FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 29, 2024
K-WINGS BARK BACK, BEAT CYCLONES 4-1
Lemieux gem backstops Kalamazoo past Cincinnati in front of sellout Pucks ‘N Paws crowd.
KALAMAZOO, MI – The Kalamazoo Wings (35-26-3-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, used stellar goaltending and four multi-point performances to defeat the Cincinnati Cyclones (28-31-6-0) in front of a sellout crowd (5,086) at Wings Event Center Friday, 4-1.
Goaltender Jonathan Lemieux (16-16-2-0) was stellar and made 28 saves on 29 shots against. The rookie’s efforts earned him the game’s first star.
Cincinnati opened the scoring with a power-play goal at the 8:46 mark of the first period.
Josh Passolt (22) tied the game with a tap-in from the crease at the 10:51 mark. Brad Morrison (32) hit Passolt with a backhand pass from below the net after carrying into the zone and Erik Bradford (48) recorded the secondary assist.
Morrison (12) netted the game-winner by picking the top right corner from the left circle at the 4:01 mark of the second period. Morrison converted on a juicy Bradford (49) rebound while Derek Daschke (17) also assisted the goal.
Ayden MacDonald (11) made it 3-1 with a tip-in from the slot at the 12:37 mark. Michael Joyaux (22) took the initial shot from the right point and Luke Morgan (12) notched the secondary helper.
Jordan Seyfert (4) put it away at the 19:02 mark of the third with an empty-netter courtesy of Daschke (18) and MacDonald (7).
The K-Wings finished the game scoreless on the power play and 1-for-2 on the penalty kill. Kalamazoo took the final shot total, 32-29.
Kalamazoo is back in action Saturday at 7:30 p.m. EDT against the Fort Wayne Komets (32-27-2-3) at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
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Saturday, April 6th is Fan Appreciation Day at Wings Event Center! For almost 50 years you, the fans, have made K-Wings hockey possible in Kalamazoo. That means there’s nothing more important to us than celebrating you at our annual Fan Appreciation game, presented by Bronson. Come to Wings Event Center for the last regular season Saturday game of the season, and the first 1,000 fans will receive a K-Wings team poster.
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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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