FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 7, 2020

RED HOT K-WINGS TAKE DOWN KOMETS

Late second period goal ties the game, before Kalamazoo scores two more in the third to beat Fort Wayne 5-4 at Wings Event Center.

Box Score

KALAMAZOO, MI – A breakaway tying goal with 25 seconds left in the second period and two more consecutive goals in the first eight and a half minutes of the third sparked a 5-4 win for the Kalamazoo Wings (18-21-5-1) Friday against the Fort Wayne Komets (21-17-6-2) at Wings Event Center.

Kalamazoo has now earned at least a point in seven of the team’s last eight games, going 5-1-1-1 in that stretch.

The K-Wings received a power play opportunity in the opening minute of the game, but could not convert. Shortly after the penalty ended, Fort Wayne received its first opportunity with the man-advantage, and the Komets scored late in that power play when Alan Lyszczarczyk fired a shot through the legs of Jake Kielly to make it 1-0. Kalamazoo outshot Fort Wayne 14-10 in the period, but trailed by one after 20 minutes of play.

A snipe from Boston Leier 20 second into the second period from the top of the left circle evened the score, and Kalamazoo briefly led when Ian Edmondson fired a shot from the same spot through traffic with 8:02 left in the frame. The Komets tied it at 2-2 when Stephen Baylis capitalized on a K-Wings turnover in their own zone, flipping a shot past Kielly’s blocker.

Fort Wayne then went back in front when A.J. Jenks tipped a slap pass from the edge of the crease into the net to give the Komets their second power play goal and a 3-2 lead. But the K-Wings generated some late second period magic, when Austin Farley knocked the puck away from a Fort Wayne defender, drew a delayed penalty and tucked a shot between the legs of Patrick Munson for a breakaway goal with 25 seconds left in the middle period.

Newcomer Seamus Malone, who arrived in Kalamazoo Thursday from the American Hockey League’s Utica Comets, gave the Wings a 4-3 lead 5:24 into the final stanza. Defenseman Aaron Thow then made it 5-3 with a blast from the point on the K-Wings third power play with 11:32 remaining in regulation.

The Komets pulled Munson for an extra attacker late and Lyszczarczyk scored his second of the game from the left circle to make it 5-4 with 1:11 to play. A seventh power play and fourth in the back half of the third period gave Fort Wayne one last gasp to tie it, but Kielly and the K-Wings hung on for the victory. Kielly stopped 28 of 32 shots in the win.

The K-Wings host the Indy Fuel at 7:00 p.m. Saturday at Wings Event Center for Marvel Super Hero Night, featuring Spiderman. Kalamazoo will wear special Spiderman jerseys which will be auctioned off following the game.

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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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