Wings suffer second straight loss to Thunder

KALAMAZOO, MI—The Kalamazoo Wings rallied from a two-goal deficit, but could not slow down the offensive barrage by the Adirondack Thunder during a 5-2 loss on Saturday night at Wings Event Center.

Picking up where they left off the night before, the visiting Thunder raced out to an early lead in the first period. While shorthanded, Adirondack forced a steal and scooted into the attacking zone on a two-on-one rush. James Henry snapped a long wrist shot which was kicked aside by Joel Martin, but the rebound was gobbled up and buried by Pierre-Luc Mercier.

Doubling up their advantage six minutes later, Henry and Mercier flipped the script and it was Mercier who fed Henry, who earned a breakaway on Martin and fired a wrist shot into the top corner for his sixth goal of the year.

The Wings found their spark late in the first period and cut the deficit in half after Eric Kattelus took matters into his own hands. Kattelus wiggled around three Thunder skaters and found a soft spot in the offensive zone, allowing him to serve up a drop pass to Anton Cederholm, who spotted an open corner of the goal and deposited a glove-side wrister for his first of the season.

Less than five minutes in the second period, the Wings tied the game at two after Josh Pitt followed the play to the goal and cashed in on his fifth of the season. Tyler Heinonen flipped a long shot to the goal which was saved by Connor Ingram, but Pitt drove to the net with his stick on the ice and hammered in the loose puck for the equalizer.

The Thunder took control the rest of the way as Austin Orszulak tallied twice in the second period, including 1:37 after Pitt’s goal, and again at the 11:29 mark, eventually sending the Thunder into the second intermission with a 4-2 lead.

The visitors padded their lead by a third goal when Ty Loney scored his team-leading eighth of the season, just 34 seconds into the period and while on a power play. His goal cemented the victory for Adirondack, as the Thunder swiped back-to-back wins over the Wings.

Next: Kalamazoo @ Indy Fuel- Friday, November 17, 7:35 p.m., Indiana Farmers Coliseum

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

Stats: https://www.echl.com/stats/game-center/15061

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 Kalamazoo Wings professional hockey team 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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