FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 22, 2020

BLANEY’S GOAL IN FINAL SECONDS LEADS K-WINGS PAST NAILERS

Kalamazoo picks up huge two points thanks to dramatic tiebreaking goal from Kyle Blaney with ten seconds left in regulation.

Box Score

KALAMAZOO, MI – Appearing in just his second game since returning from a month-long injury, Kalamazoo Wings (20-25-7-1) forward Kyle Blaney buried a tiebreaking goal in the waning seconds of regulation to stun the Wheeling Nailers (23-23-5-0), 3-2 Saturday at Wings Event Center.

The K-Wings center settled a bouncing puck at the point to hold the zone before stepping into the right circle and ripping a shot into the top of the net with 10.1 seconds left in the third period. The dramatic goal gave Kalamazoo its first lead of the night and a regulation win in front of 3,480 fans.

The Nailers raced out to a 1-0 lead when Blake Siebenaler fired a slap shot from the top of the right circle that flew over the glove of Jake Hildebrand 39 seconds into the game. Late in the period, Austin Farley tied things up when he caught a saucer pass from Blaney and chipped the shot past Alex D’Orio.

The goaltenders stole the show in the second period, as Hildebrand stopped 12 of 13 Nailers shots and D’Orio turned away all 10 shots he saw. Brandon Hawkins put Wheeling back in front when he lifted a shot into the net from low in the right circle. The Nailers carried the 2-1 lead into the locker room with 20 minutes to play.

Midway through the final stanza, K-Wings captain Ben Wilson, who returned to the lineup after serving a one-game suspension, evened the score with a quick shot from the right wing wall that fooled D’Orio. He finished the night with two points, as did Farley, both picking up assists on Blaney’s game-winner.

Hildebrand, in one of his best outings of the season, stopped 35 of 37 Wheeling shots, including several on a Nailers power play late in the third period with the score tied.

The K-Wings take on the Fort Wayne Komets at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday at Wings Event Center. It’s “2-6-9 Night”, featuring $2 beers and sodas, $6 wings baskets and $9 tickets.

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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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