Oct. 1973 | An IHL expansion franchise is awarded to Kalamazoo, MI and a group of investors headed by Ted and Martha Parfet. |
Oct 30, 1974 | The Kalamazoo Wings play their first home game in front of 4,157 fans. |
May 22, 1979 | On this date, the Kalamazoo Wings won their first championship in franchise history by defeating the Grand Rapids Owls in seven games to secure the Turner Cup. The K-Wings swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs and downed three other Michigan based IHL teams en route to the Cup. |
May 17, 1980 | The K-Wings secured back-to-back IHL championship with their 5-1 victory over the Ft. Wayne Komets in Game 6. |
Mar. 17, 1982 | A new Kalamazoo tradition is born when Wings dye the ice surface green for the first St. Patrick's Day Green Ice Game. |
Jan 17, 1984 | Wings Event Center and the Kalamazoo Wings host the IHL All-Star Game, pitting the IHL stars against the U.S. Olympic Team. |
May 16, 1995 | The Kalamazoo Wings franchise is renamed, becoming the Michigan K-Wings. |
Jan 26, 1996 | The three-millionth fan in Kalamazoo Wings history passes through the doors of the stadium. |
Apr 17, 2000 | The Dallas Stars end their affiliation agreement with the Kalamazoo Wings, resulting in the franchise's request for inactive status in the IHL. |
Jul 27, 2000 | The Madison Kodiaks franchise of the United Hockey League relocates to Kalamazoo. Ted Parfet grants the Kalamazoo Wings name and logo to the new franchise. |
Oct 20, 2000 | The Kalamazoo Wings play their first regular season UHL game at Wings Event Center. |
Oct 30, 2004 | The Kalamazoo Wings play their first ever Orange Ice Game. |
Mar 18, 2006 | Molly McMaster becomes the first-ever female to play for the Kalamazoo Wings. |
April 14, 2006 | Kalamazoo Wings capture their first Central Division Championship and Tarry Cup. |
May 27, 2006 | Kalamazoo Wings capture their first Colonial Cup and the first championship of any kind in 26 years. |
Oct. 11, 2007 | Kalamazoo Wings return to IHL. |
Jun. 9, 2009 | Kalamazoo Wings join ECHL. |
Mar. 17, 2010 | Jeremy Duchesne becomes first player since 1999 to start with Kalamazoo Wings in the ECHL and play in the NHL in the same season with the Philadelphia Flyers. |
May 10, 2011 | Kalamazoo Wings win Eastern Conference Championship. |
Mar. 28, 2012 | Kalamazoo Wings clinch their third straight North Division crown. |
Aug. 17, 2012 | Consumers Credit Union becomes the first ever presenting sponsor of Slappy™. |
Sept. 18, 2012 | The home of the Kalamazoo Wings, Wings Event Center, announce a $2 million renovation project, which includes the largest video board in minor league hockey. |
Sept. 16, 2013 | Kalamazoo Wings unveil 40th Anniversary logo. |
Mar. 10, 2013 | Nick Bootland becomes the winningest coach in Kalamazoo Wings history. |
Dec. 20, 2013 | Kalamazoo Wings host first ever Blue Ice weekend, in honor of Bell's Brewery. |
Mar. 29, 2014 | Kalamazoo Wings clinch their 4th North Division title. |
Apr. 10, 2014 | Sam Ftorek makes All-ECHL First Team and Elgin Reid makes All-ECHL Second Team. |
Dec. 15, 2014 | Sam Ftorek plays in ECHL-record 790th career game, passing Cam Brown’s previous league record. |
Dec. 29, 2014 | Kalamazoo defeats Toledo, 2-1, in the ECHL’s first-ever outdoor game at Fifth Third Field in Toledo, Ohio. |
Dec. 29, 2014 | Joel Martin becomes the winningest goalie in the Kalamazoo Wings’ ECHL history. |
Jun. 18, 2015 | Sam Ftorek is named assistant coach of the Wings after 17-year playing career. |
Feb. 27, 2016 | Nick Bootland becomes first head coach in team history to reach 300 wins with the franchise. |
Mar. 5, 2016 | Justin Taylor becomes the franchises ECHL leading scorer with his 272nd point. |
Apr. 2, 2016 | Joel Martin moves into 5th all-time in ECHL history with his 156th career regular season win. |
May 26, 2016 | Kalamazoo becomes ECHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning, their 11th NHL affiliate in team history. |
Jan. 6, 2017 | Joel Martin passes Georges Gagnon with his franchise record 197th win. |
Jul. 12, 2017 | Kalamazoo becomes ECHL affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, their 12th affiliate in team history. |
Jun. 2018 | Former goaltender Joel Martin retires and is named assistant coach. |
Oct. 19, 2018 | Kalamazoo retires Kevin Schamehorn’s #26. |
Jan. 19, 2019 | Kalamazoo celebrates their 45th Anniversary, retiring Georges Gagnon's #1. |
Oct. 23, 2019 | Justin Taylor passes Kevin Schamehorn with his franchise-record 496th game in a K-Wings uniform. |
Nov. 2, 2019 | Kalamazoo Wings set a Guinness World Record for largest lightsaber battle during Star Wars Night at Wings Event Center (3,889 participants) |
Mar. 11, 2020 | The K-Wings played their final game of a shortened 2019-20 season, a 1-0 loss to Indy at Wings Event Center. The remainder of the ECHL season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Oct. 23, 2021 | Kalamazoo opens it's doors to fans for the first time since the pandemic shortened season. The K-Wings would beat the Toledo Walleye 5-2 in front of a sold out crowd at Wings Event Center. |
Jan. 7, 2022 | The Kalamazoo Wings became the first professional hockey team to play on a rainbow painted ice surface. The event recieved national and international coverage to celebrate the organization's dedication to diversity and inclusion. |
Jan. 15, 2022 | Kalamazoo retires Neil Meadmore's #27. |
Jan. 18, 2022 | Former goaltender and current assistant coach Joel Martin is inducted into the 14th Class of the ECHL Hall of Fame. |
Apr. 15, 2022 | Kalamazoo retires Tyler Willis' #13. |
Aug. 11, 2022 | Nick Bootland steps down as head coach of the team and joins the Hershey Bears (AHL) as an assistant coach. Bootland leaves as the K-Wings all-time winningest coach in K-Wings history (437). |
Aug. 15, 2022 | Kalamazoo hires Joel Martin as the 22nd head coach in team history |