After killing a penalty four minutes later, Brampton took their second lead of the game on MacLean’s second of the period. Racing ahead with Thomas Ebbing, MacLean drove to the goal, and tipped Ebbing’s pass into the net while being hauled down to the ice.

Working on yet another power play, Kalamazoo evened the game at three goals apiece. Kyle Bushee held the line in Brampton territory by gloving down a clearance attempt, and sweeping the puck towards the goal. Brampton goalie Marcus Hogberg made the initial save, but Lane Scheidl stuck with the play and powered a loose puck home for his second of the season.

Entering the third in a tie game, the Wings took over in a hurry and established a multi-goal lead over the course of ten seconds in the early stages of the third. While on the power play, Moynihan jammed a shot towards the goal, resulting in a pad save from Hogberg. Tyler Biggs chased the rebound and slid a backhander into the back of the net.

On the ensuing faceoff, and ten seconds after Biggs’ goal, the Wings earned a game-high two-goal lead. Speeding forward, Peter Schneider dropped the puck off for Josh Pitt, whose quick wrist shot sailed into the top corner of the goal, putting Kalamazoo ahead, 5-3.

On their seventh power play of the game, the Beast clawed to within a goal after a beautiful passing play opened Kevin Dufour on the doorstep for a wide-open finish.

Brampton pulled their netminder in favor of an extra attacker in the waning moments of the third, but the stout Kalamazoo Wings defense kept them away from the threatening areas and helped seal a 5-4 road victory.

Next: Kalamazoo vs. Kansas City Mavericks, Wednesday, October 25, 10:30 a.m., Wings Event Center.

Broadcast information: Wednesday’s game will air on AM 1660 The Fan in Kalamazoo or online at www.1660thefan.com/listen-live.

Notes: Taylor scored his 150th career goal… Fournier was assessed a game misconduct at the 9:46 mark of the first period for leaving the penalty box to fight…With his assist in the third period, Schneider has points in 17 straight games, spanning back to March 5 of last season…Kalamazoo went 3/7 on the power play and 5/7 on the penalty kill… Kalamazoo have won nine of their last ten against Brampton and 16 of their last 20.

Stats: https://www.echl.com/stats/game-center/14968

Single-game tickets are on sale! Tickets start as low as $10 and can be purchased at http://kwings.com/SingleGameTickets or at the Wings Event Center box office.

Wings Event Center, owned and operated by Greenleaf Hospitality Group, is home to the minor league hockey team Kalamazoo Wings and a full entertainment venue offering concerts, sporting events, family shows and trade shows. Built in 1974, Wings Event Center values partnerships with the community to bring events and attractions that enrich the lives of residents in the Kalamazoo area.

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