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Jr. K-Wings Weekly

October 31, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings News Release


Game Rewind- Friday, October 28th @ Jamestown Ironmen. 5-2 Loss.

Jamestown, NY- Trevor Boyd and Dan Cesarz each scored and Alex Okicki posted 34 saves, but that wasn't enough for the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings to nab a victory in Jamestown. The Ironmen scored five of their own, including two from Jeff McFarland, on their way to a 5-2 victory on Friday night.

In the first eight minutes of the first period, Kalamazoo found themselves with three power play opportunities, including an extended five-on-three, as Jamestown had issues staying out of the box. None of those man-advantage opportunities were to any avail, as the Jr. K-Wings couldn't capitalize. But, at the ten-minute mark, Kalamazoo finally found the back of the net. Trevor Boyd scored his fourth of the season when he beat Jamestown goalie, and Kalamazoo native, Joe Ballmer.

The Ironmen, however, didn't wait long to respond. They pulled the game even just a minute and nine seconds after the Boyd goal, when Jeff McFarland added his fifth tally on the season by finding the back of the net on the first power play opportunity for Jamestown. The goal was his fifth on the season, and his second with the extra attacker.

After outshooting Kalamazoo 11-1 over the course of the first ten and a half minutes of the second period, Alex Okicki finally surrendered a goal to the Ironmen in the stanza. McFarland added his second of the night and sixth of the season when he snuck past the Kalamazoo defense and put the puck past Okicki.

Just over three minutes later, Jamestown would open their lead up to two goals. They took a 3-1 lead at the 6:45 mark of the period with the fourth goal of the season from Bryan Watt.

With less than two minutes to play, Kalamazoo would bring it back to within a goal. Working with their sixth power play of the game, the Jr. K-Wings finally found some special teams production. Dan Cesarz netted an unassisted tally, his second of the season.

Just past the ten-minute mark of the third period and leading by one, Jamestown found themselves with a five-on-three opportunity. Anthony Coles lit the lamp for his team leading tenth tally of the season.

Wes Elrod (4th) added an empty netter with 41 seconds left to seal the victory for the Ironmen.

Saturday, October 29th @ Jamestown Ironmen. 2-1 Win.

Jamestown, NY- Nick Kovalchik scored the eventual game winner late in the third period and helped the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings escape with a 2-1 victory over the Jamestown Ironmen on Saturday night. Ken Maclean also added 30 saves for Kalamazoo en route to his third victory of the season.

After the seven-goal outburst from the two teams the night before, the first period ended with neither team able to find the score sheet. Even with six combined power play opportunities between the two teams, the goaltending was spectacular as MacLean made eleven saves and Jamestown goalie, Joe Gladnick made fourteen saves of his own.

Jamestown couldn't be contained for long, as they found the back of the net first, as MacLean was beat by the sly moves of Eric Fragoso. Fragoso made his way in on the Kalamazoo net and snuck the puck into the back of the net. The goal was Fragoso's first of the season.

With less than two minutes to play in the second period, the Jr. K-Wings climbed back into the game with Christian George's first career goal. He was on the receiving end of a Robbie Payne pass in the slot, and lifted the puck past Gladnick.

Midway through the third, the Jr. K-Wings took their first lead of the night. Kovalchik banged home a second-chance opportunity on the doorstep to give Kalamazoo a 2-1 lead. The goal was Kovalchik's second of the season, his first since September 17th against Bismark.

Sunday, October 30th @ Jamestown Ironmen. 8-7 Win.

Jamestown, NY- A wild game that featured no shortage of offense led to an 8-7 victory for the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings. Robbie Payne highlighted the contest with his seven points (3 goals, 4 assists) on the total of eight goals scored on the day by Kalamazoo. Andrew Graves also added three goals for the Jr. K-Wings who are now tied for first place in the North Division.

The back and forth first period got underway with a strike from Kalamazoo's Robbie Payne on an unassisted tally that gave the Jr. K-Wings the early lead. Taking advantage of a turnover in Jamestown's zone, Payne capitalized scoring his team leading 11th goal of the season.

Later in the period, Andrew Graves extended Kalamazoo's lead to 2-0. Taking assists from Chris Hughes and Robbie Payne, Graves slotted his 6th goal on the year giving the Jr. K-Wings some breathing room early in the first period.

However, it only took Jamestown 35 seconds to respond. Brett Szajner cut the Jr. K-Wings lead in half when he took a pass from brother Zack Szajner and beat Kalamazoo goaltender Alex Okicki.

Again wasting no time, Zack Sxajner scored only three minutes and one second later. The two tallies in three minutes brought Jamestown back from down 0-2. Matt Moore added the lone assist on the goal that tied the game up.

-MORE- Completing the resurgence, Anthony Coles gave Jamestown their first lead of the game with only three minutes and twenty-six seconds left in the opening stanza. Taking a pass from Jeff McFarland, Coles beat a perplexed Okicki who watched his team's two goal lead turn into a one-goal deficit.

