FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 6, 2020

K-WINGS LEAPFROG NAILERS WITH 4-2 WIN

Kalamazoo wins seventh game against Wheeling and moves into fifth place in the Central Division.

Box Score

KALAMAZOO, MI – A seventh win over division foe Wheeling in eight meetings propelled the Kalamazoo Wings (23-27-7-1) ahead of the Nailers (24-29-5-0) into fifth place in the Central Division standings Friday in a 4-2 game at Wings Event Center.

The K-Wings scored one minute into the game and never trailed, as Brennan Sanford deflected a shot from Ben Wilson into the net to open the scoring. Wheeling, however, forced a tie twice to keep the game tight from beginning to end. Alec Butcher floated a shot past Jake Hildebrand’s blocker to even things up 1-1 heading into the first break.

Kalamazoo regained the lead 5:26 into the second period when Spencer Naas fired a wrist shot under Alex D’Orio’s glove from high in the slot. Again, the Nailers answered when Renars Krastenbergs’ shot clanked off the crossbar and Cam Brown buried the rebound into an open net. Aaron Thow put the K-Wings in front for good when he fired a one-timer past D’Orio with one second left on Kalamazoo’s only power play, making it 3-2 after two.

Wheeling’s only power play came in the final two minutes of the game as the Nailers needed a goal to tie. From the full length of the ice, Kyle Blaney flung the puck 200 feet and into an empty net for a short-handed goal with 1:07 to play, adding insurance for Kalamazoo to finish off the win. Hildebrand stopped 29 of 31 in the win.

The K-Wings head to Memorial Coliseum Saturday for the final meeting of the season with the Fort Wayne Komets at 7:35 p.m. Catch all the action on 1660 AM in Kalamazoo or online on ECHL TV.

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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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