Wings victims of Brampton's timely outburst

KALAMAZOO, MI— The Kalamazoo Wings had a 3-2 lead in the third period, but three unanswered goals from the Brampton Beast forced Kalamazoo to suffer a 5-3 setback on Tuesday night at Wings Event Center.

After a scoreless first 19:36 of the first period, the Beast used a four-minute power play to score the only goal of the frame. Michael Garteig made a number of saves in the early-goings of the power play, but one rebound bounced into the slot where Alex Foster put it back towards the goal for his 11th of the year. The late Brampton goal put Kalamazoo behind, 1-0, after the first 20 minutes.

Early in the second, the Wings tied the game at one by crashing the goal and cashing in on a rebound opportunity. Aaron Irving held in a Beast clearance attempt along the wall and reached back to unload a heavy slap shot. His drive was kicked away by the pad of Chris Driedger, but the rebound at the far post was chased and punched in by Lane Scheidl for his 13th goal of the year.

Less than two minutes after Scheidl’s tying goal, Brampton swiped the lead right back. Brandon Marino forced a steal in the Wings’ zone and he passed to a wide-open Chris Leveille, who used a head fake to deke Garteig and deposit the puck.

Before the second period came to an end, Josh Pitt tied the game and tied the Kalamazoo team lead for goals on the season. Catching a feed from Irving, Pitt carried to the top of the right circle, noticed Driedger was down, and pinpointed a shot to the top corner of the net for his 29th of the season.

Tied at two and midway through the third period, the Wings earned their first lead of the night after Scheidl tallied his second of the game. His long wrist shot from the right-side circle went off the glove of Driedger, arced behind him, and sat in the crease. Scheidl crashed the net and battled through a web of Brampton sticks to drive the puck over the line.

It was all Brampton from then on out, as the visitors took control of the game and scored three unanswered goals in the third. Matt Petgrave’s long wrist shot at the 11:37 mark changed directions multiple times before slipping past Garteig, and Brandon MacLean carved through the Wings’ defense en route to a shorthanded goal six minutes later.

Scott Jacklin put the game away for Brampton with an empty-net tally with under a minute remaining, as Kalamazoo fell by a 5-3 final at home.

Next: Kalamazoo vs. Cincinnati Cyclones- Saturday, March 17, 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/15740

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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