K-WINGS SET SIGHT ON DIVISION LEADERS, HIT STRIDE BEFORE ALL-STAR BREAK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 17, 2022

K-WINGS SET SIGHTS ON DIVISION LEADERS, HIT STRIDE BEFORE ALL-STAR BREAK

Kalamazoo hits the road for two before coming home to end the weekend.

OVERALL RECORD:  19-13-0-0

LAST WEEK:  3-1-0-0

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, winners of eight of their last 11 games, play in three cities in as many nights this week.

Kalamazoo heads to Wheeling (17-14-1-0) first on Friday with puck drop at 7:10 p.m. Then the team heads to Indy for a home and home series starting at 7 p.m. on Saturday against the Fuel with Sunday’s rematch set for 3 p.m. at Wings Event Center.

Last week, the Kardiac K-Wings swept through their first three scheduled games in dramatic style. All three games featured a fit of three straight goals for the Wings. Kalamazoo matched a season high with four-straight wins versus Fort Wayne (Wednesday, 5-4), Toledo (Friday, 4-2) and Cincinnati (Saturday, 5-3) on Meadmore Jersey Retirement Night. Fort Wayne returned the favor on Sunday, though (5-3).

Defenseman Brenden Miller, currently called up to the AHL’s Iowa Wild, is Kalamazoo’s selection for the 2022 ECHL All-Star Game today at 7:30 p.m. in Jacksonville. Miller will not participate in the game.

This Sunday is ‘Kids Day’ when Kalamazoo hosts the Indy Fuel (14-14-2-2) at 3 p.m. EST at Wings Event Center. The first 600 kids (under 12) receive a K-Wings youth jersey! Fans are encouraged to bring skates, too, as they’re welcome to skate on the main ice following the game.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN DETAIL

SUNDAY: On ‘Kids Day,’ the first 600 kids (under 12) receive a K-Wings Youth Jersey. All fans are welcome to skate the ice post game.

**Due to current league Health and Safety protocols, players will not participate in the post-game skate.

RESULTS

Friday, Jan. 12 –Fort Wayne 4, Kalamazoo 5 (Wings Event Center– Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>> The K-Wings used puck luck and resiliency to earn the 5-4 victory at home on Wednesday, and it was another comeback win for the K-Wings. This time, the game winner was attributed to a friendly home team bounce off the boards that landed directly on the stick of Logan Lambdin (13) with 52 seconds remaining for Kalamazoo. The game started with a pair of shorthanded goals in the first 11 minutes, though. First it was the Komets, and then Kyle Blaney (5) returned the favor. Cody Corbet’s (1) floater about 8-feet inside the blue line, against the boards, gave the K-wings the 2-1 lead at the first intermission. Then, in just his second game with Kalamazoo, the veteran Greg Mauldin (1) scored his first goal of the season and extended the lead to 3-1. The Komets scored three unanswered goals to take a late lead. But it was Greg Betzold (4) who snapped the twine from the right circle, tying the game 4-4, which set the stage for the game winner. Trevor Gorsuch (6-7) made 31 saves in the win.

Friday, Jan. 14 – Toledo 2, Kalamazoo 4 (Wings Event Center– Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>  Kalamazoo scored three goals in a span of 2:55 to end the game and got the 4-2 win on Marvel Night at Wings Event Center. Justin Murray (3) started the offensive assault by burying his on-point slapper from the left circle with 3:45 remaining to tie the game (2-2). It took just a minute and thirteen seconds for the K-Wings to net the deflected game-winner off the stick of Jake Slaker (7). Tanner Sorenson then sealed the game with an empty netter. Kalamazoo dominated the first period of play, outshooting the Walleye by a total of 17 to nine but trailed 1-0. Finally, after controlling the pace for much of the second, Max Humitz (10) scored, tying the game at one at the 10:06 mark. Trevor Gorsuch (7-7) made his presence known all evening, turning away 27 shots in the win.

