ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

Gourde's four-point night guides K-Wings past Walleye

November 1, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Kalamazoo, MI- Held to one goal for their first two games of the season, the Kalamazoo Wings offense had their breakthrough performance registering six goals in a 6-4 victory Saturday night versus the Toledo Walleye at Wings Stadium.

Smothering the Walleye in the first period, the K-Wings struck for two goals and outshot Toledo 11-3. Striking early on the power-play, David Pacan (1st) snuck in the high slot and beat Mac Carruth with a wrist shot 13:33 into the period.

Nearly three minutes later, special teams led to the K-Wings second goal of the contest. Finishing an odd-man rush, Yanni Gourde slid a high slot cross-rink pass to Adam Polasek, who beat the Carruth five-hole, (1st) to increase Kalamazoo's lead to two goals. The assist for Gourde was his first of three on the evening and part of a four-point night for the K-Wings forward.

The Walleye answered the K-Wings rush from the first period by scoring the game's next two goals in a matter of ten minutes to start the second period. Travis Novak (2nd) netted a power play goal 5:34 into the middle stanza to cut the K-Wings lead to a single goal.

Minutes after, Trevor Parkes (3rd) continued to stay red-hot as he scored 9:45 into the period, scoring just in front to crease to even the game at 2-2.

Reclaiming the lead two and half minutes later, Ray Kaunisto skated past the Walleye defense for a loose puck and found a wide open Cody Beach (1st) in the slot.

Before the second period came to an end the K-Wings work ethic helped them extend their lead to two goals, when Gourde dug the puck loose from behind the net and found a streaking Eric Kattelus (1st) in front the net with 49 seconds remaining in the period.

Continuing a power-play into the third period, the Walleye wasted no time to climb back into the contest. Needing just eight seconds after the opening face-off in the stanza, Scott Arnold notched his fourth goal of the season. Three of Arnold's four goals this year have come with a man-advantage.

Keeping with the trend of the game, the K-Wings responded immediately with a power-play goal of their own from Gourde (1st).

Not going down with a fight, the Walleye once again pushed the deficit back to a single goal 14:41 into the period with Parkes (4th) second goal of the game.

Kalamazoo put the game away with under two minutes remaining with an empty-net tally from Kattelus (2nd) that was assisted from Gourde and Jeremie Blain.

The K-Wings outshot the Walleye 41-20. Playing in his 400th career game, Joel Martin (1-1-0-0) stopped 16 shots for the victory, while Carruth (2-1-0-0) made 35 saves in the loss.

Besides Martin celebrating his milestone, Kalamazoo's Sam Ftorek reached a landmark of his own playing in his 700th career ECHL game. Ftorek becomes the third player (Cam Brown and Louis Dumont) in league history to reach the milestone.

Game Sheet

Kalamazoo and Toledo will square off again on Saturday, November 2nd with a 7:15 p.m. encounter at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.

Wrapping up the week on Sunday, November 3rd, the K-Wings will return home to Wings Stadium for a 3 p.m. showdown versus the Cincinnati Cyclones on a Family Hockey Day in the 'ZOO presented by Walgreen's, Bronson Orthopedic Sports Medicine, Consumers Credit Union and Charter Media. The first 500 kids that enter through the main doors of Wings Stadium will receive a Lunchable courtesy of Walgreen's and an exclusive K-Wings giveaway item. Sunday will also be Disney Movie Day featuring Disney Princesses. Kids will be able to take pictures and meet with their favorite Disney Princesses. Following the game, fans can participate in a post-game skate with the K-Wings (skate rental $3), while watching a Disney short film on the largest video board in minor league hockey. The Cyclones start the week tied with the Evansville IceMen for first place in the North Division.

Tickets for all 36 K-Wings home games are currently on sale at the Wings Stadium Ticket Office, all Ticketmaster locations, including www.ticketmaster.com or by calling (800) 745-3000. Ticket office hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Regular season ticket prices for home games are $13 and $17.50 for adults and only $7 for kids ages 12 and under. The price for all K-Wings premium night games (all colored ice games and the New Year's Eve game) are just $1 more. Fans can save money by purchasing K-Wings single-game tickets in advance. Tickets purchased on the day of a game increase by $2 (adults only).

Fans that plan on attending multiple games can avoid service fees plus enjoy a discount from the single-game price by purchasing a 12, 24 or 36-game flexi-plan. These plans, along with full-season and group ticket packages may be ordered through the K-Wings Sales office by calling (269) 743-6011.

For more information about tonight's game, please contact Mike Modugno, director of public relations and broadcaster at (269) 226-0384.

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics



ECHL Stories from November 1, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central