Game Day: Things Turning Green for St. Patrick's Day
March 17, 2019 - ECHL (ECHL) - Kalamazoo Wings News Release
Kalamazoo, MI-Everything is turning up green at Wings Event Center on Sunday as the K-Wings host the 37th annual Green Ice game.
Game #63
Kalamazoo (31-27-2-2) vs Toledo (35-18-5-3)
3:00 pm
Watch: ECHL.TV,
Listen: 1660 the Fan
Last Time Out:
Michael Houser stopped all 28 shots he faced for the Cyclones as the Cyclones blanked the K-Wings 3-0 on Saturday night in Cincy. Brady Vail got the Cyclones on the board just 0:25 into the first period, scoring on the first shot of the night. After Vail's goal the Cyclones would never relinquish the lead. Cincinnati scored twice more in the second period, pushing the lead to 3-0 before the end of the middle period. Neither Kalamazoo or Cincinnati would score in the third, as Houser kept the door shut, stopping each shot he faced en route to the victory. Jake Hildebrand stopped 25 of 28 shots in the defeat. Saturday marked the first time this season that the K-Wings had been shut out.
Blanked for the First Time:
Saturday was the first time this season that the K-Wings have been held scoreless in a game. In addition it marked the first time since March 4, 2017 that an opponent had held Kalamazoo completely off the scoreboard. Jake Paterson, now with Brampton, was the last goaltender to blank the K-Wings when he stopped all 34 shots faced in a 3-0 victory as a member of the Toledo Walleye.
Streak Snapped:
The K-Wings streak of ten consecutive games with a power play goal came to a halt on Saturday night. Kalamazoo finished the evening 0-for-3 on the man-advantage pushing their total in the last 11 games to 13-for-39 (28.2%). Kalamazoo remains the third ranked power play in the ECHL, converting at 21.4% on the season. Wichita (22.1%) and Adirondack (22.7%) are the only teams with more success on the power play.
Killing Off:
Back-to-back nights holding Toledo and Cincinnati's power plays off the scoreboard on Friday and Saturday gave the K-Wings penalty kill something that it had not done since early December. The first two games of the weekend marked the first time since December 8 and 9 that the K-Wings had not allowed a power play goal in two straight games. Kalamazoo limited their opponents to 0-for-5 through the two games. The penalty kill ranks 25th in the ECHL, killing off 79.5% of penalties.
Head-to-Head:
Sunday is the 11th of 12 meetings between the Central Division rivalries this season, and the second of the weekend. The Walleye hold the season edge having won seven of the first ten meetings. Toledo's three losses have all come past regulation as well in either the extra period or shootout. After Sunday Kalamazoo and Toledo will wrap up the season series on March 30 in Toledo.
A pair of points in Friday's meeting helped Kyle Blaney take the team lead for points in the season series (9). The forward has notched three goals, paired with six assists in eight games so far. Chris Collins is second in points (8) and leads the K-Wings in goals with five. Shane Berschbach leads the Walleye with 11 points (4g, 7a) while Bryan Moore is second with 10 points (3g, 7a). Pat Nagle and Jake Hildebrand have shouldered the loads for their teams. Nagle (5-0-1-0) has appeared in six games allowing 3.17 goals per game, while posting a save percentage of .894. Hildebrand, who started Saturday night's game in Cincinnati, has appeared in seven games claiming two of the three K-Wings victories over the Walleye. Matiss Kivlenieks has the other victory for the K-Wings, posting a record of 1-1-0-0 paired with a 2.19 goals against average, and a .938 save percentage against the Walleye.
All Green:
The K-Wings will celebrate the annual green ice game on Sunday against Toledo. The tradition started in 1982, wraps up a three-in-three weekend for the K-Wings. In addition to the ice the K-Wings will be wearing special green St. Patrick's Day jerseys. The jerseys will be auctioned off after the game, with all proceeds going to Buy Local.
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