K-WINGS WEEKLY: WINGS REFOCUS WIN COLUMN, ‘PINK ICE’ THIS WEEK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 6, 2023

K-WINGS REFOCUS WIN COLUMN, ‘PINK ICE’ THIS WEEK

Kalamazoo picks up a big Sunday win and prepares to clip No. 1 and 3 Divisional foes this week. 

OVERALL RECORD:  18-22-3-0

LAST WEEK:  1-2-0-0

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, play two contests this week with one at Wings Event Center. First, The K-Wings head to Toledo to take on the Walleye on Friday night. Then on Saturday, Kalamazoo welcomes the Indy Fuel for its annual ‘Pink Ice’ game, presented by Bronson.

Last week, the K-Wings went 1-2-0-0 (2-4, 2-4, 5-2).

Kalamazoo started the week at Fort Wayne, losing to the Komets 4-2. The K-Wings fell behind 4-0 after the first 22 minutes of game and battled back with two power play goals by Justin Taylor in the third period, but Fort Wayne held on for the win.

Then on Saturday, the Komets came to Kalamazoo for the second half of the home-and-home, and the K-Wings fell, 4-2. Down 2-0 late in the second period, Max Humitz notched a power play goal, but Fort Wayne went on the power play immediately following his score and capitalized to make it 3-1 heading to the third. Raymond Brice scored to bring Kalamazoo back to within one, but a late empty-net goal for the Komets sealed the win.

Finally, on Sunday, the K-Wings gelled on every level and scored four different ways in a 5-2 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones. Mason McCarty scored on a power play to give Kalamazoo the early lead, and after Cincinnati drew even, Justin Murray answered with a 4-on-4 goal to regain the lead heading into the first intermission. Brandon Saigeon then scored the game-winning shorthanded goal early in the second, and Matheson Iacopelli took over with two strikes to seal the victory. Iacopelli tallied both a 5-on-5 goal and another 4-on-4 goal in the third. The Cyclones notched one more before Kalamazoo closed out the game with three penalty kills (7/7) in the final 10 minutes. Pavel Cajan’s goaltending was superior (5-2-0) in the contest making 36 stops in the contest. 

UPCOMING EVENTS IN DETAIL

The K-Wings play two games this week with one taking place at Wings Event Center on Saturday.

The only home game this week is nearing full capacity, as the K-Wings host the Indy Fuel Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7:00 p.m. EST on ‘Pink Ice,’ presented by Bronson, at Wings Event Center. Romance is in the air with Valentine’s Day just around the corner, and that means it’s time for Pink Ice! Join the K-Wings in celebrating breast cancer survivors with a ceremonial puck drop before the game, and stick around for the breast cancer specialty jersey auction immediately following the game! Pink Packs are still available HERE!

RESULTS

Friday, Feb. 3 – Kalamazoo 2, Fort Wayne 4 (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum - Fort Wayne, IN) | Box Score

>>  The Kalamazoo Wings (17-21-3-0) fell behind big early to the Fort Wayne Komets (19-14-4-2), but fought back with a pair of power-play goals in the third, and unfortunately fell by a score of 4-2 Friday at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Justin Taylor (8, 9) netted his fourth and fifth power play goals for the K-Wings for his second multi-goal game of the season. The Komets jumped out of the gate with a goal at the 1:13 mark of the first, added a power-play tally at 6:23, and made it 3-0 at the 14:51 mark. Fort Wayne then capitalized on a power play to open the second period with its fourth goal at the 1:41 mark of the second. The natural hat trick tally for Komets defenseman Darien Kielb (2,3,4) capped off a four-point night for the Bakersfield (AHL) product. Kalamazoo dented the scoreboard with the man advantage at the 7:23 mark, with Taylor tipping in a Olivier LeBlanc (5) shot from just above the right circle. Then, at the 11:23 mark, Taylor struck again, flipping a wrist shot inside the left post off of a beautiful feed from Carson Focht (11). Evan Cormier (5-14-2-0) got better and better as the game went on, stopping 46 of 50 shots faced in defeat.

Saturday, Feb. 4 – Fort Wayne 4, Kalamazoo 2 (Wings Event Center - Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (17-22-3-0) battled hard from behind against the Fort Wayne Komets (20-14-4-2) Saturday at Wings Event Center, but couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 4-2. Fort Wayne scored first at the 7:11 mark of the first period and carried the 1-0 lead into the first intermission. The Komets then made it 2-0 with a power play tally at the 6:41 mark of the second. Max Humitz (12) drew the K-Wings to within one with a power play goal at the 18:07 mark of the second frame. Fort Wayne capitalized on a power play immediately following, with a goal at the 19:47 mark, and reextended its lead to two goals to finish the middle frame. The K-Wings struck again with a no-doubt snipe by Raymond Brice (9) at the 6:54 mark of the third, ripping a shot from the top of the right circle off the left post and into the back of the net. Kalamazoo pulled goaltender Pavel Cajan (4-2-0-0) with just over two minutes remaining, but the Komets found the empty net at the 18:14 mark to close out the victory. Cajan made 44 stops on 47 shots faced in the loss.

