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Jr. K-Wings Weekly

March 27, 2012 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings News Release


Game Recap- Friday, March 23rd @ Michigan Warriors. 4-0 Loss.

Flint, MICH- Kalamazoo put up 36 shots on Michigan goaltender Trevor Gorsuch, but Gorsuch stopped them all en route to a 4-0 victory over the visiting Jr. K-Wings. Michigan forward A.J. White also added two goals in the Warriors' victory.

The first period featured no goals for either team, with Kalamazoo outshooting Michigan by a margin of 17-10. However, Michigan goalie Gorsuch was solid in net and stopped all of the opportunities created by Kalamazoo.

The second period started off quickly for Michigan as they scored the first goal of the game just four minutes into the frame. Travis Hill (5th) beat Kalamazoo goaltender Alex Okicki to give the Warriors the 1-0 lead.

Just three minutes later, Joey Ferriss (15th) gave Michigan the 2-0 advantage as he found the back of the net at 7:09 into the period.

The third period was also unkind to the Jr. K-Wings who already trailed by two goals. White (27th) found his scoring touch seven minutes into the third to extend the lead to 3-0 over visiting Kalamazoo. Ferriss earned his second point of the contest with the only assist on the tally.

White was not done as he scored his 28th of the year with only five minutes left in the game to give Michigan the commanding 4-0 lead over the Jr. K-Wings

The final horn sounded and Kalamazoo was unable to overcome the two goals by White and lost by a final of 4-0. Trevor Gorsuch made 36 stops to earn his first shutout of the season.

Official game stats can be found at

Saturday, March 24th Vs. Jamestown Ironmen. 5-1 Win.

Kalamazoo, MI- The Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings scored five unanswered goals en route to a 5-1 victory over the visiting Jamestown Ironmen on Saturday afternoon at the Borgess Health Rink inside Wings West.

The first period featured big hits and good goaltending by both teams. Jamestown, however, was the only team to find the back of the net. Luc Gerdes (10th) walked in all alone on Kalamazoo goaltender Kenneth MacLean after a gorgeous series of passes and Gerdes made no mistake. He put it off the post and in to give the Ironmen the 1-0 lead over the Jr. K-Wings with the power play tally.

The second period started off well for Kalamazoo when Sean Campbell scored his 1st goal of the season with a knuckle shot that found its way past Jamestown goaltender Joe Ballmer.

Later in the frame, Brock Raffaele (10th) deflected a shot from the point fired by Alex Brooks to give the Jr. K-Wings a 2-1 lead.

Kalamazoo was not done with their scoring touch as Danny Hamburg (7th) banged home a rebound off a Taylor Burden shot with only 2:21 remaining in the second period. The goal gave Kalamazoo a 3-1 lead heading into the intermission.

Leading by two and surging for more, Raffaele (11th) added to the Kalamazoo lead when he batted a puck out of mid air and past Ballmer.

Kyle Gattelaro put the icing on the cake for Kalamazoo, as he buried his 19th of the season with a minute and a half remaining in regulation to cap off five unanswered goals by Kalamazoo over the course of the second and third periods to give them a 5-1 victory.

Official game stats can be found at

Sunday, March 25th vs. Jamestown Ironmen. 6-4 Win.

Kalamazoo, MI- The Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings scored three goals over the span of a minute and thirty seconds early in the second period and never looked back on their way to a 6-4 victory over the Jamestown Ironmen on Sunday.

For the second straight game, Jamestown got the scoring underway in the first period with a power play tally. Cody Sarmiento scored is fourth of the season just 2:20 into the first to give the Ironmen a one-goal lead.

Kalamazoo pulled even with three and a half minutes remaining in the opening frame on Nick Kovalchiks eighth of the season. Kovalchik deflected a shot in front of Jamestown goalie, Joe Gladnick, which changed directions and found the back of the net.

Kalamazoo roared out of the gates in the second period, starting off with a goal by Kovalchik, his second of the game and ninth of the season. The goal was scored just over two minutes into the opening period.

Just forty seconds later, Kalamazoo took a two goal lead on Robbie Payne's team leading 26th of the season. He jammed home a backdoor pass from Matt Wurst to make the score 3-1.

Only fifty seconds after the Payne goal, Kyle Gattelaro added to the score sheet with his twentieth of the season when he scored on a rebound tally 3:36 into the period.

Jamestown struck back and pulled to within two goals on the stick of Anthony Coles. Coles, who scored his team leading 17th of the season, scored on the power play 5:49 into the frame. The power tally for Coles was the second man-advantage goal of the game for the Ironmen.

With a delayed penalty and skating with an extra attacker, Danny Hamburg (8th) scored his second in as many days to give Kalamazoo a commanding 5-2 lead. The lead would stand through forty minutes of play, with the Jr. K-Wings taking a three-goal lead into the locker room.

Jamestown tried to scratch and claw their way back in the game as they brought it to within two goals yet again on Coles' second of the game and team leading 18th of the season.

With just 1:19 remaining in the third period, Dan Cesarz lit the lamp for the eighth time of the season to give Kalamazoo another three-goal lead.

23 seconds later, Brian Watt scored his 9th of the season to pull the Ironmen within two yet again, but that was as close as Jamestown would get, as the final horn blew 56 seconds later to seal the victory for the Jr. K-Wings.

Looking Ahead

The Jr. K-Wings play two games this weekend, as they wrap up their final two games of the regular season. Their opponent this weekend is the Port Huron Fighting Falcons. On both Friday and Saturday nights, Kalamazoo will face the Fighting Falcons. Friday's contest will be on the road, while Saturday's game will be at the Borgess Health Rink at Wings West. Kalamazoo trails Port Huron by one point for the North Division lead going into Friday's contest, so this weekend should prove to be pivotal for both teams.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings

Goals: Robbie Payne (26 Goals)

Assists: Drew Graves (32 Assists)

Points: Drew Graves (57 Points)

+/-: Anthony Appleyard (+28)

Penalty Minutes: Brandon Flood (120 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 (167 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Dan Cesarz (21.6%)

Goals Against Average: Alex Okicki (2.55 GAA)

Save Percentage: Alex Okicki (.921%)

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

Friday, March 30th @ Port Huron 7:00 PM

Saturday, March 31st Vs. Port Huron 2:00 PM



North American Hockey League Stories from March 27, 2012


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