Wings slam door on Beast in road victory

BRAMPTON, ON, CA— Anton Cederholm scored twice and Michael Garteig turned in a 29-save performance as the Kalamazoo Wings defeated the Brampton Beast, 4-2, on Friday night at Powerade Centre.

Needing fewer than four minutes to start the night’s scoring, the Wings were on the receiving end of a fortunate bounce on their way to a 1-0 lead. Brendan Bradley looked to feed the puck to the backdoor, but it hit a Brampton skater’s leg and landed directly on the tape of Cederholm. Cederholm moved to the front of the goal and pinpointed a wrist shot past Andrew D’Agostini for his second of the year.

Aaron Irving doubled Kalamazoo’s lead about ten minutes later, when he was on the receiving end of a brilliant pass from J.T. Stenglein. Holding the puck on the left wing, Stenglein spotted a streaking Irving, who reeled in the delivery, located an open window in the goal, and deposited his eighth of the year. Irving’s late tally eventually sent Kalamazoo into the first intermission with a 2-0 lead.

Trailing by a pair in the early goings of the second period, Brampton used sustained pressure to cut the Wings’ lead in half. Luc Blain walked in from the right-wing wall and patiently waited before snapping a top-corner wrist shot for his sixth goal of the year.

Re-establishing the two-goal lead just two minutes later, Cederholm notched his second of the night with a perfectly placed short-side snap shot over the shoulder of D’Agostini. Cederholm carried in on a two-on-one rush, checked off the pass and elected to shoot, earning his third goal of the year, and a 3-1 lead for Kalamazoo.

Before the period came to a close, the Beast clawed to within a goal and sent the game to the second intermission as a one-goal affair. Going unnoticed by the Wings’ defense, Stefan Fournier found himself open in front of the net and, after catching a pass from Brandon Marino, he made forehand-to-backhand move to roof the puck.

Opening their lead to two goals for the third time on the night, Jimmy Mullin and Eric Kattelus linked up for a gorgeous play. Mullin drove into the Brampton zone, made a move around a defender and spotted Kattelus in front of the net for a one-time finish.

With time winding down, Garteig stole the show and made a series of sensational stops, keeping Brampton at bay in the closing minutes, and helping the Wings to the road triumph.

Next: Kalamazoo vs. Indy Fuel- Saturday, February 10, 7 p.m., Wings Event Center.

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

Stats: https://www.echl.com/stats/game-center/15552

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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