K-WINGS GET MAGICAL, DROP HAMMER ON FUEL

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 18, 2023

K-WINGS GET MAGICAL, DROP HAMMER ON FUEL

Kalamazoo earns second straight 3-2 win over Indy in back-and-forth battle on ‘Wizards, Wands and Wings’ night.

BOX SCORE

KALAMAZOO, MI – The Kalamazoo Wings (20-25-3-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, pulled away three times on the Indy Fuel (31-17-2-0) Saturday and held on for the 3-2 victory in front of over 4,500 fans for the ‘Wizards, Wands and Wings’ game at Wings Event Center.

The K-Wings took advantage of a three-shot flurry finished off by Coale Norris (6) hitting the puck baseball-style into the net at the 9:20 mark of the third period for the game-winning goal. On the play, Matheson Iacopelli (13) skated into the zone with the puck and fired the initial shot, followed by Luke Morgan (7), whose blast was flipped up into the air off the goaltender for Norris’ swat for the score.

Raymond Brice (10) opened the scoring at the 7:34 mark of the first period. His opening strike came after Justin Taylor (14) swished the puck from the right circle on the rush to Leif Mattson (9) in the left slot for the initial backhand shot, and Brice swept up the rebound and tucked it into the back of the net after crashing the crease.

Indy scored to tie the game just 21 seconds later, but Kalamazoo restored the lead later in the first.

The K-Wings’ second goal came from the stick of Ryan Cook (2) after skating down and up the right circle, followed by a five-hole snipe for the lead. Taylor (15) and Darby Llewellyn (7) picked up the assists on Cook’s tally.

Indy retied the game at the 16:00 mark of the second period, and dominated the shot total 18-7 in the frame, but Hunter Vorva (10-7-1) was stellar again tonight in net, including making a handful of saves in the final two minutes with the Fuel net empty. Vorva finished with 36 saves on 38 shots faced in the victory.

Kalamazoo immediately heads to Fort Wayne to battle the Komets (24-16-4-2) on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. EST at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

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Grab your Scooby Snacks, because there’s a 100%  chance you (and your dogs) will have a great time at this game. This year, Scooby-Doo is taking over the “Pucks n Paws Game” as the K-Wings host Tulsa at 7:00 p.m. on Mar. 4 at Wings Event Center. Don’t miss the pup race across the ice during the first intermission, and the Scooby-Doo jersey auction following the game. Secure your seats 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 the 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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