KALAMAZOO THUMPS NEWFOUNDLAND TWICE, HOSTS ‘DUMB AND DUMBER & MASCOT MADNESS’ THIS WEEK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 4, 2024

KALAMAZOO THUMPS NEWFOUNDLAND TWICE, HOSTS ‘DUMB AND DUMBER & MASCOT MADNESS’ THIS WEEK

K-Wings take 2-of-3 from Growlers in St. John’s, prep for five of next six at home.

OVERALL RECORD:  29-21-3-0

LAST WEEK:  2-1-0-0

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, play two games at home and one on the road this week. First, Kalamazoo hosts Indy Friday before locking up in a home-and-home series with the Toledo Walleye. The final two games of the regular-season series start in Toledo on Saturday night and finish in Kalamazoo on Sunday afternoon.

Last week, the K-Wings went 2-1-0-0 (4-0, 0-6, 6-3).

Kalamazoo opened the week Friday against Newfoundland with a 4-0 win in St. John’s. Three K-Wings rookies recorded career milestones. Jordan Seyfert notched his first career game-winning goal just 49 seconds into the contest. Jack Olmstead (1a) recorded his first pro point on Derek Daschke’s second goal of the contest in the third period. Daschke then made the hats fly and recorded his first-career multi-goal game (3g) in the win. All this on top of a 17-save shutout and netminder Hunter Vorva’s eighth-straight victory (14-7-0-0).

The K-Wings squared off with the Growlers on Saturday night once again, but unfortunately never found their rhythm and fell 6-0.

Kalamazoo closed the week and their three-game series in Newfoundland with a Sunday matinee tilt. Jonathan Lemieux (14-14-2-1) made 39 saves, Erik Bradford recorded a hat trick and Collin Adams scored two power-play goals in the first period in the K-Wings victory. Collin Adams (2g-1a) also recorded his first professional multi-goal game while David Keefer (3a), Josh Passolt (2a), and Jordan Seyfert (2a) each notched multiple points in the win.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN DETAIL

The K-Wings play two games at home this week.

The K-Wings return to Wings Event Center for ‘Dumb & Dumber’ Night on Friday, March 8! Just when we thought we couldn’t have done anything stupider, we’ve gone out and totally redeemed ourselves with Dumb & Dumber Night at Wings Event Center. Join us, as we pay honor to the hit 90s movie, and enjoy $3 Friday ($3 beers, sodas & hot dogs) at the game. And get your paddle arm warmed up because there’ll be a Specialty Jersey auction postgame!

‘Mascot Madness’ takes over Wings Event Center on Sunday, March 10! It’s that time of year, again, as Slappy, the K-Wings' iconic mascot, is inviting his friends for “Mascot Madness”! Don’t miss Mascot broomball, as it’s primed to be a must-see during the intermission. And to make the game more special for Slappy, stick around afterward for a post-game skate with Slappy and the players (*$5 skate rentals available).

RESULTS

Friday, Mar. 1 – Kalamazoo 4, Newfoundland 0 (Mary Brown’s Centre, St. John’s, NL) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (27-20-3-0) pounced early, scored often and stood tall late to defeat the Newfoundland Growlers (24-22-7-2) at Mary Brown’s Centre Friday, 4-0. Rookie defenseman Derek Daschke recorded his first-career hat trick with the final three goals in the contest. Goaltender Hunter Vorva (14-6-0-0) was a perfect 17-for-17 and picked up his third shutout of the season. The Kalamazoo native also extended his career-best win streak to eight games with the victory. Jordan Seyfert (2) opened the scoring at the 49-second mark of the first period by slamming home a juicy rebound from the right circle. Erik Bradford (38) generated the rebound with a powerful shot from the left point while Collin Saccoman (5) altered the puck on its way to the goal. Daschke (12) doubled Kalamazoo’s lead at 6:44 with the tap-in off a beautiful Luke Morgan (8) crossing pass from the left side. Seyfert (8) also picked up an assist with a give-n-go pass to Morgan, who went end-to-end to generate the scoring chance. Daschke (13) made it 3-0 at the 14:17 mark of the third with a tap-in as the puck bounced in the crease. Jack Olmstead (1) took the initial shot from the right side and notched his first professional point with the assist. Daschke (14) secured the hatty with an empty-netter at 17:13, and Kalamazoo is now 18-0-0-0 when scoring four or more goals this season. The K-Wings finished scoreless on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill. Kalamazoo took the final shot total, 26-17.