Saturday, Jan. 15 – Cincinnati 3, Kalamazoo 5 (Wings Event Center – Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>  The K-Wings ensured Neil Meadmore remembered his night, and scored a downpour of goals in the second period to claim a 5-3 win at Wings Event Center on Saturday. On a night when one of the greatest K-Wings of all time had his No. 27 retired, Kalamazoo out-worked Cincinnati to earn its fourth straight victory in pure Meadmore style. Jake Slaker (8) and Logan Lambdin (9) netted the first period goals within the first 12 minutes of the game. Then Cincinnati climbed back in it with two goals in a span of 1:48 and the period ended tied (2-2). It took only seven minutes for the K-Wings to dismantle the Cyclones in the second. Matheson Iacopelli (3) scored at the 8:04 mark. Then the Captain, Justin Taylor (12), pumped in the game winning goal with 1:38 remaining in the second. Slaker (9) then added his second of the game 38 seconds later to cap a 3-point game. Trevor Gorsuch (8-7) earned his third win of the week finishing with 33 saves on the night.

Sunday, Jan. 16 – Fort Wayne 5, Kalamazoo 2 (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum– Fort Wayne, IN) | Box Score

>>  Things looked on-par to start for the K-Wings as they jumped out to an early two goal lead. Jake Slaker (10) opened the scoring early in the first period. In the second, Tanner Sorenson (11) pushed the K-Wings out to a 2-0 lead after receiving a gorgeous cross-crease feed from Justin Murray (6), but the Komets would net five unanswered (one empty netter) to walk away on top. Jason Pawloski (1-1) stopped 23 shots in his first loss as a K-Wing.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday, Jan. 21 – Kalamazoo AT Wheeling, 7:10 p.m. EST –WesBanco Arena (Wheeling, WV)

Saturday, Jan. 22 – Kalamazoo AT Indy, 7:00 p.m. EST – Indiana Farmers Coliseum (Indianapolis, IN)

Sunday, Jan. 23 – Indy AT Kalamazoo, 3:00 p.m. EST – Wings Event Center (Kalamazoo, MI)

 ON THE MOVE

No Transactions were made in the last week.

 FAST FACTS

• Forward Tanner Sorenson played in his 250th ECHL game vs the Cincinnati Cyclones on Saturday.
• K-Wings great Neil Meadmore had his #27 jersey retired on Saturday.
• Forward Logan Lambdin has points in seven of his last nine games (6 goals, 3 assists).
• Forward Jake Slaker has points in his last three games (4 goals, 1 assist).
• DefensemanTyler Rockwell has points in five of his last six games (1 goal, 4 assist).

TEAM TRENDS

• Kalamazoo is averaging 4.12 goals/game at home this season.
• The K-Wings are 9-5 when following a loss this season.
• The K-Wings are 10-1 when leading after two periods

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:             28 – Justin Taylor, Tanner Sorenson

GOAL:                 14   – Logan Lambdin

ASSISTS:             17 – Erik Bradford**, Tanner Sorenson

PLUS/MINUS:     +16 – Andrew DeBrincat

PIMS:                    60 – Brenden Miller***

PP GOALS:           6 – Justin Taylor

SH GOALS:           3 – Erik Bradford**

GW GOALS:       3 – Erik Bradford**

SHOTS:               91 – Tanner Sorenson

WINS:                  10 – Jet Greaves*

GAA:                  3.05 – Jet Greaves*

SAVE %:            .907 – Jet Greaves*

* Currently with Cleveland (AHL)

** Currently with Grand Rapids (AHL)

*** Currently with Iowa (AHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:   Last Week – 0/16 (00.0%)

                             This Season – 23/119 (19.3%) – 11th in the ECHL                          

PENALTY KILL:   Last Week – 12/15 (80.0%)

                             This Season – 74/95 (77.9%) – 21st 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 April.