K-WINGS WEEKLY: KALAMAZOO SET TO HOST TWO THIS WEEK, ‘SUPER HERO’ NIGHT RETURNS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 11, 2024

KALAMAZOO SET TO HOST TWO THIS WEEK, ‘SUPER HERO’ NIGHT RETURNS

K-Wings fighting through adversity, play three this week including two at home.

OVERALL RECORD:  4-4-0-0

LAST WEEK: 0-3-0-0

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings (4-3-0-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, play three games this week with two at Wings Event Center. First, Kalamazoo heads to Cincinnati for the Cyclones’ Education Day game Tuesday at 10:35 a.m., then hosts Fort Wayne for back-to-back games this Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Last week, the K-Wings went 0-3 (1-3, 3-4, 3-5).

First, Kalamazoo came up short in a defensive battle at Bloomington Friday, falling 3-1. The K-Wings outplayed Bloomington for much of the contest, yet, timely goals by the Bison gave the franchise its first win at home in 2024-25.

Then, the K-Wings dropped a back-and-forth contest at Fort Wayne Saturday, 4-3. Ryan Naumovski (1) and Joe Arntsen (1) notched first pro goals in the contest, but the Komets answered with the game-winning goal at the 18:16 mark of the third. Jonathan Lemieux (3-2-0-0) was stellar in net and faced 47 shots on the evening, stopping 43, in the loss. 

Finally, Kalamazoo fought hard but ultimately fell to Toledo on Sunday, 5-3. Toledo’s three-goal outburst in the second was the difference in this one, and Logan Neaton (0-1-0-0) made his professional debut in net for Kalamazoo, stopping 31 of 36 shots faced in defeat.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN DETAIL

The K-Wings play two games at Wings Event Center this week.

First, Kalamazoo hosts the Fort Wayne Komets on Friday, Nov. 15 at 7:00 p.m. at Wings Event Center for $3 Friday, presented by Bud Light. Come cheer your K-Wings to victory, and enjoy $3 Beers, Sodas and Hot Dogs while taking in the action!

Then, Kalamazoo hosts Fort Wayne again on Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:00 p.m. for Super Hero Night at Wings Event Center. This fan favorite is back again, and this time we welcome Deadpool to join the party, and the ‘Merc with a Mouth’ will be at Wings Event Center for all the fun! 

The Hockey Fights Cancer Ticket Package is BACK for Lavender Ice / Teddy Bear Toss Night versus the Toledo Walleye at 7 p.m. on Nov. 30. Enjoy four (4) tickets to the game and a $20 concessions voucher (4 - $5 vouchers) for $70.

The Hungry Howies Friends and Family Deal is also available for Lavender Ice / Teddy Bear Toss Night versus Toledo at 7 p.m. on Nov. 30. The package includes four (4) tickets to the game, four (4) Kalamazoo Wings knit hats, and a FREE $20 Hungry Howies voucher for your whole family to enjoy, all for just $45.

3-Packs are also on sale now! Catch three games this season (NYE on Dec. 31, Springfield Night on Feb. 15 & empowHER Night on Mar. 8) for the low price of just $49.

RESULTS

Friday, Nov. 8 – Bloomington 2, Kalamazoo 1 (Grossinger Motors Arena, Bloomington, IL) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (4-2-0-0) dropped a tough battle at the Bloomington Bison (3-4-0-1), 3-1, at Grossinger Motors Arena Friday. The Bison scored first at the 17:55 mark of the first period on the power play, and struck again with a goal at the 16:11 mark of the second. Zach Okabe (3) got the K-Wings on the board with a power play goal with 39 seconds left in the middle frame as Kalamazoo skated 5-on-3. Bloomington unfortunately added an empty-net goal with 1:16 left in the third to seal the win. Jonathan Lemieux (3-1-0-0) made 14 saves in defeat.

