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Jr. K-Wings Weekly

October 24, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings News Release


Game Rewind

- Saturday, October 21st Vs. Port Huron Fighting Falcons. 3-1 Loss.

Port Huron, MI- One goal wouldn't be enough for the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings to extend their five game winning streak, as they dropped their Friday night contest against the Port Huron Fighting Falcons by a final score of 3-1. The loss was the first divisional contest that the Jr. K-Wings have failed to pick up two points in.

It was just after the halfway point of the first period when Port Huron broke the scoreless tie. Ron Kotkin (1st) skated up the right wing side with the puck on his backhand, and lifted it over the shoulder of Kalamazoo goaltender, Alex Okicki. The puck beat Okicki on the short side and found the back of the net to give the Fighting Falcons a 1-0 lead.

With time winding down in the second period, Kalamazoo tied the game at one apiece. Dan Cesarz, playing in his first game as a Jr. K-Wing, notched his first tally of the season when he found twine late in the stanza. Taylor Burden added an assist for his team leading ninth on the campaign.

Five minutes into the third period, the Fighting Falcons would re-establish their one-goal lead. Defenseman, Mitch Sand, ripped a slap shot from the point that seemed to have eyes on it, as it snuck through the traffic in front of the net and slid past an outstretched Okicki.

Port Huron would extend their lead to two, just six minutes later. Easton Powers added his fourth of the season when he snuck the puck past the Kalamazoo defense and through Okicki.

Sunday, October 22nd Vs. Michigan Warriors. 5-2 Win.

Kalamazoo, MI- Robbie Payne scored twice, Ken MacLean made 29 saves, and the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings beat North Division leaders, Michigan Warriors by a score of 5-2 on Saturday afternoon at the Borgess Health Rink at Wings West.

The first period started slow as both teams had trouble getting shots through to the goaltenders until ten minutes into the period. Michigan dumped the puck deep and Jr. K-Wings goaltender Kenneth MacLean controlled the puck and sent it to forward Payne who gave an outlet pass to Andrew Graves who buried his 5th goal of the season. The period came to an end with the Jr. K-Wings leading 1-0.

Chris Hughes started off the scoring for the Jr. K-Wings in the second period as he took a pass from Taylor Burden on a two-on-one and buried his 3rd goal of the year.

The rest of the period belonged to Robbie Payne. With three minutes remaining, Payne deflected a shot from Graves to extend the Jr. K-Wings lead to 3-0. The goal was Payne's 9th.

Only two minutes later Payne scored his 10th of the season while the Jr. K-Wings were on the power play. Michigan forward Zak Thompson was called for a checking from behind penalty, the second such call of the game, and the lead for the Jr. K-Wings stretched to four goals.

Kalamazoo wasn't out of magic quite yet, as they started the third period with a bang. Jacob McDowell scored his third of the season at the 1:37 mark when he tapped home a backdoor pass from Chad McDonald.

Michigan did all they could to keep themselves in the game, as James Kline (5th) beat MacLean on a beautiful re-direct from the high slot area. The puck changed directions off the shot and snuck past the glove-side.

The Warriors would strike again before the game went final, as Chris Eckler let an innocent wrister go from the right circle, which happened to beat MacLean. The goal was Eckler's fourth of the season.

The Jr. K-Wings are 2-0 against the Warriors on the season, outscoring them by a total of 12-4.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings

Goals: Chad McDonald, Robbie Payne (10 Goals)

Assists: Taylor Burden (10 Assists)

Points: Chad McDonald (15 Points)

+/-: Anthony Appleyard (+6)

Penalty Minutes: Robbie Payne (35 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Robbie Payne (5 PPG)

Short Handed Goals: Chad McDonald (2 SHG)

Game Winning Goals: Kyle Gattelaro, Robbie Payne (3 GWG)

Shots: Chris Hughes (48 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Chad McDonald (29.4%)

Goals Against Average: Alex Okicki (1.92 GAA)

Save Percentage: Alex Okicki (.939%)

Looking Ahead

Next weekend should be a tough test for the Jr. K-Wings, as they head to Jamestown, NY for a three game set against the Ironmen. On the season, Kalamazoo is 1-0-0 against Jamestown with the win coming on September 24th in a 2-1 game at the Borgess Health Rink at Wings West.

Jamestown is led by Anthony Coles. The forward has 13 points (9 goals, 4 assists) in 17 games this season. As a new addition on the blueline, Mark Esshaki, has made an immediate impact for the Ironmen, as he has already tallied five points in seven games since joining Jamestown from St. Louis.

After starting the season 2-0, the Ironmen dropped eight straight contests, leaving them in the cellar of the North Division where they stand now. Their 12 points leaves them only one point behind fourth place Traverse City, but Jamestown has played five more games than the North Stars.

Hottest Team in the North

Kalamazoo has won ten of their last twelve games since dropping their first two contests of the season in the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, MN. Over the course of the last 12 games, Kalamazoo has scored 45 team goals.

Five over Ten

Through 14 team games, Kalamazoo has produced five players that have notched over ten points on the season (Payne, Graves, Burden, McDowell), Including Chad McDonald who has 15 points (10 Goals, 5 Assists).

Setting A Good Example

Kalamazoo has only spent a combined 163 minutes in the penalty box on the season. That averages out to 11.64 per game, leaving them ranked second in the NAHL for that category.

Stay Updated All Season Long

Log onto www.pointstreak.com during the course of the season to keep up to date with stats and information regarding the Jr. K-Wings.

Tickets! Get Your Tickets!!

Tickets for all Jr. K-Wings home games are now on sale. Catch all the action as your Jr. K-Wings play the very best the NAHL has to offer. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Wings West office.

Get On-Line

This season, the best way to keep track of the Jr. K-Wings is to log onto www.jrkwings.com. The site has player profiles, information about Wings Stadium events, and much, much more.

Jr. K-Wings on The Air

Catch all the Jr. K-Wings games, home and away, on www.fasthockey.com. The home games will be with the "Voice of the Jr. K-Wings" Joe Roberts. The pre-game will start five minutes before puck drop.

Upcoming Games

Friday, October 28th @ Jamestown 7:05 PM

Saturday, October 29th @ Jamestown 7:05 PM

Sunday, October 30th @ Jamestown 2:00 PM

Friday, November 4th @ Port Huron 7:00 PM

Saturday, November 5th Vs. Port Huron 2:00 PM



North American Hockey League Stories from October 24, 2011


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.

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