Wings drop goalie duel in Brampton

Brampton, ON, CA— The Kalamazoo Wings were provided a 38-save performance by Joel Martin, but could only muster up one goal as they dropped a 2-1 decision against the Brampton Beast on Friday night at Powerade Centre.

After a scoreless first 14 minutes of the opening period, the Wings surrendered the first of the night after the Beast generated a point-blank opportunity. Chris Leveille carried towards the goal and found a soft spot near the crease, which allowed him time to slide the puck along to Brandon Marino. Marino was on the doorstep and poked in his team-leading 16th of the season for the first period’s lone strike.

Needing just over five minutes of time in the second period to draw even, Kalamazoo were on the receiving end of a generous bounce. A rolling puck landed on the tape of Tyler Heinonen, who was standing below the goal line, behind the net of Chris Drieder. Heinonen elected to get the puck to the net anyway, and he was rewarded after it banked off Drieder’s rear end and dribbled over the goal line.

Brampton roared back to take the lead in the closing minutes of the second while operating on their second power play of the game. Right off the faceoff in the Wings’ zone, Jordan Henry sent a pass to Cody Donaghey, who took two steps towards the goal before uncorking a top-corner-finding wrist shot. The late Beast goal sent Kalamazoo into the locker room trailing by a goal after forty minutes of play.

The third period put the goalies on full display, as Joel Martin was tested with 12 shots from Brampton and came up with stops for each try. Down by a goal and looking to do what they can to claw back, the Wings threw everything they had at Drieder, generating 14 attempts. Dreider stopped all of Kalamazoo’s efforts, including a flurry down the stretch with Martin on the bench for an extra attacker. Drieder’s door-slamming performance helped carry Brampton to a 2-1 win.

Next: Kalamazoo vs. Brampton Beast- Saturday, March 3, 7:00 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/15676

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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