K-WINGS WELCOME 11.6K, SELLOUT GREEN ICE AND HIT ROAD FOR THREE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 20, 2023

K-WINGS WELCOME 11.6K, SELLOUT GREEN ICE AND HIT ROAD FOR THREE

Kalamazoo falls just short this weekend and preps for strong finish down the stretch on heels of strong trade deadline.

OVERALL RECORD:  23-33-4-0

LAST WEEK:  0-3-0-0

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, play three contests on the road this week. First, the K-Wings head east to take on the Wheeling Nailers on Friday. Then, Kalamazoo travels to Indianapolis the face the Indy Fuel for a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday.

Last week, the K-Wings went 0-3-0-0 (3-5, 1-3, 0-2).

On Friday, Kalamazoo hosted the Fort Wayne Komets in front of a sold-out crowd on Green Ice and fell 5-3. The K-Wings started strong, with Justin Taylor scoring first at the 5:55 mark of the first period. The Komets struck back just 1:14 seconds later, but Kalamazoo notched two goals in the second to take the lead into the second intermission. First, Coale Norris struck at the 3:34 mark, and then Darby Llewellyn joined scored at the 6:59 mark. Unfortunately, the already shorthanded K-Wings lineup was hit with three injuries in the third period, and Fort Wayne powered ahead for four goals in the final frame. 

Then, the K-Wings played the Toledo Walleye on Saturday and lost, 3-1. Once again, Kalamazoo scored first on Ben Copeland’s first professional goal at the 14:22 mark of the first period. But the Walleye fought back with a goal at the 15:53 mark to tie the game, and scored twice in the final seven minutes of the second period to build the 3-1 advantage. Both goaltenders were strong with Pavel Cajan stopping 26 of 29 shots faced for the K-Wings, and Sebastian Cossa made 32 saves on 33 shots by Kalamazoo.

Finally, on Sunday, Kalamazoo faced off against the Iowa Heartlanders and lost 2-0. Iowa scored at the 6:49 mark of the first on a breakaway and again at the 3:29 mark of the second period on a rebound opportunity. Evan Cormier stood tall in net for the K-Wings, making 28 saves on 30 shots to keep Kalamazoo in the game. Luke Morgan led the K-Wings with 10 shots, but Hunter Jones stopped all 31 shots he faced for the Heartlanders to earn his first ECHL shutout. Kalamazoo also outshot all three opponents on the weekend.

Kalamazoo outshot all three of its opponents and welcomed 11,601 fans to Wings Event Center this weekend.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN DETAIL

The K-Wings play three games this week, with all three on the road. Next weekend, Kalamazoo will host two highly-anticipated games.

On Friday, Mar. 31, the K-Wings host the Fort Wayne Komets for ‘00’s Alumni Night & $3 Friday’ at 7:00 p.m. EDT at Wings Event Center. Kalamazoo will welcome back players from the 2000s, which featured the Colonial Cup UHL Championship for the K-Wings in 2005-06. It will also be a $3 Friday, so enjoy $3 beers, sodas and hot dogs, while cheering on your current K-Wings and honoring the ones who came before.

Then, on Saturday, Apr. 1, it’s ‘Power Rangers Night’ as the K-Wings host the Iowa Heartlanders at 7:00 p.m. EDT at Wings Event Center. It’s morphin’ time at Wings Event Center, as we pay tribute to the iconic 90s show that found its way to the big screens & playgrounds everywhere. The Power Rangers Meet & Greet Ticket Package is also available for the game, with four white-level game tickets, a private meet & greet with a Power Ranger, and a photo with a Power Rangers character included. And stick around after the game for the Power Rangers jersey auction.

RESULTS

Friday, Mar. 17 – Fort Wayne 5, Kalamazoo 3 (Wings Event Center - Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>  The Kalamazoo Wings (23-31-4-0) grabbed an early lead over the Fort Wayne Komets (30-22-4-2) in front of a sellout crowd at Wings Event Center for the annual ‘Green Ice’ game, but lost 5-3 Friday. For the second consecutive game, Justin Taylor (15) scored first with a goal at the 5:55 mark of the opening frame. The Komets responded with a goal at the 7:09 mark to draw even. Then, it was Coale Norris (10) scoring at the 3:34 mark of the second period to put the K-Wings back on top. Kalamazoo added to the lead with a goal by Darby Llewellyn (7) at the 6:59 mark. But Fort Wayne fought back with a power play goal at the 5:34 mark of the third on some tough luck for Kalamazoo as a shot redirected off a K-Wings defender and into the net. The Komets then tied the game at the 8:39 mark and took the lead with another power play score at the 12:56 mark. An empty-net goal by Fort Wayne with 1:24 left in the game finished the scoring. Pavel Cajan (5-4-0-0) made several key stops to keep Kalamazoo in the game. He finished with 20 saves on 24 shots faced.

