KALAMAZOO SHELLACKS FOES, WINS 4-STRAIGHT WITH TWO ON ROAD THIS WEEK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 11, 2023

KALAMAZOO SHELLACKS FOES, WINS 4-STRAIGHT WITH TWO ON ROAD THIS WEEK

K-Wings explode for 27 goals in four games, launching themselves up the Central’s standings with a sweep on the week.

OVERALL RECORD:  11-11-0-0

STANDINGS: 3rd in Central Division

LAST WEEK:  4-0-0-0

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, play two games on the road this week. First, Kalamazoo travels to Cincinnati for a rematch with the Cyclones at Heritage Bank Center on Friday and it ends the week in Indy on Saturday.

Also, don’t forget to enjoy No-Fee December! From now until December 20, all surcharges on ETix are canceled for tickets purchased during the promotional period. Click HERE to secure your tickets NOW!

Last week, the K-Wings went 4-0-0-0 (6-2, 10-3, 4-3 F/OT, 7-5).

The K-Wings opened the week by teaching the Walleye a 6-2 lesson on Education Day in Toledo, scoring six straight goals from the 12:41 mark of the second period for the first of four victories on the week. Justin Taylor connected first on the power play (PP), and then four defensemen (Calisti, Saccoman, Gosselin and Daschke) lit the lamp in between Ty Glover scoring his first of six this week. Jonathan Lemieux was fantastic (29 of 31) as well, earning his first of three wins on the week.

Kalamazoo then enjoyed a historic game versus the Iowa Heartlanders at home, winning 10-3. Two K-Wings forwards, Tanner Sorenson & Ty Glover, made hats fly and the K-Wings scored three goals in 27 seconds to open the second period (* fastest in franchise history). 15 of Kalamazoo’s 17 skaters registered a point in the win and the two hat tricks by the same team became the 16th time in ECHL history since 2006-07 the feat has been accomplished. Erik Bradford (4a), Ty Glover 3g-1a) and Tanner Sorenson (3g-1a) also finished +6 in the contest.

On Saturday, it would take overtime heroics to earn the team’s third-straight win as Ty Glover ended the K-Wings’s longest game of the season with his second goal of the game at the 5:16 mark of OT, 4-3. Kalamazoo took a 3-1 lead into the third courtesy of Josh Passolt’s two-goal second, and Iowa marched back to tie the game in the third. Jonathan Lemieux was unbelievable in this one, making 28 saves en route to his eighth win of the season.

Sunday’s matinee game with Cincinnati saw the K-Wings score four straight, forward Erik Bradford (3g-1a) notch his first professional hat trick and forward Josh Passolt scored two goals for the second straight game in the 7-5 win. Both teams emptied the tank in this one and Hunter Vorva picked up his third win of the season. 

On the week, 17 Wings registered at least a point with 18 total multipoint performances, two players scored 10-plus points (Bradford: 3g-8a, Glover: 4g-6a), three players scored three goals in a game (Bradford, Glover and Sorenson), two players scored their first pro points (Nordqvist, Seyfert), and the K-Wings scored 27 total goals.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN DETAIL

The K-Wings play two games on the road this week and return to Wings Event Center for a season-high eight straight home games starting with two games at home on Dec. 22 and Dec. 23.

First, it’s $3 Friday on Dec. 22 versus the Indy Fuel at Wings Event Center. What better way to kick off Winter Vacation than spending a night with friends and family at a K-Wings game? Join us, and enjoy professional hockey at a price that’s easy on the wallet. Especially, because it’s a $3 Friday ($3 beers, sodas & hot dogs)!

Then Indy returns on Sat., Dec. 22, for Christmas with the K-Wings at Wings Event Center. There’s no party like a K-Wings Christmas Party at Wings Event Center. Grab your friends and family and get here early to be one of the first 1,000 fans in attendance, because you’ll receive a free K-Wings Christmas Stocking! Stick around postgame as well, because there’ll be a specialty jersey auction with all proceeds benefiting the K-Wings Booster Club.

Don’t miss out on the Christmas with the K-Wings Ticket Package for Dec. 22! Enjoy four tickets to the game, 1 mystery holiday stocking, 1 Slappy ornament and $20 in concession stand vouchers! 

