FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 15, 2025

K-WINGS MOVE UP STANDINGS, PREP FOR 5-GAME ROAD SWING

Kalamazoo took five of eight points last week, ready for pivotal road swing before NYE.

OVERALL RECORD:  8-11-2-1

LAST WEEK: 2-1-0-1

KALAMAZOO, MI - The Kalamazoo Wings (8-11-2-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, hit the road for a pair of games this weekend at 8:00 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 19, and Saturday, Dec. 20, in Bloomington at Grossinger Motors Arena. 

Last week, the K-Wings went 2-1-0-1 (4-5 F/SO, 3-2 F/OT, 5-4, 0-4).

On Wednesday, Kalamazoo erupted for three straight second-period goals in a contest that saw Powell Connor and Colson Gengenbach record their first goals of the season. Zach Okabe and Jayden Lee both recorded two assists, but Bloomington’s three consecutive third-period strikes sent the game into overtime. The Bison eventually prevailed in the shootout.

Friday, K-Wings alternate captain Quinn Preston logged his second multi-goal outing of 2025-26, erasing two first-period Cyclone goals, and sending the game into overtime. That’s when Jayden Lee found the net, securing the victory as part of his two-point own performance (1g, 1a). Ty Young made 33 stops in his first win of the season.

Saturday's contest was one to remember as the two teams logged a combined season-high 98 penalty minutes with seven misconducts levied in the third period. Andre Ghantous recorded his first multigoal (2) game of the year, including the game winner with 28 seconds remaining in regulation. Derek Daschke (1g, 1a) scored his first goal as a Wing, David Keefer also logged his first two assists of the year, and goaltender Ty Young (2-0-0-0) made 32 stops in the win. 

On Sunday, goaltender Aku Koskenvuo (1-2-0-0) turned aside 40 shots on goal. However, the Komets' defense stymied the K-Wings’ offensive efforts in Kalamazoo’s first shutout loss of the season. 

UPCOMING EVENTS IN DETAIL

Kalamazoo hits the road for two games in Bloomington at 8 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 19, and Saturday, Dec. 20, at Grossinger Motors Arena. 

NEXT WEEK!

The K-Wings travel to Cincinnati for a pair of games at 7:35 p.m. EST on Friday, Dec. 26, and Saturday, Dec. 27, at Heritage Bank Center. Then, Kalamazoo finishes the week in Fort Wayne at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum with puck drop at 5:05 p.m. EST.

THE REST OF THE MONTH!

Wednesday, Dec. 31: Annual New Year’s Eve Game: Join us for Kalamazoo’s Annual New Year’s Eve game, presented by Parker! The K-Wings battle the Toledo Walleye at Wings Event Center to ring in the new year. Start your NYE with thrilling hockey action, then catch the football games on TVs throughout the arena. It’s a tradition decades in the making - don’t miss out on ringing in the new year, K-Wings style!

Dec. 31 HH F&F Deal: Go easy on the Wallet and be home for the Ball to Drop with the NYE Hungry Howie’s Friends and Family deal for the Dec. 31 game! Tap below to secure 4 tickets, 4 knit hats & a $20 Hungry Howie's pizza voucher. So, this package pays for itself at $45 bucks. Tap below to secure now!

RESULTS

Wednesday, Dec. 10 – Bloomington vs. Kalamazoo (L, 5-4 F/SO), Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI| Box Score

>> The Kalamazoo Wings (6-10-2-1) battled valiantly but came up just short against the Bloomington Bison (11-5-2-2) in a shootout affair Wednesday at Wings Event Center, 5-4. Powell Connor (1) ignited the K-Wings offense with a breakaway bar-down snipe for his first goal of the season 58 seconds into the first period, marking the fastest Kalamazoo score thus far this season. Bloomington tied the game at one at the 10:34 mark. Andre Ghantous (4) broke the stalemate with a putback wrister just inside the left post at the 5:56 mark of the second period. Tacking his fourth goal in three games, Quinn Preston (7) extended the Kalamazoo lead with a top-shelf snipe just inside the right bar. Rookie forward Colson Gengenbach (1) continued the K-Wings' offensive onslaught by sending a one-time rocket in the top twine from the top of the crease for his first career goal at the 13:43 mark of the second. Unfortunately, Bloomington responded with three straight goals to tie the game. One with 15 seconds left in the second frame, and two more at the 2:08 and 9:58 (PPG) marks of the third period to even the score at four. After a scoreless overtime period, the Bison won the game with the shootout’s only goal in the third round. The K-Wings penalty kill was 3-for-4 in the contest, and Jonathan Lemieux (2-4-1-1) made 31 saves in the rubber match.

