
Jr. K-Wings Weekly
February 28, 2012 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings News Release
Game Recap- Saturday, February 27th Vs. St. Louis Bandits. 2-0 Win.
Kalamazoo, MI- Ken MacLean had a dominating 34 save performance, as he lead the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings to a 2-0 victory over the visiting St. Louis Bandits on Saturday afternoon.
In a first period that was dominated by the visiting Bandits, Kalamazoo still found a way to hold them off the score sheet. St. Louis peppered Kalamazoo goaltender, Ken MacLean with 18 first period shots, in which he saved all of them. Offensively, the Jr. K-Wings struggled, only producing three shots of their own.
Seven and a half minutes into the second period, Kalamazoo struck for the first time on the afternoon. Jacob McDowell scored his 12th of the season on a wrap-around from the left side to give the Jr. K-Wings a 1-0 lead to take into the locker room. The goal would be the eventual game winner.
Just over two minutes into the third period, Kalamazoo got some insurance from Dan Cesarz's fourth of the season. His rebound tally on the power play gave Kalamazoo a two goal lead which would hold until the final horn.
Game stats can be found at: http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1647278
Sunday, February 28th Vs. St. Louis Bandits. 5-2 Loss.
Kalamazoo, MI- The St. Louis Bandits came back from two goals down in the first period on the back of four points from Joe Kalisz on their way to a 5-2 victory over the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings on Sunday at the Borgess Health Rink at Wings West.
Creating much more offensive pressure than the afternoon before, Kalamazoo struck twice in the opening frame. The scoring started with Taylor Burden, scoring his seventh of the season on a quick wrist shot, 4:46 into the period.
Following that up seven minutes later, Christian George scored his seventh on a rebound that he poked home past St. Louis starting goaltender, Spencer Viele. After scoring the second goal, Viele was pulled in favor of Tyler Green.
With three and a half minutes remaining in the first period and working on the power play, St Louis roared back with a goal of their own from Greg Johnson, his 4th of the season, on a slap shot from the point. It was the first goal that Kalamazoo goaltender Ken MacLean had allowed in over 80 minutes of play.
3:42 into the second period, St. Louis notched the game up at two apiece with another power play tally. This time it was Joseph Birmingham scoring his team leading 10th power play goal, and his 20th of the year.
Under three minutes later, the Bandits took their first lead of the game with their third unanswered goal Ryan Stouffer scored his 13th of the season to give St. Louis a 3-2 lead heading into the dressing room.
Nine and a half minutes into the third period, St. Louis scored their fourth unanswered goal to make it 4-2. Joe Kalisz scored his team leading 27th of the season on a shot from the low slot.
Kalisz added an empty netter to seal the Bandit's victory, capping off their two goal comeback victory with their fifth unanswered goal.
Game stats can be found at: http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1647291
Looking Ahead
Kalamazoo takes the ice three times this week. The full week of action starts on Tuesday night in Traverse City for a 6:35 p.m. faceoff against the North Stars. This weekend, Kalamazoo returns home to the Borgess Health Rink at Wings West for two more games against Traverse City, a team that they hold a 5-4-0 record against on the season.
Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings
Goals: Robbie Payne (24 Goals)
Assists: Drew Graves (29 Assists)
Points: Drew Graves (50 Points)
+/-: Anthony Appleyard (+18)
Penalty Minutes: Brandon Flood (108 Minutes)
Power Play Goals: Robbie Payne (9 PPG)
Short Handed Goals: Robbie Payne, Nick Kovalchik, Drew Graves, Brandon Flood, Danny Hamburg, Jacob McDowell (1 SHG)
Game Winning Goals: Robbie Payne (5 GWG)
Shots: Robbie Payne (143 Shots)
Shooting Percentage: Brock Raffaele (26.5%)
Goals Against Average: Alex Okicki (2.54 GAA)
Save Percentage: Alex Okicki (.921%)
Shutout Star
Kalamazoo goalie, Ken MacLean posted his second career shutout on Saturday afternoon against the St. Louis Bandits. MacLean blanked the Bandits by making 34 saves, including 18 of them in the first period.
Playoff Bound
With their 2-0 victory over the Bandits on Saturday, Kalamazoo became the second team in the North Division (Port Huron) to clinch a spot in the Robertson Cup Playoffs. There are still two playoff spots up for grabs in the North Division.
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" Joey Roberts. The pre-game will start five minutes before puck drop.
Upcoming Games
Tuesday, February 28th @ Traverse City 6:35 PM
Saturday, March 3rd Vs. Traverse City 2:00 PM
Sunday, March 4th Vs. Traverse City 2:00 PM
Saturday, March 10th Vs. Springfield 2:00 PM
Sunday, March 11th Vs. Springfield 2:00 PM
• Discuss this story on the North American Hockey League message board...
North American Hockey League Stories from February 28, 2012
- Rivard Leads Stars Past Kalamazoo, 4-2 - Traverse City North Stars
- Rays Report: Playoff Race Tightens Up; Amarillo & Odessa this Weekend - Corpus Christi IceRays
- Jr. K-Wings Weekly - Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings
- Nichols Collects Third Star - Wenatchee Wild
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.
Other Recent Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings Stories
- K-Wings Sign Three
- Kalamazoo ends season with 2-1 loss
- Kalamazoo Faces Uphill Battle
- Jamestown Rides Great Goaltending to 3-1 Victory
- Kalamazoo Gets Routed 7-1 in Game 1 by Jamestown

