K-WINGS STAY THE COURSE, STUN RAILERS IN OT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 5, 2022

K-WINGS STAY THE COURSE, STUN RAILERS IN OT

Justin Taylor lifts Kalamazoo past Worcester in overtime, after Matheson Iacopelli ties the game in the final minutes, and Trevor Gorsuch dazzles. 

BOX SCORE

WORCESTER, MA - It was a straight up goaltenders duel in Worcester, and Justin Taylor owned the hero role as the Kalamazoo Wings (22-17-0-0) came from behind to clip the Worcester Railers (16-18-2-1) in overtime Saturday at the DCU Center, 2-1.

This was a game that any hockey fan would have enjoyed. It had everything. Big saves, big hits and big time goals. 

It took just 53-seconds into the extra frame for Justin Taylor (13) to stuff the juicy rebound into the net off the initial Matheson Iacopelli shot. And as the K-Wings celebrated, one couldn’t help but see how proud they were of the way they earned this OT win. 

And the combination of Iacopelli and Taylor was also responsible for getting the team to extra time. 

In a game where K-Wings goaltender Trevor Gorsuch (11-10) and Railers netminder Colton Ellis (7-4) combined to make 67 saves, it took Kalamazoo 57 minutes and 21 seconds to find the equalizer. 

But the captain was able to chip the puck to Matheson Iacopelli (6) at the blue line, and the Western Michigan product did the rest. 

Iacopelli used max effort to beat Worcester’s Justin Osmanski and knife through the right circle to the front of the net for the backhand to forehand topshelf game-tying score. Justin Murray (9) took home the second assist on the play.

Eric Kattelus (1) made history in his second game back, too. His assist on the game-winning goal moved him into a tie with Kevin Evans for 11th all time in K-Wings history for points scored (288). 

Despite the position in this story, Trevor Gorsuch played his best game of the season Saturday. The K-Wings netminder has gone 3-1 over his last four starts and has made 147 saves along the way. 

None bigger than the 15 he made just minutes into the first period after helping his team kill off a 5 on 3 penalty situation. 

The K-Wings also overcame a 19-9 shot deficit after one period and finished on top of the score sheet with a final total of 36-34.

With the win the K-Wings evened up the season series with the Railers (1-1). The rubber match against Worcester is set for 3:05 p.m. Sunday at the DCU Center. 

--

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.