Friday, Dec. 12 – Kalamazoo at Cincinnati (W, 3-2 F/OT), Heritage Bank Center, Cincinnati, OH | Box Score

>> The Kalamazoo Wings (7-10-2-1) rode two multipoint games and outlasted the Cincinnati Cyclones (11-9-2-0) in their second consecutive overtime affair Friday at Heritage Bank Center, 3-2. Jayden Lee (2) showed up in the clutch, scoring the game-winning overtime goal as part of his second multi-point game in a row. Cincinnati took the early advantage with two first-period goals at the 3:08 and 10:00 (PPG) marks, but Kalamazoo was quick to respond in the second. Quinn Preston (8) answered by continuing his hot streak with an unassisted snipe inside the right post to open the second frame at the 1:04 mark, knotting the game at two and charting his sixth goal in four games. Preston (9) then lasered a top-shelf power-play goal from the right circle at the 8:25 mark of the third period. Ty Young (1-0-0-0) was stout in net, making 33-of-35 saves, and the K-Wings went 3-for-4 on the penalty kill. 

Saturday, Dec. 13 – Kalamazoo at Fort Wayne (W, 5-4), Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, Fort Wayne, IN | Box Score

>> The Kalamazoo Wings (8-10-2-1) ignited for three second-period goals in a chaotic win against the Fort Wayne Komets (14-6-2-0) Saturday at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, 5-4. Andre Ghantous (6) sniped the game-winning goal with only 27 seconds remaining in regulation for his second goal of the night. Fort Wayne took a short-lived lead with the lone goal of the first period at the 11:13 mark. However, Ghantous (5) quickly knotted the score by redirecting a pass from the right circle into the net just 36 seconds into the second period. Next up, Derek Daschke (1) extended the lead with a power-play slapshot from deep in the offensive zone, scoring his first goal of the season and giving Kalamazoo a 2-1 advantage. Antonio Venuto (5) immediately kept the momentum rolling with a goal of his own, only 14 seconds later. Unfortunately, the Komets found the net at the 2:59 mark of the third period to bring the score to 3-2, skating 4-on-4. Cam Knuble (2) answered by poking a goal past an out-of-place goaltender at the 5:37 mark. Fort Wayne then responded by scoring two straight power-play goals to knot the game at four. Ty Young (2-0-0-0) was fantastic in net, making 32 saves, and the K-Wings went 2-for-2 on the power-play. There were 92 total penalty minutes in the third period, and seven total players sent to the dressing room with misconducts.

Sunday, Dec. 14 – Fort Wayne vs. Kalamazoo (L, 4-0), Wings Event Center, Kalamazoo, MI | Box Score

>> The Kalamazoo Wings (8-11-2-1) fell to a hungry Fort Wayne Komets (15-6-2-0) team Sunday at Wings Event Center, 4-0. Fort Wayne took the early advantage and never let off the gas, scoring four unanswered goals in Kalamazoo’s first shutout loss of the season. The Komets scored one goal in the first period at the 14:27 mark, two in the second frame at 7:28 and 18:17 marks, and the final at the 12:22 mark of the third. Aku Koskenvuo (1-2-0-0) turned aside 40 shots, and the K-Wings went 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.

ON THE MOVE

Dec. 8 - Goaltender Ty Young was recalled from loan by Vancouver (NHL) from Abbotsford (AHL) and reassigned on loan to Kalamazoo

Dec. 8 - Kalamazoo signed forward David Keefer to a Standard Player Contract (SPC)

Dec. 11 - Defenseman Derek Daschke was loaned to Kalamazoo from Abbotsford (AHL)

Dec. 12 - Goaltender Aku Koskenvuo was recalled from loan by Vancouver (NHL) from Abbotsford (AHL) and reassigned on loan to Kalamazoo

Dec. 13 - Goaltender Luke Pavicich was traded to Worcester for future considerations

FAST FACTS

• Alternate captain Quinn Preston capped an eight-game point streak (4g, 3a) on Saturday with three goals and an assist last week 
• Kalamazoo defenseman Jayden Lee notched two multi-point games last week (1g-3a) and scored the game-winning goal in overtime versus Cincinnati on Friday
• K-Wings third-year pro Andre Ghantous charted his first multi-goal (2) game of the season against Fort Wayne on Saturday, including his second game-winning goal of the season 

TEAM TRENDS

• 5-0-1-0 when leading after two periods
• 6-2-1-0 when scoring a power-play goal
• 7-3-2-1 in 1-goal games

STATISTICAL LEADERS

POINTS:              22 – Quinn Preston

GOALS:                9 – Quinn Preston

ASSISTS:          12 – Zach Okabe, Quinn Preston

PLUS/MINUS:    +8 – Zach Okabe

PIMS:                   36 – Colin Bilek

PP GOALS:      3 – Quinn Preston

PP ASSISTS:         3 – *Hunter Strand, Nolan Walker

SH GOALS:      2 – *Hunter Strand

GW GOALS:    3 – Zach Okabe

SHOTS:           57 – *Davis Pennington

WINS:                 2 – Jonathan Lemeuix, *Luke Pavicich (WOR), Ty Young

GAA:                   2.97 – Ty Young

SAVE %:             .915 – Ty Young

*     Rookie

**   Currently with Abbotsford (AHL)

*** Currently with Vancouver (NHL)

SPECIAL TEAMS

POWER PLAY:   Last Week – 3/12  (25.0 %)

                            This Season – 8/58 (15.7 %) | No. 22 (ECHL)   

PENALTY KILL:   Last Week – 9/14 (64.3%)

                             This Season – 50/66 (75.8%)| 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 its 36 regular-season home games at Wings Event Center from October through April.

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