Saturday, Nov. 9 – Fort Wayne 4, Kalamazoo 3 (Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, IN) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (4-3-0-0) came up just short at the Fort Wayne Komets (7-1-0-0), losing 4-3 at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Saturday. Ryan Naumovski (1) opened the game’s scoring with his first professional goal at the 3:04 mark of the first. Joe Arntsen (1) notched his first pro goal at the 6:36 mark of the second to push the K-Wings’ advantage to 2-0. Fort Wayne struck back with just 7.3 seconds remaining in the second, and the Komets scored 49 seconds into the third to make it 2-2. Then, Fort Wayne scored on the power play at the 7:52 mark to take the 3-2 lead. Arntsen (2) wasn’t done yet, though. The rookie defender scored again at the 12:50 mark to tie the game for Kalamazoo. The Komets unfortunately answered with the game-winning goal at the 18:16 mark. Jonathan Lemieux (3-2-0-0) was stellar in net and faced 47 shots on the evening, stopping 43, in the loss.

Sunday, Nov. 10 – Toledo 5, Kalamazoo 3 (Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (4-4-0-0) fought hard but ultimately fell to the Toledo Walleye (7-2-1-0), 5-3, at Wings Event Center Sunday. Toledo scored first at the 3:25 mark of the opening period. Ben Berard (4) scored the equalizer for Kalamazoo at the 13:51 mark. The Walleye scored three goals in the second period at the 23-second, 6:28 and 12:36 marks to take the 4-1 lead. Collin Saccoman (1) scored just before the buzzer to end the second period to pull back within two. Toledo scored on the power play at the 2:34 mark of the third to make it 5-2. Berard (5) notched his second goal of the game just 50 seconds later. Logan Neaton (0-1-0-0) made his professional debut in net for Kalamazoo, stopping 31 of 36 shots faced in defeat.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Tuesday, Nov. 12 – Kalamazoo at Cincinnati, 10:35 a.m. EST – Heritage Bank Center (Cincinnati, OH)

Friday, Nov. 15 – Fort Wayne at Kalamazoo, 7:00 p.m. EST – Wings Event Center (Kalamazoo, MI)

Saturday, Nov. 16 – Fort Wayne at Kalamazoo, 7:00 p.m. EST – Wings Event Center (Kalamazoo, MI)

ON THE MOVE

Nov. 7 – Goaltender Ty Young reassigned to Abbotsford (AHL) by Vancouver (NHL)

Nov. 8 – Goaltender Logan Neaton signed to Standard Player Contract by Kalamazoo

FAST FACTS

• Rookie defenseman Joe Arntsen scored his first two professional goals Saturday against Fort Wayne, earning his first pro multi-point game as well
• Rookie forward Ryan Naumovski scored his first pro goal and first pro multi-point game (1g-1a) Saturday against Fort Wayne
• Defenseman Collin Saccoman earned his first multi-point game (1g-1a) as a pro Sunday

TEAM TRENDS

• 2-0-0-0 when scoring first at home 
• 3-1-0-0 when earning more power plays than the opponent

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:              6  – Ben Berard, Max Humitz, Zach Okabe

GOALS:                5 – Ben Berard

ASSISTS:          4 – Ryan Cox, Collin Saccoman

PLUS/MINUS:    +11 – Collin Saccoman

PIMS:                   12 – Jermaine Loewen

PP GOALS:      2 – Ben Berard

PP ASSISTS:        2 – Max Humitz, Lee Lapid, Ayden MacDonald, Zach Okabe

SH GOALS:      1 – Josh Bloom

GW GOALS:     1 – Ben Berard, Josh Bloom, Jermaine Loewen, Ayden MacDonald

SHOTS:            23 – Ben Berard

WINS:                  3 – Jonathan Lemieux

GAA:                   1.01 – Ty Young*

SAVE %:             .974 – Ty Young*

* Currently with Abbotsford (AHL)

** Currently with Vancouver (NHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:   Last Week – 1/7 (14.3%)

                            This Season – 6/24 (25.0%) | No. 6 (ECHL)   

PENALTY KILL:   Last Week – 6/9 (66.7%)

                             This Season – 18/24 (75.0%) | No. 28 (ECHL)

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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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