WINGS WEEKLY: WINGS SPEND FINAL SEVEN GAMES ON THE ROAD

Last Week:

Wed., March 20 – Kalamazoo at Fort Wayne, W, 4-3

Sat., March 23 – Kalamazoo vs Wheeling, W, 3-2

This Week:

Wed., March 27 – Kalamazoo at Fort Wayne, 7:30pm

Fri., March 29 – Kalamazoo at Indy, 7:35pm

Sat., March 16 – Kalamazoo at Toledo, 7:15pm

Sun., March 17 – Kalamazoo at Wheeling, 3:05pm

Upcoming:

Watch Party:

The K-Wings will host the final watch party of the regular season on Friday night as the team heads to Indianapolis to take on the Fuel. Fans are invited to head to Old Burdick’s at Wings West with the festivities starting at 7:00pm. Puck will drop at 7:35pm. ECHL.TV will be the only option for fans to catch the game live on Friday as the live broadcast won’t be aired until 11:00pm on 1660 AM in Kalamazoo due to programming conflicts.

Quick Hits:

St. Paddy’s Day Jersey Auction Raises over $13,330:

Last Sunday, March 17, the K-Wings raised just over $13,330 for Buy Local through the St. Patrick’s Day jersey auction. The special green jerseys were auctioned off on the ice after the game in the last live auction of the season for K-Wings jerseys. The proceeds will be donated to Buy Local to support their efforts in the Kalamazoo community.

Central Division Update:

The K-Wings won both games last week pushing their point total to 72 points. Kalamazoo currently holds the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division while holding a four point lead on Indy who sits in fifth. One spot ahead of the K-Wings in third place is Fort Wayne who has racked up 74 points. Cincinnati has already claimed the division title, while also clinching a playoff spot. Toledo, who sits in second, has also clinched a playoff spot. Kalamazoo’s magic number to clinch, based off Indy’s maximum 80 points, sits at nine points heading into the week.

All On The Road:

With seven games left in the regular season the K-Wings will play each remaining game away from Wings Event Center. The K-Wings kick off the final stretch with a four game in five day stretch taking on all divisional foes traveling to Fort Wayne, Indy, Toledo and Wheeling. After Sunday’s game in Wheeling Kalamazoo will play the remaining three games against non-divisional foes. Kalamazoo finished the home portion of the regular season with a record of 20-13-1-2 at Wings Event Center. The team is currently 14-14-1-0 away from home.

Career Marks:

Forward Tanner Sorenson tied a career high with his 20th goal of the season on Saturday evening at Wings Event Center. The tally also made Sorenson the fourth K-Wing to surpass the 20-goal mark this season. The forward has already set a career high with 61 points through 48 games this season.

Top Rookie:

A two-point night on Wednesday night against Fort Wayne helped Chris Collins expand his point total to 62 for the season. Collins continues to post the best rookie mark in the ECHL era of the Kalamazoo Wings. With seven games left the forward ranks 12th among all K-Wings rookies in scoring. Collins is four points shy of passing Mitch Messier (66 points) and cracking the top ten all-time.

Central Division Standings:

1. Cincinnati, (47-12-4-3), 101 pts
2. Toledo, (36-20-6-3), 81 pts
3. Fort Wayne, (32-23-4-6), 74 pts
4. Kalamazoo, (34-27-2-2), 72 pts
5. Indy, (32-30-2-2), 68 pts
6. Wheeling, (29-29-6-2), 66 pts

K-Wings Leaders:

1. Chris Collins, F, 28g, 34a-62 pts
2. Tanner Sorenson, F, 20g, 41a-61 pts
3. Kyle Blaney, F, 11g, 31a-42 pts
4. Kyle Bushee, D, 9g, 26a-35 pts