ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

Gourde's last second heroics helps K-Wings past Jackals

November 22, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Elmira, NY- A roller coaster contest between the Kalamazoo Wings and Elmira Jackals ended on a high for the K-Wings. Kalamazoo forced overtime with five-tenths of a second remaining in regulation and went on to defeat Elmira 6-5 in a shootout.

Sam Ftorek powered the K-Wings assault in the first period. Finding room atop of the left circle, Ftorek (2nd) gave Kalamazoo the lead 9:56 into the opening period with a power-play tally. Assisting on the goal were Yanni Gourde and Jeremie Blain. The assist from Gourde extends the forward's point streak to a K-Wings' season-high four games.

Nearly four minutes later the same trio of players connected for the K-Wings second goal. In similar fashion, Gourde sent a cross rink feed to Ftorek (3rd) for his second-goal of the contest.

Cutting the deficit in half 15:43 into the period, Rob Bellamy found Danny Hobbs crashing the net for his third goal of the season.

Momentum switched in the second period and the Jackals took full advantage of the pendulum swing. Finding a loose puck to the left of the net while on the power-play Ludwig Karlsson (2nd) beat Jordan Binnington over the blocker midway in the stanza to tie the game at 2-2.

The Jackals grabbed the lead with six minutes remaining in the period when Mathieu Gagnon (1st) spun away from the defense and scored on a backhander.

Cashing in on an odd-man rush late in the period Eric Kattelus evened the game at 3-3 scoring his team-best seventh goal of the season. The goal increased Kattelus' point streak to a season-high tying four games. Earning his third point on the goal was Gourde. Mike Matczak increased his point streak to three games with a secondary assist.

An impromptu bounce regained the lead for Kalamazoo early in the third period. Skating free in the high slot, Brett Ponich's (1st) slap shot bounced off the cross bar and rolled down the back of Jackals goaltender Maxime Clermont.

Led by their leading goal scorer, Artem Demkov (9th), the Jackals tied the game at 4-4 with a rebound marker with less than three minutes remaining.

Elmira jumped back ahead in unconventional fashion with a shorthanded tally from Jakub Culek. Culek pounced on a rebound with 1:50 remaining to give the Jackals the slight advantage.

Capping off a four-point night (1 goal, 3 assists), Gourde (6th) forced overtime by sending in a one-timer with fifth-tenths of a second remaining.

In the shootout, the K-Wings out-dueled the Jackals 2-0 receiving goals from Justin Taylor and John Armstrong.

Kalamazoo and Elmira will meet again tomorrow, Saturday, November 23rd with a 7:05 p.m. encounter at the First Arena.

The K-Wings will return home on Wednesday, November 27th for a 7:30 p.m. face-off versus the Florida Everblades on Reunion Night.

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 22, 2013


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