Kalamazoo Wings @ Flint Generals ... 1-2

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IHL/Game Stats -
http://www.pointstreak.com/stats/pro/boxscore.html?gameid=734829

Kalamazoo 4 @ Flint 3

Jan 02, 2009-Perani

Stars of the Game -
1ST STAR: Nebus, Mark (KZW)
2ND STAR: DiPace, John (FLT)
3RD STAR: Fojtik, Josef (FLT)

POWERPLAYS -
Kalamazoo 0 for 2
Flint 1 for 4

SCORING SUMMARY -
Period 1:
Kalamazoo - Mark Nebus (unassisted) 5:05
Kalamazoo - Blair Manning (Anthony Battaglia, Justin Cross) 9:22
Kalamazoo - Rick Cleaver (Glenn Detulleo, Jason Robinson) 10:52

Period 2:
Kalamazoo - Bryan Jurynec (Mark Nebus, Blair Stayzer) 7:52

Period 3:
Flint - Greg Bullock (Kris Mallette, Rob Voltera) 7:15
Flint - John DiPace (Josef Fojtik, Zach Pearson) 8:29
Flint - Steve Rymsha (powerplay) (Josef Fojtik, John DiPace) 16:53

PENALTIES -
Period 1:
Flint - Justin Styffe - (Cross Checking), 2 min, 14:20
Kalamazoo - Blair Stayzer - (Cross Checking), 2 min, 14:20
Kalamazoo - Mark Nebus - (Roughing), 2 min, 14:20
Flint - Kyle Deck - (Holding), 2 min, 19:07

Period 2:
Kalamazoo - John Glavota - (Hooking), 2 min, 1:56
Flint - Justin Styffe - (Boarding), 2 min, 11:58
Flint - Justin Styffe - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 11:58
Kalamazoo - Blair Stayzer - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 11:58
Kalamazoo - Rod Aldoff - (Hooking), 2 min, 14:01

Period 3:
Flint - Greg Bullock - (Abuse of Officials Misconduct), 10 min, 12:50
Flint - Rob Voltera - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 14:09
Kalamazoo - Blair Stayzer - (Fighting Major), 5 min, 14:09
Kalamazoo - Bryan Jurynec - (Hooking), 2 min, 16:17

GOALIES -
Kalamazoo: Joel Martin-49 60:00 34 31 WIN
Flint: Chad Alban-29 58:42 27 23 LOSS

ATTENDANCE: 1,810

REFEREE: Bob Langdon
LINES 1: Geoff Rutherford
LINES 2: Jonathan Forbes

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Wings Website -
http://www.wingsstadium.com/news/2008/01-02_gamerecap_Flint.htm

K-WINGS HOLD OFF GENERALS

Scoring Three Goals in the First Period, Kalamazoo Out-Last Flint 4-3

Mike Modugno-Director of Public Relations and Broadcaster

January 2, 2009

Flint, MI- The Kalamazoo Wings started the new year the same way they ended 2008, with a victory. This time the K-Wings held off a late Flint Generals rally to defeat the Generals 4-3.

Two delays because of dislodged glass didn’t slow up the K-Wings in the first period. Kalamazoo stormed out of the gates with a Mark Nebus goal 5:05 into the contest. Nebus’ tally was his team-leading 19th of the season and extends his goal streak to three games and his point streak to six.

Following up on his hat trick performance on New Year’s Eve, Blair Manning struck for his fifth goal of the season midway through the period on backhander that sailed past former K-Wing goaltender and Kalamazoo native, Chad Alban.

Just 1:30 after Manning lit the lamp, the K-Wings extended the K-Wings lead to 3-0, when Rick Cleaver (12th) ripped a one-timer from between the circles 10:52 into the period.

Out-shooting the Generals 9-4 in the second period, it was the K-Wings that scored the stanza’s lone goal. Camped out in front of the crease, Bryan Jurynec (3rd) deflected a Nebus shot past Alban to give the K-Wings a 4-0 advantage. The goal by Jurynec extends the rookie forward a four-game point streak.

Feisty in the third, Flint received goals from Greg Bullock (15th), John DiPace (18th) and Steve Rymsha (20th), but it wouldn’t be enough as the K-Wings survived the last charge to defeat the Generals 4-3.

The K-Wings victory coupled with a shootout loss from the Port Huron Icehawks gives Kalamazoo sole possession of first place in the International Hockey League.

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Kalamazoo Newspaper -
http://www.mlive.com/kwings/index.ssf/2009/01/kwings_survive_flint_rally.html

K-WINGS SURVIVE FLINT RALLY

by Gazette Staff

January 02, 2009

FLINT -- Enjoying a 4-0 lead after two periods, the Kalamazoo Wings ended up fighting for the win after the Flint Generals scored three unanswered goals in the third period.

The K-Wings held on, winning 4-3 Friday night, and with the Port Huron Icehawks losing 2-1 in overtime to the Fort Wayne Komets, Kalamazoo (20-10-0-0), with 40 points, sits all alone in first place in the International Hockey League.

The Icehawks fall to second, one point behind, and the Komets, heading to Kalamazoo for a game tonight, remain in third, three points behind the K-Wings.

