Wings return to top four by earning point in Quad City

MOLINE, IL— The Kalamazoo Wings lost in a shootout by a 5-4 margin against the Quad City Mallards, but the standings point acquired moved them back into the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division with two games remaining in the regular season.

Earning a power play in the opening six minutes of the game, Kalamazoo needed little time to get ahead of Quad City. Setting up around the perimeter, Eric Kattelus dished the puck to Kyle Blaney on the left wing. Blaney looked up and fired a backdoor feed to Justin Taylor, who had an open net from an acute angle and fired in his career-high 34th goal of the season.

Just nine seconds after Taylor’s goal, the Mallards tied the game at a goal apiece. Winning the ensuing face-off, Ryan McGrath scooted up the right wing side and snapped a wrist shot which sailed under the bar for his 16th of the season. The two goals in under ten seconds was the only scoring during a back-and-forth first period, which saw the Wings outshoot their opponent, 15-10.

Early in the second period and capitalizing on an attacking-zone draw, Kalamazoo went back on top with their second goal of the night. Josh Pitt bounced the face-off to the hash mark on the right circle, and Jimmy Mullin didn’t skip a beat before he one-timed the bouncing puck through the unsuspecting legs of Eric Hartzell.

Battling back to eventually tie the game for the second time on the night, Quad City equalized at the 16:14 mark of the second period. After being handed the puck behind the Wings’ goal, Stanislav Dzhakov wrapped it around to the glove side of Michael Garteig and knuckled it past the Kalamazoo netminder.

Shortly after the third period got underway, the Wings earned their third lead of the night. In similar fashion to their second goal, a victorious face-off in the offensive zone allowed Lane Scheidl to pocket his 17th of the season. Blaney pulled the puck back to Scheidl, who quickly zipped it towards the net, over the glove of Harzell and in.

Five minutes later, the Mallards evened the score after a fortunate bounce allowed Matt Pohlkamp to tally. A long shot from the line re-directed off a body in front of the goal and slid directly to Pohlkamp’s stick on the right wing. He one-touched the puck into the back of the net and made it 3-3 with under 13 minutes remaining.

As the third period progressed into the final minutes, the chances continued on both ends of the ice and the Wings cashed in. Pitt controlled the puck high in the zone and floated a long shot towards the net. Streaking to the middle, Brendan Bradley reached his stick out and re-directed Pitt’s try into back of the net.

Trailing by a goal in the closing minutes, Quad City pulled Hartzell in favor of an extra attacker. Out of a timeout with under 30 seconds to go, the Mallards won a draw in the offensive zone and got the puck to the net. Garteig made the first stop, but chaos ensued, and Alex Globke spotted the loose puck and dribbled it in to tie the game. His late marker forced a three-on-three overtime session.

Neither team could come up with the winner during the sudden death period, and the 4-4 game went into a shootout. Danny Moynihan scored for the Wings in the second round of the shootout, but Quentin Shore extended it with a goal in the third. Chris Izmirlian eventually earned the winning goal in the shootout during the sixth round.

Next: Kalamazoo vs. Brampton Beast- Saturday, April 7, 7 p.m., Wings Event Center.

Broadcast information: Saturday’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/15868

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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