Jr. K-Wings Weekly

Published on November 14, 2011 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings News Release


Game Rewind- Wednesday, November 9th Michigan Warriors. 4-3 Win.

Flint, MI- Drew Graves scored two goals, including the game winner in the third period, to cap off the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings three unanswered goals in their comeback victory over the Michigan Warriors on Wednesday night in Flint. The 4-3 victory leaves the Jr. K-Wings tied with the Port Huron Fighting Falcons atop the North Division standings.

Just over eight minutes into the first period, the Warriors struck first with a tally from AJ White. His team-leading tenth goal came when he slipped through the Kalamazoo defense and released a quick wrister from the slot and beat starting goalie, Ken MacLean, over his glove.

Only thirty-three seconds had passed after the goal by White before it was Kalamazoo's turn to get on the board. They pulled even on the eighth goal of the season from Kyle Gattelaro. Gattelaro found a soft-spot in the defense and got a back-hand feed from Trevor Boyd in the low-slot. He deked past Michigan goalie, Brach Tiller, and slid the puck in the back of the net.

The short-lived lead would only last for fifty seconds, as Michigan struck back with a quick score of their own. Chris Murray got his first career goal on a shot from the left circle that snuck through the five-hole of MacLean.

MacLean faced 22 shots from Michigan in the first period, saving 20 of them. Kalamazoo could only muster up 6 shots of their own in the opening frame.

The Warriors would strike first in the second as well. White scored his second of the game and his eleventh of the season when he poked home a rebound past a sliding MacLean off a big rebound from a Derek O'Flynn slap shot.

Kalamazoo would strike back later in the period as Graves scored his tenth of the year on a smooth deke that beat Tiller. Graves danced through the Michigan defense and eased the puck just inside the post and past the goal line.

Kalamazoo bounced back from their first period struggles to double up Michigan in shots on net in the second. They put up 16 shots to the opponents' eight.

The third period belonged to the Jr. K-Wings as they scored 3:25 into the period. Nick Kovalchik scored his third of the season when he scooped up a loose puck and slid it through the legs of tiller and over the goal line. The goal tied the game at three apiece.

Just over three minutes later, Graves would give Kalamazoo their first lead of the night. His second of the evening and eleventh of the season came off a Danny Hamburg shot from the left-wing side that bounced onto the outstretched stick of Graves, who promptly put it in the back of the net.

The goal by Graves would stand as Kalamazoo's victory snapped a two-game skid. The Michigan Warriors, however, had their losing streak increased to eight straight games.

Official games stats can be found at: http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html'gameid=1646855

Game Rewind- Saturday, November 12th @ Port Huron Fighting Falcons. 6-1 Loss.

Port Huron, MI- Scoring four goals in the 2nd period, Port Huron took control and dominated the Jr. K-Wings in a 6-1 victory on the Fighting Falcons home ice. Kody Polin scored twice as Port Huron peppered Kalamazoo goaltender Kenneth MacLean with 35 shots in the game.

The first period came to an end with both teams unable to register a goal. Kalamazoo's goaltender Kenneth MacLean faced a flurry of shots including several on Port Huron players alone on the doorstep. MacLean prevailed and stopped all 11 shots in the period. Port Huron's goaltender Max Milosek was perfect as well, stopping all 4 shots fired by the Jr. K-Wings.

The second period was quite a different story than the first. Port Huron scored early and often starting with a power play goal by Kody Polin (11th) with assists from Brett DAndrea and Maxwell Reavis.

Polin (12th) kept up his scoring touch in the period with another goal four minutes later. DAndrea notched his second assist of the game and the goal extended the lead to 2-0 ten minutes into the period.

It only took one minute longer for Port Huron to stretch the lead to three goals when Easton Powers (5th) joined the scoring parade. He shot was the third to beat MacLean and Ian Miller received the only assist.

However, the Fighting Falcons were not done when Miller (8th) bulged the lead with the fourth goal of the period from Port Huron. Alex Archibald and Rick DeRosa had the assists that freed Miller up for a wrist shot that got past the Kalamazoo goalie.

The third period brought no relief for the Jr. K-Wings as Port Huron's Logan Lemirande (6th) added another power play goal for the Fighting Falcons with assists to Miller and Powers. Making the score 5-0 in favor of Port Huron.

Penalty trouble again cost the Jr. K-Wings dearly when they gave up the third power play goal when Brett DAndrea (3rd) banged home a rebound for his third point of the game. Kody Polin took the original shot after catching the pass from Brett Lewandowski; both were credited with assists. This stretched the lead to six goals at a score of 6-0.

