FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

November 22, 2023

KALAMAZOO FALLS JUST SHORT TO IOWA

K-Wings drop defensive struggle at home and Heartlanders continue to surge. 

BOX SCORE

KALAMAZOO, MI – The Kalamazoo Wings (4-8-0-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, started hot with a power play goal in the first but fell behind in the third and were unable to score an equalizer late, falling 3-1 versus the Iowa Heartlanders (7-4-2-0) Wednesday at Wings Event Center.

Goaltender Jonathan Lemieux (4-6-0-0) made an impressive 36 saves and completely shut down an early onslaught of 15 first period shots against. The rookie netminder has recorded over thirty stops in seven of his first ten professional games.

Robert Calisti (3) opened the scoring by threading the needle from the slot at the 11:12 mark of the first. Ayden MacDonald (1) and Collin Adams (3) assisted the power play goal by creating chaos in front and punching the puck out for Calisti’s quick-release snap-shot.

Iowa equalized the game at the 5:33 mark of the second and took the lead on the power play with 15:35 remaining in regulation.

The Heartlanders added an empty-netter with 34 seconds left to seal their seventh straight win. 

Kalamazoo finished the game 1-for-2 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. Iowa took the final shot total, 39-29.

The K-Wings are back in action Friday at 7:15 p.m. EST against the Toledo Walleye (8-2-1-1) at Huntington Center.

Don’t miss out on the Hockey Fights Cancer Ticket pack. Enjoy four tickets to Lavender Ice on November 25, four silicone HFC bracelets and 10% of your ticket package will be donated to West Michigan Cancer Center. There will also be a HFC specialty jersey auction immediately following the game, benefiting WMCC. Click HERE to secure your package NOW! Or purchase single-game tickets to Lavender Ice HERE.

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Sunday, Nov. 26, the Indy Fuel visit for the annual ‘Teddy Bear Toss’ game, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, at 3:00 p.m. EST at Wings Event Center. What better way to kick off the holiday season than giving back? Join the K-Wings for the annual Teddy Bear Toss game. How can you help? Bring a new or lightly used teddy bear (or any stuffed animal) to throw onto the ice when the K-Wings score their first goal, and we’ll deliver it to kids in need this holiday season. Also, join us for our first postgame skate of the season with the players! $5 skate rentals will be available postgame.

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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 Vancouver Canucks and the American Hockey League’s Abbotsford Canucks. Kalamazoo plays their 36 regular season home games at Wings Event Center from October through April.

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