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Jr. K-Wings Weekly

December 5, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings News Release


Game Rewind- Friday, December 2nd @ Michigan Warriors. 2-1 Win.

Flint, MI- On a night that featured bone crunching hits and great work between the pipes, Kalamazoo skated to a 2-1 victory over the Michigan Warriors. Nick Kovalchik capitalized on a 2-on-1 opportunity on the penalty kill to give the Jr. K-Wings the road win.

The back and fourth first period started off with a quick goal by Michigan Warriors forward Michael Economos (2nd). Taking a pass from Luke Fiegl, Economos circled out from the corner and buried a wrist shot over the left shoulder of Kalamazoo goaltender Kenneth MacLean.

The period came to an end with Maclean stopping 6 of 7 shots and Michigan goaltender Brach Tiller stopping all 14 he faced for a perfect first period.

The second period belonged to the special teams play of Kalamazoo. Trevor Boyd got things started on the power play when he scored his 5th of the year. Taking a pass from Brett Beauvais and Anthony Appleyard, Boyd cruised in front of the net and slid one past the sprawling goaltender.

Only minutes later, Nick Kovalchik (4th) and Christian George found themselves on a 2-on-1 shorthanded. Good puck movement led Kovalchik all alone in front of the net and he buried it at 9:27 into the period.

The Jr. K-Wings were able to hang on to the lead when the horn sounded at the end of the second period, MaClean stopping all five shots he faced and Tiller stopping 11of 12.

The final period of the game featured end to end action with each goaltender stopping every shot faced. MacLean ended the night with 22 saves on 23 shots and Michigan goalie Brach Tiller takes the loss stopping 29 of 31 shots.

The final horn sounded with a 2-1 victory in favor of Kalamazoo as Kovalchik's shorthanded tally stood as the game winner.

Official game stats can be found at

http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1646958

Satuday, December 3rd @ Traverse City North Stars. 5-3 Loss.

Traverse City, MI- The Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings scored three goals in the second period, but they weren't enough, as they dropped their divisional contest to the Traverse City North Stars by a final of 5-3 on Saturday night in Traverse City. With the win, the North Stars completed their weekend sweep of the top two teams in the North Division (Port Huron, Kalamazoo)

-MORE- The Jr. K-Wings surrendered the first goal of the game to the North Stars just eight and a half minutes into the opening frame. Jared Van Wormer gained the zone with a smooth deke move at the top of the circles. He slid the puck to the wide-open right-wing side to a waiting Sean Murphy who poked home his seventh of the season, all of which have come in the last nine games.

Just under three minutes into the second period, Traverse City would extend their lead to two goals. Forcing a turnover in the Kalamazoo zone, Will Badner threw a pass from behind the net, onto the tape of Van Wormer. He promptly ripped a wrist-shot from the top of the left circle and past Ken MacLean for his sixth tally of the campaign.

From the ensuing face-off, the next one minute and eleven seconds provided three goals. Austin Hervey scored his fourth of the year on a wrap-around effort off a dump-in from Chris Leone.

Under a minute later, Kalamazoo would pull even with Chris Hughes' tally. Hughes let a laser of a wrister go from the top of the left-wing circle that beat the Traverse City goalie, Kyle Laslo, over the glove. The goal for Hughes, the former Michigan Mr. Hockey winner, was his fourth of the season.

The Jr. K-Wings would only enjoy their comeback efforts for sixteen seconds. Mitchell Snider stole the puck from the Kalamazoo defense and entered the attacking zone from the left-wing side. He tried to slide a backhand pass to the slot, but the puck deflected off the stick of a Jr. K-Wing defender and through the legs of MacLean.

The back-and-forth scoring of the second period didn't stop there. Kalamazoo tied the game for the second time on the night with Robbie Payne's 18th goal of the year. The shorthanded tally from Payne came on a breakaway effort off a stolen pass.

Eleven seconds later, Kalamazoo would again relinquish the tie. Alexander Taulien scored his fifth of the season on the power play, when he blasted home a rebound on the doorstep of the Jr. K-Wing net off a Michal Toman drive.

The North Stars began the third period with a bang, as it took them just over five minutes to give themselves a bit of insurance with a two-goal lead. Robert Wiener scored his second of the season when he snapped a backhander from the slot past MacLean.

MacLean took the loss to drop to 7-4-1 on the season, as his 23 saves on 28 shots were not enough to give Kalamazoo a chance to win. Laslo made 22 saves on 25 shots to gain the victory and improve his record to 13-4-3.

Game stats can be found at: http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1646966

Looking Ahead

The Jr. K-Wings are set to return to their home ice for two straight games this weekend, looking to improve on their already impressive 8-1-1 record at the Borgess Health Rink at Wings West. They have, however, dropped two of their last three contests at home, including a tough 3-2-shootout loss to the Port Huron Fighting Falcons on November 27th.

-MORE- Saturday sees the Jamestown Ironmen making their third trip to the Borgess Health Rink at Wings West on the season. A fellow North Division team, the Ironmen are at the bottom of the division with 23 points, two behind the Michigan Warriors. Kalamazoo holds a 4-1-0 record over Jamestown, but, all but one of those games have been decided by only a goal. The most notable of their five matchups was an 8-7 Kalamazoo win, in a score-fest on October 30th in Jamestown.

Sunday Afternoon brings the Traverse City North Stars into the building for only the second time on the season, and the first since October 9th. The Jr. K-Wings have only played the North Stars twice on the season, far less than any other North Division opponent. Traverse City continues to breathe down the neck of Kalamazoo, as they only trail the Jr. K-Wings for second in the division by three points, with five games still at hand.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings

Goals: Robbie Payne (18 Goals)

Assists: Robbie Payne (15 Assists)

Points: Robbie Payne (33 Points)

+/-: Robbie Payne (+7)

Penalty Minutes: Brandon Flood (61 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Robbie Payne (7 PPG)

Short Handed Goals: Robbie Payne, Nick Kovalchik (1 SHG)

Game Winning Goals: Robbie Payne (4 GWG)

Shots: Chris Hughes (90 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Robbie Payne (22.0%)

Goals Against Average: Alex Okicki (2.87 GAA)

Save Percentage: Alex Okicki (.915%)

Shorty Success

Both Nick Kovalchik and Robbie Payne scored short-handed tallies over the weekend, the first since October 9th when the former Jr. K-Wing, Chad McDonald, scored one against the Traverse City North Stars. Kalamazoo now has four short-handed goals on the season.

Winless Warriors

Once again, the Jr. K-Wings beat the Michigan Warriors in a North Dvision Clash. Their 2-1 victory at the Perani Hockey Center in Flint on Friday night was the fifth time that Kalamazoo has beaten the Warriors. They now hold a 5-0-0 record on the season against Michigan, with their next matchup set for Friday, December 16th. The game will once again be played on the road.

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

Saturday, December 10th Vs. Jamestown 2:00 PM

Sunday, December 11th Vs. Traverse City 2:00 PM

Friday, December 16th @ Michigan 7:30 PM

Sunday, December 18th Vs. Michigan 2:00 PM

Friday, January 6th @ Springfield 8:00 PM



North American Hockey League Stories from December 5, 2011


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