In the final period at Flint (10-21-1-2), Greg Bullock started the comeback attempt after K-Wings defenseman Casey Handrahan and Flint's Mark Versteeg-Lywtyn took out Kalamazoo goalie Joel Martin. Bullock dumped the puck into the open net.

Just 1:14 later, Flint's John DiPace put a backhander into the net and Steve Rymsha closed to deficit to one goal with the only power-play tally in game -- with 3:17 left.

The Generals pulled goalie Chad Alban for the sixth attacker, but they couldn't get the equalizer to force the overtime.

"We played well for 35 minutes," K-Wings coach Nick Bootland said. "They played well for 25. We sat back and watched in the third, but give them credit -- they built off the momentum and showed no quit."

As for sole possession of first place, Bootland said: "First place has always been our ultimate goal. Now our goal is to stay there."

The K-Wings, who are 8-0-0-0 against the Generals, took a 3-0 lead in the first period, beginning with Mark Nebus' team-high 19th goal, a shot from the slot 5:05 into the game.

Nebus is now riding a six-game points streak with six goals and three assists in that span.

The K-Wings scored twice in 1:30 with Blair Manning, who had a hat trick on Wednesday, scoring his fifth goal of the season, and Rick Cleaver his 12th.
Bryan Jurynec

Rookie Bryan Jurynec gave the K-Wings a comfortable 4-0 lead 7:52 into the middle period, but that goal turned out to be the game-winner. Jurynec extended his points streak (2 goals, 2 assists) to four games.

The game started slowly, with three major stoppages in the first six minutes after K-Wing Jordan Little checked Rymsha into the penalty box door, breaking the door, which had to be repaired.

The second came after a Flint player inadvertently ran into referee Bob Langdon, who left the game to have his injured hand tended to, and the third when a panel of glass had to be repaired.

While Langdon was gone, linesmen Geoff Rutherford and Jonathan Forbes did double duty.

The K-Wings' Anthony Battaglia, who assisted on Manning's goal, was playing in his 400th career game.

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Flint Newspaper -
http://www.mlive.com/generals/index.ssf/2009/01/thirdperiod_rally_falls_just_s.html#more

THIRD-PERIOD RALLY FALLS JUST SHORT AS FLINT GENERALS LOSE 4-3 TO FIRST-PLACE KALAMAZOO WINGS

by Brendan Savage | The Flint Journal

January 02, 2009

FLINT, Michigan — Slow starts continue to plague the Flint Generals.
Bobby Reynolds

The Generals dominated first-place Kalamazoo in the third period tonight at Perani Arena, scoring three unanswered goals while doubling the Wings shot output.

But the third-period onslaught wasn't enough to avoid a 4-3 setback before 1,810 International Hockey League fans, who watched the Generals drop their third straight.

"I went in and said, 'From here on out, I shouldn't accept and we shouldn't accept from each other anything less than the effort we had in the third period,' " said Flint coach Bobby Reynolds. "Anytime we play like that, we win. But our mental makeup right now isn't good.

"I don't know what is but we'll figure it out. Obviously, when we play well, we can play with anybody. But when we don't, it's what happened in the first period."

And that was a 3-0 Kalamazoo lead thanks to goals by Mark Nebus (19), Blair Manning (5) and Rick Cleaver (12) in the game's first 11 minutes.

The Generals played better in the second but still couldn't get the puck past goaltender Joel Martin while Kalamazoo's Brian Jurynec (3) scored the only goal of the middle frame to make it 4-0 heading to the final period.

"Right now, they're the best team in the league," Reynolds said. "When you spot them (a 4-0 lead), it's a pipe dream to think you're going to score four in one period."

Yet the Generals almost did just that.

Greg Bullock and John DiPace scored 74 seconds apart midway through the third to cut Kalamazoo's lead in half and Steve Rymsha (20) tallied on a power play with 3:07 left to pull the Generals within one.

Flint pulled goalie Chad Alban with a little more than a minute remaining and the Generals were swarming the K-Wings net when the final horn sounded.

"They turned it on hard in the third and showed they weren't going to give up," said Kalamazoo coach Nick Bootland, whose team was outshot 13-6 in the final period. "That (4-0 lead) was a nice start and that's what you want, but we have to know that killer instinct."

No team has given the Generals more problems this season than Kalamazoo, which won its third straight to improve to 20-10 and take a one-point lead over second-place Port Huron.

Kalamazoo is 8-0 this season against the Generals, who have beaten every other IHL team.

"I don't know if there's anything I can put my finger on," Bootland said of his team's success against Flint. "A couple of times, we got real lucky to come out with points against them. They've played well enough to beat us on several occasions.

"The improvements they're making and the changes they're making are bettering their hockey team. Every move they've made in the last little while has made them better."

The loss dropped the Generals (10-21-1-2) 11 points behind fourth-place Muskegon, which beat last-place Bloomington 5-4 tonight.

In General: Travis Hanson and Ryan Jorde were scratched for the Generals. ... Rymsha had a point for the ninth straight game, the longest active streak in the league, but his assist streak ended at three. ...Bullock ran his point streak to five games. ... The Generals claimed goalie Isaac Reichmuth off waivers from Muskegon.