FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 8, 2020
WINGS FALL IN UPHILL BATTLE AGAINST FUEL
Kalamazoo suffers 4-2 loss to Indy in penalty-riddled game to wrap up an otherwise successful week at Wings Event Center.
KALAMAZOO, MI – Special teams cost the Kalamazoo Wings (18-22-5-1) Saturday in a 4-2 loss to the Indy Fuel (25-19-2-1) at Wings Event Center. Indy converted on two of seven power play opportunities and held Kalamazoo off the board on four chances in the penalty-riddled affair.
The two teams combined for 18 penalty minutes and five power play opportunities in the opening frame. Indy started the scoring on their first man-advantage, when Alex Krushelnyski set up Ryan Van Stralen for a one-timer low in the right circle and Van Stralen beat Jake Hildebrand. Kalamazoo tied the game at even strength when Justin Kovacs kicked the puck onto his stick and ripped a shot past Charles Williams from between the circles.
The K-Wings killed off a second period penalty, but Indy regained the lead on a turnover behind the net that led to a goal-mouth scramble. Michael Doherty jammed home the loose puck in the crease to make it 2-1 at 4:50 of the frame. A late penalty put Kalamazoo short-handed a fifth time and that two-minute minor carried over into the third period of a one-goal game.
Indy added to its lead with another power play goal 6:32 into the third period, as Bobby McIntyre scored from high in the slot late in the Fuel’s sixth of seven total power play chances. Mitch Eliot cut the K-Wings’ deficit down to one when he circled the perimeter and cut through the slot, before snapping a shot under Williams’ blocker to make it 3-2 with 11:30 to play. An empty net goal from Doherty, his second of the game sealed Indy’s 4-2 win with one minute left.
The K-Wings next head to Fort Wayne Wednesday for a 7:35 p.m. tilt at Memorial Coliseum. Catch all the action on 1660 AM in Kalamazoo or on ECHL TV online, with pregame coverage starting at 7:15 p.m.
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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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