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Kalamazoo Wings

Hats Fly for Valk as Wings Spear Walleye

February 5, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Curtis Valk of the Kalamazoo Wings Scores against the Toledo Walleye
Curtis Valk of the Kalamazoo Wings Scores against the Toledo Walleye
(Kalamazoo Wings)

KALAMAZOO, MI - Curtis Valk continued his impressive pace and netted his first-career hat trick, as the Kalamazoo Wings defeated the Toledo Walleye, 5-1 on Friday night at Wings Event Center.

Opening the game with extensive offensive pressure, the Wings broke through for the first tally of the night. Joel Martin paddled a stretch pass to Ludwig Blomstrand, who tipped the puck along to the tape of Valk, who carried in, and used a head fake to free up room over the glove of Walleye netminder, Jeff Lerg.

The Wings pushed their lead to 2-0 courtesy of Valk's second goal of the night. Blomstrand fed a soft saucer pass to the tape of Valk, who raced down the seam and chipped a backhander into the top corner of the goal.

Midway through the second period, Valk helped spring a 3-0 Wings' lead by capping off his hat trick. Dane Fox cycled the puck around the offensive zone and back to Sacha Guimond at the blue line, where Guimond rocketed a shot on net. In front of the goal with his stick on the ice was Valk, who redirected the puck over the line.

Striking for their first marker of the night, the Walleye cut the deficit to a pair. Creating a scrum in front of the net, Shane Berschbach found the puck laying at the near post, and tucked it past the outstretched leg of Martin.

Not allowing the Walleye to garner any momentum, the Wings opened their lead back to three goals, midway through the third period. Blomstrand, while operating on a two-on-one break, freed up some space with a toe-drag, called his own number, and fired in a shot over the glove of Lerg.

Tacking on an empty netter late, Alex Mallet put the game away with his 14th of the season, giving the Wings the 5-1 victory.

Notes: Valk earned his fifth multipoint game of the season. Mallet now has 6 points in his last four games. Martin earned his first point of the season, with an assist on Valk's first goal of the night. Kalamazoo are 2-1-0-1 against Toledo this season.

Stats: http://echl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=13256

The Kalamazoo Wings host the 2016 CCM/ECHL Hockey Heritage Week, presented by PNC Bank and Bronson Sports Medicine, from February 1-6 at Wings Event Center and throughout the city of Kalamazoo. The one-of-a-kind event features viewing/photo opportunities with the Stanley Cup, Hockey Hall of Fame exhibits and trophies, two games with the Toledo Walleye (2/5, 2/6), and more. Group rates start as low as $12 per person for a group of six or more.

Single-game tickets are now on sale! Tickets can be purchased at kwings.com or at the Wings Event Center box office. Box office hours are Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. A $2 discount is applied on all tickets purchased before the date of the game.

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Curtis Valk of the Kalamazoo Wings Scores against the Toledo Walleye
Curtis Valk of the Kalamazoo Wings Scores against the Toledo Walleye
   

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