FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 14, 2024

K-WINGS TOP FUEL SATURDAY IN OT

Kalamazoo never trails, helps Indy break in new arena and Okabe finishes off Indy in extra time.

BOX SCORE

FISHERS, IN – The Kalamazoo Wings (8-11-1-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, used overtime to beat the Indy Fuel (8-7-2-1) Saturday in the franchise’s first visit to Fishers Event Center, 4-3.

Zach Okabe (6) won it for Kalamazoo with a goal at the 2:32 mark of the extra frame. Zach Berzolla (4) started the two-on-one sequence with a long stretch pass connect from the defensive zone to Ryan Cox (5). Cox brought the puck down the right side and fired from the faceoff dot, and Okabe was waiting on the left side of the goal mouth to slam home the rebound.

Travis Broughman (5) started the scoring for the K-Wings at the 2:04 mark of the opening frame. An errant pass by Indy, created by Ted Nichol’s booming forecheck, found Broughman’s stick in the left circle, and he walked to the goalmouth and buried it.

Late in the first, while skating 4-on-4, Lee Lapid (1) scored his first goal as a K-Wing to make it 2-0 at the 18:38 mark. On the play, Max Humitz (5) forced a turnover in the defensive end and connected with Lapid who broke behind the Indy defense to finish off the breakaway.

The Fuel scored twice in the second period, at the 6:41 and 15:30 marks, to tie the game. Indy’s second goal was scored shorthanded.

Kalamazoo regained control again in the third when Cox (2) scored at the 2:56 mark of the third. The forward jumped behind the Indy defense, after Jermaine Loewen's (3) backhand pass from the blue line, and fired a wrister just inside the left post for the goal. Mark Cheremeta (1) earned his first professional point with the secondary assist on the go-ahead goal.

Indy struck back with a goal at the 14:26 mark to tie it and force overtime, setting up Okabe’s game-winner.

Ty Young (2-1-0-0) was stout in net in the victory, making 23 saves. He helped the K-Wings go 2-for-2 on the penalty kill as well.

Kalamazoo heads home for the second half of the home-and-home with Indy Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at Wings Event Center. Get your tickets HERE.

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REMEMBER! No Fee December was extended until Dec. 20! Click here to enjoy all the hockey action this month with NO online ticket fees!

Kalamazoo hosts the Indy Fuel for The Lion, the Wings and the Wardrobe Day at 3 p.m. Sunday at Wings Event Center. The K-Wings will pay homage to the C.S. Lewis best-seller and raise awareness on the importance of literacy, as nearly 44 million Americans struggle with literacy.

The K-Wings also host Wings Wonderland Weekend with three games in three days from Dec. 20-22. There will be a giveaway at all three games, from a K-Wings Moose Mug on $3 Friday against Cincinnati, to a Christmas Vacation Trucker Hat Saturday against the Cyclones, and K-Wings Christmas Poster on Sunday for ChristmaKwanzukkah versus Wheeling!

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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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