Wings stumble in loss at Toledo

TOLEDO, OH— The Kalamazoo Wings outshot the Toledo Walleye and scored a power play goal for the third straight game, but they couldn’t crack their opponent’s defense more than once during a 4-1 loss on Sunday at the Huntington Center.

Capitalizing on a Kalamazoo turnover, Toledo earned the night’s first lead, just 1:01 into regulation. Mike Borkowski forced a steal and tapped the puck in front to Kyle Bonis, who crashed the goal and dribbled a backhand into the net for his 25th of the season.

With under a minute remaining in the first and fresh off of killing a penalty, the Walleye doubled their advantage. A long shot by Aaron Irving was blocked by a Walleye defenseman and flew out to center, where Tyler Barnes collected it, having just been released from the box. Barnes finished the play with a deke at Joel Martin’s net, and it put Kalamazoo behind by a pair of goals at the first intermission.

Starting the second period on a power play, Toledo used the extra space to increase their edge by another goal. A.J. Jenks was passed the puck at the side of the net, and as he threw a blind, backhand pass, the puck caromed off the skate of a Wings’ defender and over the line.

Before the period came to a close and on a power play of their own, the Wings got on the board for the first time of the game. Jimmy Mullin scooped the puck to Irving, whose long slap shot from the left-side line was knocked down in front. The rebound was spotted by Justin Taylor, who turned to the forehand and lifted it over the glove of Pat Nagle.

The special teams theme continued into the third period, as the Walleye notched their second man-advantage goal of the night at the 12:08 mark. Jenks gave the puck to the left circle, where Borkowski toe-dragged a defender and wired a wrist shot into the net. Borkowski’s third-period goal was the only scoring in the final frame as the Walleye took a 4-1 win over the Wings.

Next: Kalamazoo @ South Carolina Stingrays- Tuesday, March 27, 7:05 p.m., Huntington Center.

Broadcast information: Tuesday’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/15815

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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