KALAMAZOO HEATS UP, PREPS FOR DOWN SYNDROME CELEBRATION & NEW YEARS EVE GAME

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 23, 2024

KALAMAZOO HEATS UP, PREPS FOR DOWN SYNDROME CELEBRATION & NEW YEARS EVE GAME

K-Wings take 4-of-6, win Wings Wonderland Weekend and eye 4 games in 5 days ahead of 2025.

OVERALL RECORD:  10-13-1-0

LAST WEEK: 2-1-0-0

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings (8-13-1-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, play three games this week with one at Wings Event Center. The K-Wings first host the Bloomington Bison at Wings Event Center Friday, then head to Illinois for a pair of road tilts with the Bison Saturday and Sunday.

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

First, Kalamazoo dropped Friday’s contest versus Cincinnati at home, 5-2. The Cyclones scored first on the power play before Jay Keranen (2) netted the equalizer. Cincinnati scored once more late in the opening frame and never looked back. Rookie forward Mark Cheremeta (1) scored his first professional goal in the third period, but the team could not solve Cyclone netminding the rest of the way out. 

On Saturday, the K-Wings responded with one of their grittiest come-from-behind wins of the season. Cincinnati opened the game up with a power play goal for the second consecutive night, but Kalamazoo continued its assault on the forecheck and Travis Broughman (6) tied the game just over six minutes later. Both netminders put on a show after that until Ben Berard’s (8) unassisted short-handed goal hit the books as the game-winner at 13:41 of the third. Jonathan Lemieux made 24 stops in the win. 

Finally, the K-Wings took out the ECHL’s second-best team in the Wheeling Nailers on Sunday at Wings Event Center, 2-1. The K-Wings never trailed and Wheeling’s No. 4 ranked offense didn't hit the score sheet until the 10:57 mark of the third due to phenomenal defensive zone protection centered by Ty Young’s 36 save performance. Davis Codd (1) and Ted Nichol (3) connected in the second period to propel the team to victory.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN DETAIL

The K-Wings play one game at Wings Event Center this week.

Kalamazoo hosts Bloomington on Friday, Dec. 27 at 7:00 p.m. at Wings Event Center for its ‘Down Syndrome Celebration’ game, presented by Bronson. Down Syndrome is the most common chromosomal cause of intellectual disability and developmental delay in the world, occurring in about 1 in 700 live births with just 10% considered severely developmentally delayed. It will also be a $3 Friday, presented by Bud Light, so you can enjoy $3 Beers, Sodas and Hot Dogs! Plus, stick around postgame for the Down Syndrome Specialty Jersey auction!

The Hungry Howie’s Friends deal is back for the New Year’s Eve game versus the Indy Fuel on Dec. 31. Tap HERE to secure the package that pays for itself (4 tickets, 4 K-Wings knit hats and a $20 Hungry Howie’s voucher).

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.

The ECHL HOF Dinner is coming to Kalamazoo on Friday, January 18. You can secure your spot to hear Kalamazoo Legend Bernie Saunders give the keynote address, plus the Stanley Cup and associated trophies are expected to make an appearance. Click above to get all the perks on this historic night!

RESULTS

Friday, Dec. 20 – Cincinnati 5, Kalamazoo 2 (Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (8-13-1-0) couldn’t overcome three goals allowed in the second period and fell to the Cincinnati Cyclones (5-14-4-0) at Wings Event Center Friday, 5-2. Cincinnati scored first on the power play at the 5:49 mark of the opening period. Jay Keranen (2) answered with a goal for Kalamazoo at the 7:29 mark. The Cyclones scored to regain the lead at the 16:04 mark of the first. Cincinnati scored two more goals early in the second period, at the 2:42 and 3:18 marks, prompting the K-Wings to make a change in net from Ty Young (2-2-0-0) to Jonathan Lemieux. Cincinnati notched another goal with just four seconds left in the middle frame to make it 5-1. Mark Cheremeta (1) then scored his first professional goal at the 4:40 mark of the third. Lemieux was strong in relief, stopping 16 of 17 shots faced in the final 36:42.