RESULTS

Wednesday, Dec. 6 – Kalamazoo 6, Toledo 2 (Huntington Center, Toledo, OH) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (8-11-0-0) exploded in the second period with four goals and rattled off six straight by the time the dust settled to defeat the Toledo Walleye (11-4-1-2) 6-2 at Huntington Center Wednesday. Four Kalamazoo defensemen (Robert Calisti, Collin Saccoman, Kurt Gosselin, and Derek Daschke) found the back of the net in the road win. With five K-Wings recording two or more points (Calisti, Gosselin, Daschke, Ty Glover, Erik Bradford), the victory marks the greatest number of multipoint outings in a single game for Kalamazoo this season. Toledo opened the scoring at the 10:27 mark of the first and doubled its lead 1:41 later. It was all Kalamazoo after that, though. Justin Taylor (1) put the K-Wings on the board with a power play goal at the 12:41 mark of the second, deflecting a Calisti (5) shot from the right circle. Kalamazoo pulled even at the 15:01 mark with a clap-bomb sent into the top right corner by Calisti (4) just minutes later. The K-Wings pulled ahead 2:02 later when Saccoman (2) scored the game-winner. Gosselin (2) added a goal against his former team 52 ticks after that. Daschke (1), another former Walleye, scored his first goal as a K-Wing at the 7:05 mark of the third, intercepting a Walleye attempt to clear the zone and depositing it in the back of the net. Ty Glover (7) put a bow on things with 12:00 remaining in regulation, cleaning up the trash out front. Goaltender Jonathan Lemieux (6-7-0-0) made 29 saves in the win. 

Friday, Dec. 8 – Kalamazoo 10, Iowa 3 (Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (9-11-0-0) scored double-digit goals for the first time since 2019, sent hats flying twice, enjoyed three tallies in the opening minute of the second period, and defeated the Iowa Heartlanders (9-8-2-1) 10-3 at Wings Event Center on Friday. Forwards Ty Glover and Tanner Sorenson led the way in the goal-scoring department with the hat tricks in the big victory. Glover (8) opened the scoring at the 2:50 mark of the first by squeezing the puck past the netminder on a rush that was set up by a Collin Saccoman (2) blocked shot. Iowa answered at the 4:36 mark of the period. Sorenson (1) then scored his first goal at the 11:37 mark by tapping in a pretty pass from Glover (9) on the right side of the crease. Glover (9) put the K-Wings up 3-1 with a shot from above the left circle at the 13:28 mark of the first. Kalamazoo then exploded with three goals in the first 43 seconds of the middle frame. Going in the books as the fastest three goals scored to open a period by any ECHL team this season. First, Ayden MacDonald (1) scored 16 seconds into the period on the power play. Then, Sorenson (2) scored unassisted 22 seconds later, streaking in all alone. Five seconds later, Ted Nichol (1) picked a corner from the left side to make it 6-1. Glover (10) made the hats fly at 10:20 of the middle frame by crashing the crease to put away a rebound generated by Bradford (15) and Connor Walters (2). Iowa then scored at the 15:59 mark to make it 7-2 on the power play. David Keefer (4) scored Kalamazoo’s eighth goal of the game, picking off a Heartlander clearing attempt above the slot and finished at the 6:20 mark of the third period. Daschke (2) joined the scoring party at the 10:07 mark with a nifty move to storm down the right dot lane for the goal. Iowa found the back of the net for the final time at the 11:44 mark to make it 9-3. Sorenson (3) capped off the game’s scoring in Kalamazoo’s first ten-goal effort since 2019 (Jan. 16 at FW, 10-8) by corralling a loose puck and finishing from the bottom of the left circle with 2:32 left in regulation. Goaltender Jonathan Lemieux (7-7-0-0) was fantastic when called upon, making 27 saves in the win.  In all, 15 of Kalamazoo’s 17 skaters recorded at least one point in the win, five of whom registered multiple points. Also, five K-Wings finished the game plus-4 or better on the evening (Daschke +4, Walters +4, Bradford +6, Glover +6, Sorenson +6). 

Saturday, Dec. 9 – Kalamazoo 4, Iowa 3 (OT) (Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (10-11-0-0) were propelled to victory by two-goal games from former Western Michigan University Broncos Josh Passolt and Ty Glover to defeat the Iowa Heartlanders (9-8-3-1) in overtime at Wings Event Center on Saturday, 4-3. Glover (12) gave Kalamazoo its third straight win by burying a shot with his feet below the goal line on the left side with 1:44 left in overtime. David Keefer (10) won a key offensive zone face-off to Robert Calisti (7) to set up the goal. Goaltender Jonathan Lemieux (8-7-0-0) was stellar for the second straight night and made 28 saves in the win, outshining everyone on the ice multiple times in the contest. Passolt (6) scored on Kalamazoo’s first shot of the game at the 2:25 mark of the first with a one-timer from the high slot. Passolt (7) notched his second two-goal game of the season at the 17:59 mark. The forward beat an Iowa defender to a loose puck after a neutral zone faceoff on the left side and finished the breakaway opportunity. Glover (11) extended the lead to 3-1 at the 8:06 mark of the second period on the power play. Iowa scored at the 18:17 mark of the second and again with 2:26 left in regulation to send the game to overtime. Kalamazoo finished the game 1-for-5 on the power play and 7-for-7 on the penalty kill. The K-Wings outshot Iowa 42-31 and set a new season-best mark for shots while doing so.

