FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2020
SORENSON LEADS COMEBACK, BUT BANGED UP WINGS FALL IN FORT WAYNE
Playing most of the game two-men short, Kalamazoo dominates second period but Komets escape at Memorial Coliseum.
FORT WAYNE, IN – A three-goal second period helped the Kalamazoo Wings (19-25-6-1) pull even while playing two-men short most of the night, but the Fort Wayne Komets (25-20-6-2) escaped with a 5-4 win at Memorial Coliseum.
The Komets power play received an early four-minute opportunity and Brady Shaw capitalized on a K-Wings turnover with a goal from the right wing circle 2:55 into the game. Fort Wayne outshot Kalamazoo 13-9 in the frame and added to its lead when Brett McKenzie snapped a shot past Jake Hildebrand on a 2-on-1 rush during a late 4-on-4 situation with 3:54 left in the period.
Kalamazoo jumped out and dominated the second period to force a 3-3 tie after 40 minutes. Tanner Sorenson scored twice, including the K-Wings first goal on a snap shot from the right wing that flew over Dylan Ferguson’s glove. The Komets regained their two-goal lead when Mason Bergh banked a shot from the corner off of a K-Wings defenseman and in for a short-handed goal, making it 3-1.
Austin Farley cleaned up a rebound from the edge of the crease to cut Kalamazoo’s deficit down to one, and Sorenson ripped home a power play goal from the left circle to tie the contest in the final minute of the stanza.
Shaw put the Komets back in front when he fired home a one-timer on a 3-on-2 rush for his second of the game, and Fort Wayne added insurance when a fluky bounce caromed off of Drake Rymsha and redirected past Hildebrand to make it 5-3 midway through the third. Kalamazoo pulled within one again when Justin Taylor capped off a 3-on-1 rush with a tap-in, but the Komets held off the Wings late push to hang on.
Kalamazoo returns home to host the Indy Fuel on Alumni Night at 7:00 p.m. Friday at Wings Event Center. The first 1,000 fans will receive a Joel Martin Bobblehead. The K-Wings then host the Wheeling Nailers at 7:00 p.m. Saturday at Wings Event Center for Wizards, Wands and Wings Night. The first 1,000 fans that night will receive an exclusive K-Wings scarf.
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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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