With twenty-eight seconds remaining in the final period Kalamazoo was able to get one past the Fighting Falcons goaltender when Matt Cessna (2nd) netted the teams only goal of the game on the power-play. Chris Leone and Jr. K-Wings newcomer Sean Campbell recorded assists on the Jr. K-Wings lone goal.

The final horn sounded and brought end to the shooting gallery put on by Port Huron who outshot Kalamazoo 35-20 in a 6-1 victory on their home ice.

Sunday, November 13th Vs. Jamestown Ironmen. 4-3 Loss.

Kalamazoo, MI- Kyle Gattelaro notched two assists and the game winner in a shootout for the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings as they defeated the Jamestown Ironmen 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at the Borgess Health Rink inside Wings West.

The Jr. K-Wings got on the board first as it was Christian George scoring his third goal of the season. Danny Hamburg left a drop pass for George who wound-up and fired a slap shot past the Ironmen starting goalie, and Kalamazoo native, Joe Ballmer.

The second period was all Jamestown, as they struck seven minutes into the frame with a tally from Matt Moore. Moore's third of the season came when he buried a centering feed through the five-hole of Kalamazoo goalie, Alex Okicki.

Four and a half minutes later, Jamestown would light the lamp yet again. The goal was almost identical to the goal of Moore, except this time it was with the man-advantage. Jake Pollock scored his fourth of the season when he scored from the low slot off a centering pass from Nick Bingaman. The goal gave Jamestown their first lead of the afternoon.

Jeff McFarland added to the Ironmen lead with only :53 seconds remaining in the period. Okicki made the initial save, but McFarland kept at it and poked into the Jr. K-Wing net.

With Kalamazoo's chances looking bleak, they made it a one-goal game with three and a half minute remaining in the third. Drew Graves scored his twelfth of the season when he deflected a slap shot from Anthony Appleyard into the top corner of the goal.

Down by one with only six seconds to play, Okicki was on the bench, and the Jr. K-Wings working with a power-play, Kyle Gattelaro cleanly won a faceoff back to Chris Leone who promptly sent the puck on net, the loose puck was slammed home by leading scorer Robbie Payne for his sixteenth of the season.

The game went to a five-minute overtime, in which neither team could score and decide a winner. The result was a shootout. Okicki denied every Jamestown chance, and Gattelaro finally broke the stalemate and earned Kalamazoo the victory with his fourth-round goal.

Official games stats can be found at: http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html'gameid=1646883

Looking Ahead

Kalamazoo has a relatively slow weekend coming up, as they only hit the ice one time. They will once again face divisional foes the Michigan Warriors. The game will be in Flint, where the Jr. K-Wings stole a 4-3 victory last Wednesday. The Warriors are coming off a nine-game losing streak, which dropped them all the way to third in the division, an unfamiliar place for the Robertson Cup runners up from a year ago.

-MORE- Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings

Goals: Robbie Payne (16 Goals)

Assists: Drew Graves (14 Assists)

Points: Robbie Payne (27 Points)

+/-: Robbie Payne (+5)

Penalty Minutes: Robbie Payne (43 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Robbie Payne (7 PPG)

Short Handed Goals: Entire Team (0 SHG)

Game Winning Goals: Robbie Payne (4 GWG)

Shots: Chris Hughes (75 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Robbie Payne (25.0%)

Goals Against Average: Alex Okicki (3.03 GAA)

Save Percentage: Alex Okicki (.909%)

Fighting Falcons For First

The Jr. K-Wings continue to chase the Port Huron Fighting Falcons for first place in the North Division. Kalamazoo trails Port Huron by two points, but still has a game at hand on the Fighting Falcons. They will meet twice in a row over Thanksgiving Weekend.

Comeback Kids

Kalamazoo may be down in a game, but never out. In their games against both Michigan and Jamestown, Kalamazoo had thrilling comebacks. The most exciting of them all was Robbie Payne's tally at the 20 minute mark of the third period to force overtime against the Jamestown Ironmen on Sunday afternoon.

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

Sunday, November 20th @ Michigan 2:00 PM

Saturday, November 26th @ Port Huron 7:00 PM

Sunday, November 27th Vs. Port Huron 2:00 PM

Friday, December 2nd @ Michigan 7:30 PM

Saturday, December 3rd @ Traverse City 7:05 PM

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North American Hockey League Stories from November 14, 2011


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