Saturday, Dec. 21 – Cincinnati 1, Kalamazoo 2, (Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (9-13-1-0) came out on top against the Cincinnati Cyclones in a battle of outstanding goaltending on both sides at Wings Event Center Saturday, 2-1. For the second straight game, Cincinnati scored first on the power play, with the tally coming at the 7:53 mark of the opening period. Travis Broughman (6) notched the equalizer at the 14:08 mark. On the play, Ayden MacDonald (6) intercepted a pass by the Cyclones’ netminder and found Broughman in the right circle for a snipe job into the top-left corner. The score remained locked at 1-1 until Ben Berard (8) jumped on a loose puck at the top of the defensive zone, raced by the Cincinnati defense and fired a wrister top-shelf for the shorthanded goal at the 13:41 of the third. Berard’s shorty went in the books as the game-winning goal. Jonathan Lemieux was spectacular in net, stopping 24 of the Cyclones’ 25 shots to earn the victory. 

Sunday, Dec. 22 – Wheeling 1, Kalamazoo 2 (Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (10-13-1-0) notched two goals in the second period and rode an outstanding goaltending performance to a 2-1 victory over the Wheeling Nailers (18-5-1-0) Sunday. Kalamazoo opened the scoring up at the 9:06 mark of the middle frame, as Davis Codd (1) won a loose puck out front and pushed it into the back of the net with tons of traffic in front of the Wheeling netminder. Ayden McDonald (7) and Luc Salem (4) assisted on the gritty goal. The K-Wings scored the game-winning goal off the stick of Ted Nichol (3) at the 17:45 mark of the second. On the play, Salem (5) took the initial shot and a long rebound fell into the lap of Nichol on the right side of the goal. Mark Cheremeta (2) earned the secondary assist on Nichol’s open net splash. Wheeling added a goal at the 10:57 mark of the third, but the K-Wings’ defense, quarterbacked by Ty Young’s (3-2-0-0) 36-save performance, sealed the victory. Kalamazoo was scoreless on the power play and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.

ON THE MOVE

Dec. 18 - Goaltender Jonathan Lemieux loaned to Kalamazoo by Abbotsford (AHL)

Dec. 18 - Kalamazoo acquires defenseman Luc Salem from Allen in exchange for forward Adam Tisdale

Dec. 21 - Forward Drake Pilon signed to a Standard Player Contract by Kalamazoo

FAST FACTS

• Rookie forward Mark Cheremeta scored his first professional goal Friday
• Rookie forward Zach Okabe scored his first professional overtime goal Saturday
• Forward Ted Nichol (3) leads the team with three game-winning goals

TEAM TRENDS

• 6-3-0-0 following a win
• 7-3-0-0 when earning more power plays than the opponent

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:              12  – Zach Okabe, Ayden MacDonald, Quinn Preston

GOALS:                8 – Ben Berard

ASSISTS:          10 – Quinn Preston

PLUS/MINUS:    +9 – Collin Saccoman

PIMS:                   21 – Jermaine Loewen

PP GOALS:      2 – Ben Berard, Zach Okabe

PP ASSISTS:        3 – Max Humitz

SH GOALS:      1 – Ben Berard, Josh Bloom

GW GOALS:     3 – Ted Nichol

SHOTS:            58 – Zach Berzolla

WINS:                  6 – Jonathan Lemieux

GAA:                   2.27 – Ty Young

SAVE %:             .935 – Ty Young

* Currently with Abbotsford (AHL)

** Currently with Vancouver (NHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:   Last Week – 0/6 (0.0%)

                            This Season – 8/68 (11.8%) | No. 28 (ECHL)   

PENALTY KILL:   Last Week – 4/6 (66.6%)

                             This Season – 48/64 (75.0%) | No. 27 (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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