Saturday, Mar. 18 – Toledo 3, Kalamazoo 1 (Wings Event Center - Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (23-32-4-0) scored first and outshot the Toledo Walleye (41-15-4-2), but fell 3-1 at Wings Event Center Saturday. Ben Copeland (1) opened the scoring with his first professional goal at the 14:22 mark of the first period. Luke Morgan (12) set up the score by skating down the left side with the puck under the net before turning back with a backhand feed to Copeland in the right circle. Toledo fought back immediately, scoring 1:31 seconds later to draw even. The K-Wings outshot the Walleye 15-6 over the first 12 minutes of the second period, but were unable to find the back of the net. Toledo then scored to take the lead at the 13:31 mark and added a power play goal at the 18:58 mark for insurance. Pavel Cajan (5-5-0-0) responded well to pressure throughout the evening, finishing with 26 saves on 29 shots faced.

Sunday, Mar. 19 – Iowa -, Kalamazoo - (Wings Event Center - Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (23-33-4-0) battled but couldn’t solve the Iowa Heartlanders (16-32-12-1) and fell 2-0 on Sunday at Wings Event Center. The Heartlanders opened the scoring with a breakaway goal at the 6:49 mark of the first period. Iowa struck again with a goal off of a rebound opportunity at the 3:29 mark of the second. Evan Cormier (8-18-3-0) was strong in net, preventing several quality chances from turning into goals and helping the K-Wings stay in the game throughout. He finished with 28 saves on 30 shots faced. Luke Morgan led Kalamazoo with 10 shots in the loss, the most by a K-Wing this season. Hunter Jones (8-15-9-0) earned his first ECHL shutout for Iowa, making 31 saves. 

THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday, Mar. 24 – Kalamazoo at Wheeling, 7:10 p.m. EDT – Wesbanco Arena (Wheeling, WV)

Saturday, Mar. 25 – Kalamazoo at Indy, 7:00 p.m. EDT – Indiana Farmers Coliseum (Indianapolis, IN)

Sunday, Mar. 26 – Kalamazoo at Indy, 4:00 p.m. EDT – Indiana Farmers Coliseum (Indianapolis, IN)

ON THE MOVE

Mar. 13 - Forward Logan Lambdin was recalled from loan by Kalamazoo from Chicago (AHL)

Mar. 14 - Forward Matheson Iacopelli was traded from Kalamazoo to Jacksonville for future considerations

Mar. 15 - Defenseman Robert Calisti was loaned to Kalamazoo from Charlotte (AHL) to complete a trade from Feb. 18 between Kalamazoo and Florida

Mar. 15 - Forward Kobe Roth and future considerations were acquired by Kalamazoo from Florida in exchange for forward Logan Lambdin

Mar. 15 - Defenseman Evan Wardley and future considerations were acquired by Kalamazoo from South Carolina in exchange for forward Max Humitz

Mar. 16 - Forward Ben Copeland was loaned to Kalamazoo from Cleveland (AHL)

Mar. 16 - Forward Brad Morrison was acquired by Kalamazoo from Florida for the ECHL playing rights to defenseman Olivier LeBlanc

Mar. 16 - Forward Ayden MacDonald was acquired by Kalamazoo from Greenville in exchange for defenseman Evan Wardley

Mar. 16 - Forward Brett Boeing was acquired by Kalamazoo from Reading in exchange for defenseman Ryan Cook

Mar. 16 - Defenseman Kyle Rhodes and future considerations were acquired by Kalamazoo from Wichita in exchange for forward Brett Boeing

FAST FACTS

·           Forward Justin Taylor has three goals and an assist in his last five games after scoring a goal in Friday’s loss to Fort Wayne

·           Forward Ben Copeland scored his first professional goal in Saturday’s loss to Toledo

TEAM TRENDS

·       10-0-1-0 when scoring 4+ goals

·       12-9-4-0 in one-goal games  

·       9-2-3-0 when tied after the 2nd Period

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:                33 – Brandon Saigeon, Justin Taylor

GOALS:                  15 – Justin Taylor

ASSISTS:              25 – Brandon Saigeon

PLUS/MINUS:    +11 – Robert Calisti 

PIMS:                     91 – Justin Murray

PP GOALS:             5 – Justin Taylor

PP ASSISTS:        12 –  Justin Murray

SH GOALS:             2 – Raymond Brice, Justin Taylor

GW GOALS:            3 – Raymond Brice

SHOTS:               165 – Justin Taylor

WINS:                  10 – Hunter Vorva

GAA:                    2.58 – Hunter Vorva

SAVE %:              .918 – Hunter Vorva

* Currently with Cleveland (AHL)

** Currently with Columbus (NHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:   Last Week – 0/7 (0.0%%)

                           This Season – 33/209 (15.8%) – No. 25 in the ECHL                         

PENALTY KILL:   Last Week – 5/8 (62.5%)

                            This Season – 161/210 (76.7%) – No. 25 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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