K-WINGS DOWN HEARTLANDERS IN OT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 19, 2022

K-WINGS DOWN HEARTLANDERS IN OT 

Kalamazoo scores three in the first and finishes off Iowa in OT, 5-4.

BOX SCORE                 

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings (30-27-0-0) killed off six penalties, including one in overtime, and beat the Iowa Heartlanders (26-25-7-1) Saturday at Wings Event Center, 5-4.

Kyle Blaney (11) was the hero in this one, as he wristed home the game winner at the 6:29 mark of OT from the bottom of the left circle. Matheson Iacopelli (12) found Blaney streaking into the Iowa zone who then finished it off. 

On the night, Blaney finished with a goal, two assists and the game winner. The effort helped the K-Wings win their third straight, and secured their sixth win in the last seven contests. 

The K-Wings are now 4-0 in extra time this season. 

This game looked to be over after Logan Lambdin (24) scored shorthanded with 17:01 left in the third - but Iowa capitalized on a knuckling puck that froze the Kalamazoo defense - after the initial Trevor Gorsuch (18-18-0-0) save - with just over two minutes remaining in the game. 

Blaney (21) and Tyler Rockwell (11) assisted on the Lambdin goal. 

But Saturday was about answering the bell, and the K-Wings did just that from the start.

Iowa jumped out to the early 1-0 lead at the 3:28 mark of the first period. Then Kalamzoo came back swinging, scoring three straight goals to end the period, and took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. 

First it was Iacopelli (15), now with six goals in three games, assisted by Andrew DeBrincat (20) and Blaney (20). Then Justin Taylor (20) scored on a tough angle shot from below the goal line in the left corner at the 11:02 mark, assisted by Olivier LeBlanc (2). And finally, Tanner Sorenson (16) got muckie in the crease on the power play at the 16:46 mark to cap the K-Wings first period outburst. Taylor (24) and Jake Slaker (15) assisted on the PP goal.

Iowa then scored two goals in the second period to help set the stage for the Kalamazoo OT winner. 

Gorsuch was phenomenal again, making 31 saves in what goes in the books as his sixth straight win.

And with Lambdin’s shorthanded goal in the third, the rookie is now tied for second in ECHL rookie goals with 15 games remaining in the regular season.

Kalamazoo now plays its fourth game in five days versus the Wheeling Nailers (31-25-1-0) at 3:00 p.m. EST in the ‘Mascot Madness’ game on Sunday at Wings Event Center. 

Single game tickets can be purchased HERE.

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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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