KALAMAZOO SOARS INTO APRIL, REGULAR SEASON HOME FINALE THIS WEEKEND

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 1, 2024

KALAMAZOO SOARS INTO APRIL, REGULAR SEASON HOME FINALE THIS WEEKEND

K-Wings solidify 4th-straight winning month, and look to surge in final two weeks of regular season.

OVERALL RECORD:  35-27-3-0

CENTRAL DIVISION STANDINGS: No. 4

LAST WEEK:  1-1-0-0

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings, proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, play two games on the road and their final two home games of the regular season this week. The K-Wings visit Cincinnati on Wednesday and Friday before returning home to face the Cyclones for Fan Appreciation Day on Saturday and to host Fort Wayne for HockeyTonk on Sunday.

Last week, the K-Wings went 1-1-0-0 (4-1, 2-5)

Kalamazoo opened the week versus Cincinnati on Friday. The Cyclones took a 1-0 lead early but the K-Wings responded with goals from Josh Passolt, Brad Morrison, Ayden MacDonald, and Jordan Seyfert to come away with a 4-1 victory. Erik Bradford added two assists to keep pace in the ECHL points race while goaltender Jonathan Lemieux (16-16-2-0) stopped 28 of 29 shots against and earned the game’s No. 1 star in front of a sellout Pucks ‘N Paws crowd.

The K-Wings closed the week in Fort Wayne on Saturday. Kalamazoo erased two one-goal deficits but ultimately fell to the Komets, 5-2. Brad Morrison and Collin Saccoman scored equalizers in the first and third period respectively while goaltender Hunter Vorva (18-11-0-0) made 37 saves, 23 of which came in the game’s first 20 minutes.

Kalamazoo enters April ranked No. 4 in the Central Division with the opportunity to finish with its best regular-season record in the last 9 seasons. It also emerged from March’s stretch of 10 games in 20 days 6-4-0-0 and solidified its fourth-straight winning month.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN DETAIL

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

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.

The K-Wings conclude their 2023-24 regular season home schedule with HockeyTonk on Sunday, April 7th! Grab your snakeskins, a pair of your best blue jeans and help us turn Wings Event Center into your favorite tawdry Hockeytonk for the regular-season finale. Together, we’ll get down, turn around & go to town with the first 1,000 fans taking home a limited edition K-Wings Bandana.

RESULTS
Friday, Mar. 29 – Cincinnati 1, Kalamazoo 4 (Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (35-26-3-0) 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 (12) netted the game-winner by picking the top right corner from the left circle at the 4:01 mark of the second period. Ayden MacDonald (11) made it 3-1 with a tip-in from the slot at the 12:37 mark. Jordan Seyfert (4) put it away at the 19:02 mark of the third with an empty-netter courtesy of Derek 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.

Saturday, Mar. 30 – Kalamazoo 2, Fort Wayne 5 (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, Indiana) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (35-27-3-0) battled back twice but ultimately fell to the Fort Wayne Komets (33-27-3-3) at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Saturday, 5-2. Goaltender Hunter Vorva (18-11-0-0) weathered an early onslaught and made 23 saves on 24 shots against in the first period. The Kalamazoo native finished the game with 37 saves. Fort Wayne opened the scoring at the 38-second mark of the first period. Brad Morrison (13) tied the game at one by burying a loose puck from above the crease on the power play at the 4:56 mark. The Komets took a 2-1 lead at the 3:44 mark of the second. Collin Saccoman (7) made it 2-2 with a wrister from the left circle at the 7:01 mark of the third. Fort Wayne retook the lead with a power-play goal 43 seconds later and added goals at 12:45 and 15:48. The K-Wings finished the game 1-for-4 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill. Fort Wayne took the final shot total, 42-28. Kalamazoo finished its stretch of 10 games in 20 days 6-4-0-0, and added another winning month to its 2023-24 resume (March: 8-7).

THE WEEK AHEAD

Wednesday, Apr. 3 – Kalamazoo at Cincinnati, 7:35 p.m. EDT – Heritage Bank Center (Cincinnati, OH)

Friday, Apr. 5 – Kalamazoo at Cincinnati, 7:35 p.m. EDT – Heritage Bank Center (Cincinnati, OH)

Saturday, Apr. 6 – Cincinnati at Kalamazoo, 7:00 p.m. EDT – Wings Event Center (Kalamazoo, MI)

Sunday, Apr. 7 – Fort Wayne 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 (78) has the most points of any Wings player since Trent Daavettila’s 74-point effort in 2011-12
• Defenseman Michael Joyaux is on a career-best five-game point streak since March 22
• Kalamazoo ranks No. 1 in the ECHL for OT/SO win percentage (.727)

TEAM TRENDS

• 24-0-0-0 when scoring four or more goals this season
• 21-6-1-0 when scoring first this season
• 8-3-0-0 in overtime/shootouts this season

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:              78 – Erik Bradford

GOALS:               28 – Erik Bradford

ASSISTS:          50 –  Erik Bradford

PLUS/MINUS:    +17 – Erik Bradford

PIMS:                   188 – Chaz Reddekopp

PP GOALS:      5 – Erik Bradford, Collin Adams

PP ASSISTS:        14 – Erik Bradford

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

GW GOALS:     6 – Collin Adams

SHOTS:            197 – Erik Bradford

WINS:                  18 – Hunter Vorva

GAA:                   2.51 – Hunter Vorva

SAVE %:             .920 – Hunter Vorva

* Currently with Abbotsford (AHL)

** Currently with Vancouver (NHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:   Last Week – 1/7 (14.3%)

                            This Season – 37/206 (18.0%) – No. 22 in the ECHL         

PENALTY KILL:   Last Week – 3/5 (60%)

                             This Season – 181/221 (81.9%) – No. 8 in the ECHL

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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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