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ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

Forward Andrew Fournier Records Five Points in 7-3 Victory

December 12, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Kalamazoo, MI- If you came to Wings Stadium on Saturday, you had to be in a giving mood. Not only did you have to bring stuffed animals for the 10th Annual Teddy Bear Toss game, you also had to bring hats, as Andrew Fournier's three first period goals guided the Kalamazoo Wings to a 7-3 victory over the Wheeling Nailers.

It didn't take long for the fans to throw their stuffed animals to the ice. Fournier (9th) got the crowd in a frenzy scoring 2:47 into the period. Fans celebrated the goal by tossing 886 stuffed animals onto the ice.

A majority of the bears collected will be donated to Salvation Army. The remaining bears will be delivered by Kalamazoo Wings players, Slappy and Santa Claus to patients of The Children's Hospital at Bronson on Monday, December 14th at 1 p.m

Fournier (10th) kept the pressure on the Nailers four minutes later going his second of the night on a wrap-around.

After going 0-for-9 the night before, Wheeling's power-play unit got back on track with a tally from T.J. Fox (5th) to cut the K-Wings lead to 2-1.

Pushing their lead by to two goals, seconds after a Rick Cleaver's blast hit the pipe, Ryan McGinnis (4th) was there to pick-up the pieces and fire the rebound past Brad Thiessen.

Following the goal, Thiessen was pulled in favor of Jordan Parise. Thiessen night ended with 14 minutes played and stopping five saves on eight shots.

Parise fait would not be much better, as Fournier slid the puck just across the goal line late in the period to record his first hat trick of the season.

Cutting the K-Wings advantage to two goals, Blair Yaworski (5th) tipped in a Aaron Clark past Tyson Sexsmith midway in the period; however the K-Wings responded with two unanswered.

In an unconventional way Bryan Jurynec notched his third tally of the year in the second period. Jurynec flipped a wrist shot from outside the blue line toward the goal. The puck would have sailed high over the net but instead, Parise had the puck deflect off the end of his glove and into the back of the net.

Another impromptu bounce help the K-Wings extend their lead to 6-2. Wrapping up a four-point night, Cleaver pass deflected off of a Wheeling defenseman and into the net. The goal was Cleaver's team-leading 12th of the season. Earning an assist on the tally was Fournier and Blake Friesen, who earned his first point of the season with the helper.

Starting the third period with a bang, Andrew Lord (4th) brought the Nailers back to within three goals scoring 12 seconds into the frame.

Counterpunching minutes later, Mathieu Curadeau (11th) scored with a power-play wrister to give the K-Wings the four-goal victory. Fournier recorded his second assist of the game giving the forward a career-best five-point net. The five point outburst also ties a K-Wings' season-high set by Matt Jones back on December 5th in Toledo.

While Curadeau's tally would be the final goal, there would be plenty of fireworks. Kalamazoo and Wheeling combined for 44 minutes in penalties in the third period, including three fights in a span of 1:37.

In his first game as a K-Wing, goaltender Tyson Sexsmith stopped 36 shots to earn the victory. Kalamazoo is now 9-1-0-0 during teddy bear toss night games at Wings Stadium.

The K-Wings will continue the home stand at Wings Stadium on December 18th with a 7:30 p.m. encounter versus the Gwinnett Gladiators. Friday's contest will be another Frugal Fan Friday, which features $1 beer and $1 hot dogs.

Single-game tickets for any of the K-Wings 36 regular season home games are currently on sale at the Wings Stadium Ticket Office. Ticket Office hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information, call Wings Stadium Ticket Office during regular business hours at (269) 345-5101.

For more information about tonight's game, please contact director of public relations/broadcaster Mike Modugno at (269) 349-9772 extension 220.

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