The second period started off with no goals in the first five minutes of action but that changed when Andrew Graves knotted the game up with his second goal of the game. Payne added the only assist for his third point of the game.

For the second time in the game, the Jr. K-Wings scored two unanswered goals, this time giving them a 4-3 lead in the second period. Danny Hamburg took advantage of a power play and scored his second on the year taking a pass from Payne who had a point on the first four goals Kalamazoo scored.

Following the form of the first period, the second yielded the same results as Jamestown capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play and once again tied the game. Wes Elrod, taking passes from Mark Esshaki and Jon Smith, buried the equalizer ten minutes into the second.

Seeing the lead disappear again, Kalamazoo waited less than two minutes in taking it back. Robbie Payne continued his hot streak with his second goal of the game and his fifth point on the afternoon. Matt Wurst had the only assist on the lead-changing goal.

Joining the festivities, Jr. K-Wings new addition Austin Harvey scored his first on the year to increase the Kalamazoo lead back up to two with six minutes remaining in the second period. Trevor Boyd added the lone assist on the sixth goal in just two periods for the Jr. K-Wings. The goal chased Jamestown goaltender Joe Ballmer from the game and brought in back up Joe Gladnick.

Once again Jamestown found it in them to respond being down by two goals. Jon Smith, taking a pass from Matt Moore, found the back of the net and scored the 11th goal of the game and cut the lead back to one at 6-5 with four minutes remaining in the second period.

However, the Kalamazoo power play proved to be too much to handle. Andrew Graves added his third goal of the game recording his first hat trick with the Jr. K-Wings before the second period horn sounded. Robbie Payne added his fourth assist of the game as well as Brett Beauvais. The second period came to a close with a total of twelve goals favoring Kalamazoo 7-5.

The third period got off to a slow start in comparison with the rest of the game. No goals were scored until Jamestown's Anthony Coles scored his second of the game and cut the Jr. K-Wings lead to 7-6 with twelve minutes remaining the final frame.

Climbing all the back, Jamestown tied the game less than two minutes later. Wes Elrod scored his second of the game and Matt Moore added his third assist. It was the 14th goal of the game and seventh allowed by Okicki.

The way this game was going, there would be no surprises who broke the tie late in the game. Robbie Payne completed that hat trick and gave the Jr. K-Wings the lead back. Not only was it Payne's third goal of the game, it was his 7th total point on the afternoon. Matt Cessna was credited with the assist on the 8th goal of the night for Kalamazoo.

-MORE- With ten minutes to go in the game, Kenneth MacLean came into the game and replaced Alex Okicki. MacLean faced two shots and stopped them both.

When the final horn sounded in Jamestown, the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings skated away with an 8-7 victory highlighted by Andrew Graves's three goals and Robbie Payne's seven points (3 goals, 4 assists).

Looking Ahead

This weekend features the first action of the season in which Kalamazoo has sole possession of first place in the North Division. Their 24 points leads the Michigan Warriors by two, and the Port Huron Fighting Falcons by four.

Port Huron is the opponent in this weeks home-and-home, featuring a Friday night contest in Port Huron and a Saturday afternoon game in Kalamazoo. Port Huron is lead by leading scorers Nick Sierra and Alex Globke. Sierra's 14 points are quite balanced, as he has registered seven goals and seven assists on the season. Globke has established himself as a premiere setup man for the Fighting Falcons, dishing out 10 assists and adding four goals.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings

Goals: Robbie Payne (13 Goals)

Assists: Drew Graves (11 Assists)

Points: Robbie Payne (23 Points)

+/-: Matt Wurst, Robbie Payne (+6)

Penalty Minutes: Robbie Payne (41 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Robbie Payne (5 PPG)

Short Handed Goals: Entire Team (0 SHG)

Game Winning Goals: Robbie Payne (4 GWG)

Shots: Chris Hughes (59 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Robbie Payne (27.7%)

Goals Against Average: Ken MacLean (2.46 GAA)

Save Percentage: Ken Mac Lean (.922%)

First Place or Bust

By going 2-1 over the weekend against Jamestown, Kalamazoo took over sole possession of first place in the North Division. With only four points separating first from third in the division, it should prove to be an exciting upcoming weekend of action against Port Huron.

Hat Trick Heroes

Both Robbie Payne and Drew Graves tallied hat tricks for the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings in their 8-7 victory against Jamestown on Sunday afternoon. The three goals by Payne and Graves were the most scored by any Jr. K-Wing since Chad McDonald scored 5 against the Dawson Creek Rage during the NAHL Showcase back in September.

-MORE- 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, November 4th @ Port Huron 7:00 PM

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

Wednesday, November 9th @ Michigan 7:30 PM

Saturday, November 12th @ Port Huron 7:00 PM

Sunday, November 13th Vs. Jamestown 2:00 PM



North American Hockey League Stories from October 31, 2011


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