Saturday, Mar. 2 – Kalamazoo 0, Newfoundland 6 (Mary Brown’s Centre, St. John’s, NL) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (28-21-3-0) battled throughout but fell to the Newfoundland Growlers (25-22-7-2) at Mary Brown’s Centre Saturday, 6-0. Goaltender Hunter Vorva (14-7-0-0) made 16 saves across the first two periods. Jonathan Lemieux relieved Vorva to start the third and made 3 saves. Newfoundland opened the scoring at the 19:30 mark of the first period and doubled its lead at the 4:48 mark of the second. The Growlers made it 3-0 with a shorthanded goal at the 13:41 mark and added goals at 18:50 and 19:20. Newfoundland found the back of the net on the power play at the 1:28 mark of the third. The K-Wings finished scoreless on the power play and 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. Newfoundland took the final shot total, 25-21.

Sunday, Mar. 3 – Kalamazoo 6, Newfoundland 3 (Mary Brown’s Centre, St. John’s, NL) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (29-21-3-0) used an Erik Bradford hat trick, four additional multi-point outputs, eight penalty kills and 39 Jonathan Lemieux saves to defeat the Newfoundland Growlers (25-23-7-2) at Mary Brown’s Centre Sunday, 6-3. Goaltender Jonathan Lemieux (14-14-2-0) was stellar and climbed back to .500 with 39 saves on 42 shots against. Erik Bradford (20) opened the scoring with a tap-in from the blue paint at the 2:43 mark of the first.  Newfoundland evened the score just 37 seconds later. Collin Adams (13) made it 2-1 by firing a loose puck home from the slot on the power play at 10:57. Adams (14) scored another PPG from the right side at the 13:37 mark. Bradford (21) struck from distance with a snapshot from above the right circle at the 8:01 mark of the second. Newfoundland cut the lead to two with a shorthanded goal at 18:18. Collin Saccoman (5) put the game out of reach by potting a rebound from the right circle at the 10:33 mark of the third. The Growlers made it 5-3 with a power-play extra attacker goal at 17:21. Bradford (22) secured his hatty with an empty-netter courtesy of Passolt (17) and Keefer (28) with 1:19 remaining. The K-Wings finished 2-for-7 on the power play and 8-for-9 on the penalty kill. Newfoundland took the final shot total, 42-27.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday, Mar. 8 – Indy at Kalamazoo, 7:00 p.m. EST – Wings Event Center (Kalamazoo, MI)

Saturday, Mar. 9 – Kalamazoo at Toledo, 7:15 p.m. EST – Huntington Center (Toledo, OH)

Sunday, Mar. 10 – Toledo at Kalamazoo, 3:00 p.m. EDT – Wings Event Center (Kalamazoo, MI)

ON THE MOVE

There were no player transactions this week.

FAST FACTS

• Veteran forward Erik Bradford established a new career high in goals scored (20, 21, 22) on Sunday en route to his 60th point of the season
• Rookie forward Jack Olmstead recorded his first professional point in Newfoundland on Friday
• Rookie defenseman Derek Daschke (Fri.) and veteran forward Erik Bradford (Sun.) each recorded hat tricks this week against Newfoundland
• Goaltender Hunter Vorva set a new career high of 8 consecutive wins on Friday
• Collin Adams recorded his first professional multi-goal game (2g-1a) Sunday

TEAM TRENDS

• 18-4-1-0 when scoring first this season
• 20-0-0-0-0 when scoring 4+ goals this season
• 5-1-0-0 in the third game in a row this season

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:              60 – Erik Bradford

GOALS:               22 – Erik Bradford

ASSISTS:          38 –  Erik Bradford

PLUS/MINUS:    +14 – Erik Bradford

PIMS:                   155 – Chaz Reddekopp

PP GOALS:      4 – Collin Adams, Erik Bradford

PP ASSISTS:        10 – Erik Bradford

SH GOALS:      1 – Erik Bradford, Josh Passolt, Cooper Walker*

GW GOALS:     5 – Collin Adams

SHOTS:            150 – Erik Bradford

WINS:                  14 – Jonathan Lemieux, Hunter Vorva

GAA:                   2.38 – Hunter Vorva

SAVE %:             .923 – Hunter Vorva

* Currently with Abbotsford (AHL)

** Currently with Vancouver (NHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:   Last Week – 2/12 (16.7%)

                            This Season – 29/167 (17.4%) – No. 24 in the ECHL         

PENALTY KILL:   Last Week – 14/16 (87.5%)

                             This Season – 166/198 (83.8%) – No. 4 in the ECHL

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The K-Wings return to Wings Event Center for ‘Dumb & Dumber’ Night on Friday, March 8! Just when we thought we couldn’t have done anything stupider, we’ve gone out and totally redeemed ourselves with Dumb & Dumber Night at Wings Event Center. Join us, as we pay honor to the hit 90s movie, and enjoy $3 Friday ($3 beers, sodas & hot dogs) at the game. And get your paddle arm warmed up because there’ll be a Specialty Jersey auction 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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