K-WINGS WEEKLY: K-WINGS TRY TO CLIMB DIVISION LADDER

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 22, 2021

K-WINGS TRY TO CLIMB DIVISION LADDER

Kalamazoo hosts Fort Wayne mid-week, Take on Cincinnati in Home/Home weekend series

OVERALL RECORD:  6-4-0-0

LAST WEEK:  1-1-0-0

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, host Fort Wayne Wednesday night for 2-6-9 Night in Kalamazoo, followed by a home/home series with the Cincinnati Cyclones starting Friday.

The K-Wings hit the road for a weekend trip to Indiana this past week. The offense stalled on Friday night in Fort Wayne, as Kalamazoo fell to the Komets by a score of 4-2. It was a different story on Saturday, as the K-Wings took on the Indy Fuel, winning 5-3 behind a hat trick from Justin Taylor.

Kalamazoo hosts Fort Wayne in a rematch of Friday, for a 7:00 p.m. EST face-off at Wings Event Center for another edition of 2-6-9 Night, before heading to Cincinnati Friday for their second visit to take on the Cyclones at 7:35 p.m. EST at Heritage Bank Center. The Cyclones and K-Wings will do battle again in Kalamazoo on Saturday for Lavender Ice Night at 7:00 p.m. EST.

RESULTS

Friday, Nov. 19 – Fort Wayne 4, Kalamazoo 2 (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum – Fort Wayne, IN) | Box Score

>> The first period was marred by penalties, mostly on Kalamazoo. Fort Wayne capitalized on power play opportunities. Fort Wayne would score again two minutes later. The K-Wings answered with 2:02 remaining. Erik Bradford intercepted a pass and found Logan Lambdin to drain a shot past the Komets goaltender. Five minutes into the second frame, the Komets found the net again. It was a clean period all the way around as neither team committed a penalty. In the third, the Komets scored an insurance goal during a power play opportunity. A minute later, Brenden Miller found the back of the net on a ricocheted shot to make it 4-2. Kalamazoo outshot Fort Wayne 41 to 31 in the loss. Greaves stopped 27 of 31 shots faced to take the loss.

Saturday, Nov. 20 – Indy 3, Kalamazoo 5 (Indiana Farmer’s Coliseum – Indianapolis, IN) | Box Score

>> The game got off to a slow start as the first goal did not come until 3:58 remaining in the first period. On a power-play opportunity, great passing left Captain Justin Taylor wide open in front of the net to open the scoring. In the second, Taylor found the net on a rebound during another power play to make it 2-0 Kalamazoo. Two minutes later, Jake Slaker intercepted a pass in the neutral zone drained a slap shot in the top corner of the net.  Newly minted K-Wing defenseman Giovanni Vallati caught the Fuel asleep during a line change and banged a slap shot from between the circles to put Kalamazoo up 4-0. In the third frame, Taylor found the net for the third time on another rebound giving the K-Wings some much-needed insurance. Jet Greaves stopped 32 of 35 shots faced.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday, Nov. 24 – Fort Wayne AT Kalamazoo, 7:00 p.m. – Wings Event Center (Kalamazoo, MI)

Friday, Nov. 26 – Kalamazoo AT Cincinnati, 7:35 p.m. – Heritage Bank Center (Cincinnati, OH)

Saturday, Nov. 27 – Cincinnati AT Kalamazoo, 7:00 p.m. – Wings Event Center (Kalamazoo, MI)

ON THE MOVE

11/15 – Forward Max Humitz loaned to Grand Rapids (AHL) from Kalamazoo (ECHL).

11/15 – Defenseman Giovanni Vallati loaned to Kalamazoo by Cleveland (AHL).

11/18 – Forward Jake Gaudet recalled from loan by Cleveland (AHL) from Kalamazoo (ECHL).

FAST FACTS

·               Justin Taylor recorded the first hat trick of the season for the K-Wings in their win over Indy.

·               Giovanni Vallati and Logan Lambdin netted their first professional goals last week.

·               Brenden Miller is fifth among defenseman in points in the ECHL.

TEAM TRENDS

·               Kalamazoo is 5-0 when scoring first. They are one of three teams who have not lost after scoring first (Orlando, Reading).

·               At 25.8%, the K-Wings are third in the ECHL in power play conversions. Their 31 opportunities are tied for second fewest in the league.

·               The K-Wings are averaging 3.40 goals a game, fourth in the ECHL behind Utah, Newfoundland, and Toledo.

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:               14 – Justin Taylor

GOALS:                 6 – Justin Taylor

ASSISTS:               8 – Justin Taylor

PLUS/MINUS:    +10 – Brenden Miller

PIMS:                   21 –Tanner Sorenson

PP GOALS:          4 – Justin Taylor

SH GOALS:          2 – Erik Bradford

GW GOALS:        1 – Six players

SHOTS:                31 – Zach Jordan

WINS:                   4 – Jet Greaves

GAA:                     3.03 – Jet Greaves

SAVE %:               .907 – Jet Greaves / Trevor Gorsuch

* - currently with Cleveland (AHL)

** currently with Grand Rapids (AHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:    Last Week – 2/6  (33.3%)

                             This Season – 8/31  (25.8%) – 3rd in the ECHL

PENALTY KILL:   Last Week – 3/9  (66.6%)

                             This Season – 7/32  (78.1%) - 20th in the ECHL

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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 Columbus Blue Jackets and American Hockey League’s Cleveland Monsters. Kalamazoo plays their 36 regular season home games at Wings Event Center from October through Apri