Sunday, Feb. 5 – Cincinnati 2, Kalamazoo 5 (Wings Event Center - Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (18-22-3-0) scored early and often to complement an outstanding defensive performance to beat the Cincinnati Cyclones (24-12-5-2) at Wings Event Center Sunday, 5-2. The K-Wings scored on the power play, shorthanded, 5-on-5, and twice during 4-on-4 action while going 7-for-7 on the penalty kill in the win. Pavel Cajan (5-2-0-0) was stout in net throughout the game, stopping 36 of 38 shots faced. Kalamazoo took it to Cincinnati immediately, capitalizing with a power play goal on a Cyclone penalty at the 1:33 mark of the first period. Mason McCarty (12) notched his fifth power play strike of the season at the 2:42 mark after banging home the trash in front of the net. The Cyclones responded quickly, with a goal at the 4:45 mark, but that’s when the K-Wings took off, scoring four consecutive goals. At the 10:23 mark of the first, skating 4-on-4, Justin Murray (2) went top-shelf from the bottom of the left circle to regain the lead for Kalamazoo. The K-Wings started the second on the power play but picked up a penalty at the 0:13 mark. Unphased by the residual power play time left over (:52), Brandon Saigeon (8) stole the puck from Jalen Smereck at the defensive blue line, skated in all alone, and finished the breakaway opportunity off at the 2:08 mark. Then, it was Iacopelli (10) getting in on the goal-scoring at the 7:30 mark. Another 4-on-4 opportunity arose with both teams picking up a penalty 11 seconds apart. And that’s when Iacopelli (11) and Justin Taylor (13) stepped up and executed a beautiful two-on-one rush for a goal at the 7:49 mark of the third. The Cyclones notched another goal at the 9:14 mark, but Cajan slammed the door shut the rest of the way out.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday, Feb. 10 – Kalamazoo at Toledo, 7:15 p.m. EST – Huntington Center (Toledo, OH)

Saturday, Feb. 11 – Indy at Kalamazoo, 7:00 p.m. EST – Wings Event Center (Kalamazoo, MI)

ON THE MOVE

Feb. 2 - Goaltender Pavel Cajan was loaned to Kalamazoo by Cleveland (AHL)

Feb. 3 - Goaltender Hunter Vorva was loaned to Cleveland (AHL)

FAST FACTS

·           Forward Matheson Iacopelli notched at least one assist in all three games this week and enjoyed a three-point game Sunday, totaling six points (2G, 4A) to bring his season point total to 22 (11g, 11a).

·           Forward Justin Taylor (9g) recorded his second multi-goal game of the season on Friday, scoring two power play goals (5 ppg) in the third period.

·           Defenseman Justin Murray earned his second multi-point game of the season on Sunday, and K-Wings defensemen combined for five points in the win. Kalamazoo is now 4-0-0-0 when its defenseman record at least four points in a game.

TEAM TRENDS

·       10-0-0-0 when scoring 4+ goals

·       10-1-0-0 when leading after the 2nd Period   

·       6-2-3-0 when tied after the 2nd Period

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:               29 – Brandon Saigeon

GOALS:                12 – Max Humitz, Mason McCarty

ASSISTS:             21 – Brandon Saigeon

PLUS/MINUS:    +9 – Leif Mattson 

PIMS:                    75 – Justin Murray

PP GOALS:            5 – Max Humitz, Justin Taylor

PP ASSISTS:        9 –  Justin Murray

SH GOALS:           2 – Raymond Brice

GW GOALS:          3 – Raymond Brice, Max Humitz

SHOTS:                116 – Max Humitz

WINS:                      8 – Hunter Vorva*

GAA:                    2.57 – Hunter Vorva*

SAVE %:              .918 – Hunter Vorva*

* Currently with Cleveland (AHL)

** Currently with Columbus (NHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:   Last Week – 4/15 (26.7%)

                           This Season – 28/161 (17.4%) – No. 22 in the ECHL                         

PENALTY KILL:   Last Week – 15/19 (78.9%)

                            This Season – 131/165 (79.4%) – No. 17 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 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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