FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 27, 2019

K-WINGS EXPLODE FOR SEVEN GOALS IN BIG WIN OVER FUEL

Kalamazoo scores four second period goals and add three in the third period to extend winning streak to three games in return from break.

Box Score

KALAMAZOO, MI – A four-goal second period onslaught led the Kalamazoo Wings (10-14-3-0) to a 7-3 win over the Indy Fuel (14-14-0-0) in the first game back from holiday break Friday at Wings Event Center.

The two teams combined for just nine shots in the opening period, as Indy struck first with a Spencer Watson power play goal from the right circle in the final minute of the frame. The goal came on the Fuel’s second shot of the game.

Kalamazoo answered with a bang, scoring four times in the second period, the most in any period this season. Ben Wilson cut through the slot and deflected a Dylan Sadowy centering feed into the net to tie the game at 1-1. The assist was Sadowy’s first of four in the game.

Aaron Thow put the K-Wings in front for good when he trailed a short-handed 2-on-1 rush and Kyle Blaney fed him a pass. Thow quickly shot it over Charles Williams blocker for his third goal of the season. Kalamazoo then made it 3-1 when Justin Kovacs tapped in a loose puck out of a net mouth scramble for a power play goal.

Indy scored a second power play goal when Derian Plouffe banked a centering pass off of a K-Wings defender in the crease from beneath the goal line to cut the Fuel’s deficit to one, but Justin Taylor answered with 1:24 left in the second period with a power play goal of his own. It was Taylor’s third power play marker in as many games and the eventual game-winner.

Dylan McLaughlin scored 5:30 into the third period with a wrist shot from the left circle to bring Indy back to within one, but Luke Sandler fired a low shot from way out just 17 seconds later to put Kalamazoo up 5-3. Less than two minutes later, Tanner Sorenson scored his first of two goals when he one-timed a centering pass in front of the net from Sadowy in the corner. Sorenson’s second goal came in garbage time to make it 7-3, finishing off a four-point (two goals, two assists) game. Jake Hildebrand stopped 35 of 38 shots for his second straight victory.

The K-Wings next host the Fort Wayne Komets at 7:00 p.m. Saturday at Wings Event Center. Kalamazoo will be honoring its affiliation with the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks and American Hockey League’s Utica Comets by wearing affiliation-themed jerseys voted as the winner of the K-Wings’ annual Fan-Designed Jersey Contest. The player-worn jerseys will be auctioned off following the game.

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Kalamazoo Wings 3-Packs are now available online! Reserve your tickets for the three biggest games in the best seats with the best eats. Visit kwings.com for more information about all the perks that come with a K-Wings 3-Pack!

The Kalamazoo Wings are a professional hockey team located in southwest Michigan that has been a staple in the Kalamazoo, MI professional sports landscape since 1974. The K-Wings compete in the ECHL and are the AA affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks. Kalamazoo plays their 36 regular season home games at Wings Event Center from October through April.

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