Sunday, Dec. 10 – Cincinnati 5, Kalamazoo 7 (Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (11-11-0-0) used Erik Bradford’s hat trick and a second-straight two-goal game from Josh Passolt to defeat the Cincinnati Cyclones (10-9-1-0) at Wings Event Center Sunday, 7-5. The K-Wings finished the week 4-0 with 27 goals scored, taking their first four-game sweep since Mar. 16 thru Mar. 20, 2022. Erik Bradford (8) made the hats fly for the third time this weekend at the 10:42 mark of the third period. Cincinnati jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 2:40 mark of the first. Bradford (6) tied the game at one at the 13:27 mark by deflecting in a Robert Calisti (8) shot from the point. Kalamazoo’s alternate captain, Bradford (7), scored his second of the contest 35 seconds later with assists from Sorenson (5) and Glover (10). The Cyclones tied the game at two at the 17:48 mark on the power play. Josh Passolt (8) put Kalamazoo ahead 3-2 at the 9:36 mark of the middle frame by sending a juicy rebound home from the right circle. Passolt (9) scored his second goal of the game at the 14:18 mark by burying a nifty Cooper Walker (8) pass from the bottom of the left circle. Rookie blueliner Jacob Nordqvist (1) registered his first professional point with the secondary assist. Connor Walters (1) made it 6-3 at the 15:26 mark by burying a shot from the right circle as the trailer on a delayed rush. Cincinnati made it 6-4 via the power play with one second remaining in the middle frame. The Cyclones scored again at the 16:09 mark of the third on the power play and added an even-strength goal twelve seconds later to set the final score at 7-5. Goaltender Hunter Vorva (3-4-0-0) made 22 stops to pick up his second win over Cincinnati this season. 

THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday, Dec. 15 – Kalamazoo at Cincinnati, 7:35 p.m. EST – Heritage Bank Center (Cincinnati, OH) 

Saturday, Dec. 16 – Kalamazoo at Indy, 7:00 p.m. EST – Indiana Farmer’s Coliseum (Indianapolis, IN)

ON THE MOVE

There were no player transactions this week. 

FAST FACTS

• Kalamazoo has scored 27 goals in the last four games (6.75 goals per game)
• Kalamazoo scored 10 goals on home ice for the first time since March 17, 2007, versus Port Huron (10-2, W) in Friday’s win over Iowa
• With dueling hat tricks, Ty Glover and Tanner Sorenson became the 16th pair of players on the same team in ECHL history to each score three goals in the same game in Friday’s win over Iowa
• Erik Bradford (3g-8a), Ty Glover (6g-4a) and Tanner Sorenson (3g-4a) combined for a plus-29 rating this past week

TEAM TRENDS

• 8-0-0-0 when leading after two periods
• 8-0-0-0 when scoring 4-plus goals
• 7-2-0-0 when scoring first this season

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:              26 – Erik Bradford

GOALS:               12 – Ty Glover

ASSISTS:          18 - Erik Bradford

PLUS/MINUS:    +10 – Ty Glover

PIMS:                   55 – Brad Morrison

PP GOALS:      2 – Robert Calisti, Ty Glover, Brad Morrison

PP ASSISTS:        4 –  Ty Glover, Erik Bradford

SH GOALS:      1 – Cooper Walker, Josh Passolt

GW GOALS:     2 – Ty Glover, Collin Saccoman

SHOTS:            55 – Erik Bradford

WINS:                  8 – Jonathan Lemieux

GAA:                   2.74 – Jonathan Lemieux

SAVE %:             .917 – Jonathan Lemieux

* Currently with Abbotsford (AHL)

** Currently with Vancouver (NHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:   Last Week – 3/12 (25%)

                            This Season – 11/71 (15.5%) – No. 24 in the ECHL                     

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

                             This Season – 74/89 (83.1%) – No. 8 in the ECHL

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It’s time to join the ranks of the K-Wings High Flyers with the Back-Half Season Ticket plan! Click HERE for more information. 

Also, the 3-pack is back. Enjoy Rainbow Ice (Jan. 20), Kids Day (Mar. 17) & Fan Appreciation (Apr. 6) for the low price of $49. Click HERE to secure your 3-Pack today!

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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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