FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 19, 2021

KALAMAZOO COMEBACK STUNS INDY

K-Wings score five unanswered in the final seven minutes on their way to victory

Box Score

KALAMAZOO, MI— The Kalamazoo Wings (12-10-0-0) completed a wild third-period comeback versus the Indy Fuel (8-12-2-1) in an 8-6 victory on Sunday afternoon at Wings Event Center.

There seemed to be little hope with the K-Wings down 6-3 to the Indy Fuel with just seven minutes remaining in the third period. Then a slap shot from Jake Slaker with 6:13 remaining awoke a sleeping giant. The one-timer from the right circle ignited a comeback for the ages.

At 4:16 left in the third period, Wings Forward Raymond Brice redirected a shot from Tyler Rockwell to bring Kalamazo within one of the Fuel. A minute later, Defenseman Justin Murray connected on a snapshot between the circles to draw even for the first time in nearly 35 minutes of gameplay.

23 seconds later, Forward Max Humitz scored the eventual game-winner, his second of the game. Humitz beat the Indy defense on a breakaway opportunity that sent the Wings Event Center crowd wild. Brice added an empty-net goal for good measure to secure the victory.

Kalamazoo opened the game with two goals six minutes apart. Forward Logan Lambdin redirected a shot from Justin Taylor for his seventh goal of the season to put Kalamazoo on top 5:11 into the game.

A cross-checking penalty on Indy’s Chris Cameron gave the Wings a power-play opportunity 10:25 into the first frame. A minute later Humitz capitalized taking a nice cross-ice pass from Erik Bradford, beating the goalie, and giving the K-Wings a 2-0 lead. Indy responded with two goals of their own to close out the first period and keep things tied.

The Fuel started the scoring 45 seconds into the second frame on an unusual goal. Brice inadvertently took out Kalamazoo goalie Trevor Gorsuch as the puck slid underneath them for the goal. The K-Wings responded on another power-play. Matheson Iacopelli found the net off a face-off to even the game at three goals apiece.

Indy jumped ahead with two additional goals to take a 5-3 lead into the second intermission. The Fuel scored their final goal midway through the third period before the K-Wings comeback began.

Gorsuch stopped 6 of 11 shots before being relieved by Jet Greaves with 4:49 remaining in the second period. Greaves finished out the game stopping 6 of the 7 shots he faced to earn his seventh win of the year.

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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 April.

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