FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 18, 2026

K-WINGS TAKE DOWN CYCLONES SATURDAY ON ROAD

Kalamazoo drops Cincinnati in three straight games & keeps its playoff hopes alive, while setting an ECHL franchise-best mark on the road.

BOX SCORE

CINCINNATI, OH – The Kalamazoo Wings (36-29-3-3), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Vancouver Canucks, secured two essential points and set an ECHL franchise-high for road wins (21) in a commanding victory against the Cincinnati Cyclones (35-32-4-1) Saturday at Heritage Bank Center, 4-1.

Quinn Preston (21) started the scoring for the K-Wings, firing a shot into the back of the net from the slot at the 15:25 mark of the first period. On the play, Matt Berry (9) stole the puck behind the Cyclones’ net and wrapped a pass around the right post to Preston for the only goal of the first period. 

Jackson Kunz (12) continued his hot streak in the second period by dangling around the netminder and depositing the puck on the break at the 5:17 mark of the middle frame. On the goal, Nolan Walker (30) collected a Cincinnati rebound flying across the neutral zone and quickly led Kunz in for the game-winning goal.

Nick Poisson (1) quickly followed with his first ECHL goal on a beautiful slot side backhand tucked inside the right post at the 5:57 mark. On the setup, Davis Pennington (38) launched a pass down the ice that found Walker (31) against the offensive zone sideboards. Walker skated into the left circle and fired a shot that deflected off a defenseman’s skate to the center of the slot, where Poisson capitalized.

The Cyclones then spoiled the shutout with a goal at the 15:26 mark of the third frame. 

Greg Japchen (1) then found an empty net for his first professional goal at the 17:11 mark, finalizing a 4-1 score. 

Aku Koskenvuo (12-10-0-0) was phenomenal in net, turning aside 26 of 27 shots in the contest. Kalamazoo also went a perfect 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.  

With the team’s 21 road wins this season, the K-Wings surpassed the 2011-12 (20) and 2013-14 (20) teams for the most road wins in their ECHL franchise history. 

Next up, the K-Wings stay on the road for the regular-season finale against the Fort Wayne Komets (44-17-10-0) at 5:05 p.m. EDT on Sunday at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. 

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The Kalamazoo Wings are a professional hockey team based in southwest Michigan, having 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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