LAVENDER ICE HOSTS 4,964, BACK ON ROAD THIS WEEK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 2, 2024

LAVENDER ICE HOSTS 4,964, BACK ON ROAD THIS WEEK

K-Wings hit the road to play Wheeling & Fort Wayne with Wings Wonderland Weekend on the horizon.

OVERALL RECORD:  6-10-1-0

LAST WEEK: 0-3-0-0

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings (6-10-1-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, play two on the road this week. First, the K-Wings head to Wheeling to face the Nailers Friday, then face Fort Wayne on the road Saturday.

Last week, the K-Wings went 0-3-0-0 (0-5, 2-3, 1-5).

First, Kalamazoo dropped a 5-0 contest with Cincinnati Wednesday. Jonathan Lemieux (5-5-1-0) made 31 saves in the loss.

Then, the K-Wings went to Toledo and fell in a hard-fought battle, 3-2. Joey Raats (1) and Zach Okabe (5) scored goals to put Kalamazoo up 2-1 in the second period, but the Walleye answered with two goals to secure the victory.

Finally, Kalamazoo came home and suffered a 5-1 defeat at the hands of the Walleye. Joseph Arntsen (4) scored the K-Wings’ lone goal in the loss.

UPCOMING EVENTS IN DETAIL

The K-Wings next play at Wings Event Center on Dec. 15.

From now until Dec. 8, enjoy no surcharges when purchasing tickets online. CLICK HERE to take advantage of 'No Fee December' and secure your tickets to any game this month at a lower price.

Kalamazoo hosts the Indy Fuel for The Lion, the Wings and the Wardrobe Day at 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 15 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!

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

Wednesday, Nov. 27 – Cincinnati 5, Kalamazoo 0 (Heritage Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (6-8-1-0) dropped Wednesday’s contest, 5-0, to the Cincinnati Cyclones (2-8-3-0) at Heritage Bank Center. Cincinnati scored two goals in the first period, at the 2:53 and 15:20 marks, to take the early lead. The Cyclones added one more in the middle frame, coming at the 13:45 mark. Two more third-period goals, at the 11:17 and 14:37 marks, capped off Cincinnati’s win. Jonathan Lemieux (5-5-1-0) made 31 saves in defeat, helping Kalamazoo go 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.

Friday, Nov. 29 – Toledo 3, Kalamazoo 2 (Huntington Arena, Toledo, OH) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (6-9-1-0) battled down to the wire before falling to the Toledo Walleye (11-5-2-0), Friday at Huntington Center, 3-2. Toledo scored first at the 2:56 mark of the second period, but Kalamazoo came right back to tie things up. Joey Raats (1) answered for the K-Wings to even the score with his first goal since Nov. 12, 2019 just 39 seconds after the Walleye took the lead. Zach Okabe (5) then gave Kalamazoo a 2-1 lead with a power play goal at the 15:39 mark. The Walleye responded with a shorthanded goal at the 17:23 mark in the middle frame to tie it at 2-2. Toledo scored again 2:28 into the third to take the lead. Jonathan Lemieux (5-6-1-0) was sharp in net, stopping 33 of the Walleye’s 36 shots in the contest.

Saturday, Nov. 30 – Toledo 5, Kalamazoo 1 (Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI) | Box Score

>>   The Kalamazoo Wings (6-10-1-0) fell to the Toledo Walleye (12-5-2-0), Saturday at Wings Event Center in front of 4,964 fans for the Lavender Ice / Teddy Bear Toss Game, 5-1. Toledo scored first at the 8:38 mark of the first period. Walleye goals at the 9:23 and 13:47 marks of the middle frame made it 3-0. Joseph Arntsen (4) got the teddy bears flying, scoring a goal with 25 seconds left in the second. Toledo struck on the power play at the 11:09 mark of the third, and notched an empty-net goal with 2:05 remaining to cap off the victory. Jonathan Lemieux (5-7-1-0) made 25 saves in defeat.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Friday, Dec. 6 – Kalamazoo at Wheeling, 7:10 p.m. EST – WesBanco Arena (Wheeling, WV)

Saturday, Dec. 7 – Kalamazoo at Fort Wayne, 7:35 p.m. EST – Allen County War Memorial Coliseum (Fort Wayne, IN)

ON THE MOVE

Dec. 1 - Goaltender Hunter Vorva signed to a Standard Player Contract by Kalamazoo

Dec. 1 - Goaltender Logan Neaton traded to Allen by Kalamazoo for future considerations

FAST FACTS

• Defenseman Joey Raats scored his first goal since Nov. 12, 2019 on Friday
• Forward Quinn Preston has assists in six of his last eight games (1g, 7a) to ascend to the team lead in assists (10) and points (12)
• Forward Quinn Preston also notched his 100th ECHL point with an assist on Friday

TEAM TRENDS

• 4-1-1-0 when scoring first
• 5-3-0-0 when earning more power plays than the opponent

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:              12  – Quinn Preston

GOALS:                7 – Ben Berard*

ASSISTS:          10 – Quinn Preston

PLUS/MINUS:    +11 – Collin Saccoman

PIMS:                   19 – Jermaine Loewen

PP GOALS:      2 – Ben Berard*, Zach Okabe

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

SH GOALS:      1 – Josh Bloom

GW GOALS:     1 – six players tied

SHOTS:            44 – Zach Berzolla

WINS:                  5 – Jonathan Lemieux

GAA:                   2.69 – Jonathan Lemieux

SAVE %:             .917 – Jonathan Lemieux

* Currently with Abbotsford (AHL)

** Currently with Vancouver (NHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:   Last Week – 1/9 (11.1%)

                            This Season – 7/52 (13.5%) | No. 26 (ECHL)   

PENALTY KILL:   Last Week – 4/6 (66.7%)

                             This Season – 35/46 (76.1%) | No. 25 (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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