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Jr. K-Wings Weekly

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


Game Recap-

Saturday, November 24th Vs. Springfield Jr. Blues. 2-1 Win.

Kalamazoo, MI- The Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings (13-8-1) got a season-high 46 saves from goaltender Alex Okicki, as he led the way en route to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Springfield Jr. Blues (10-11-2) on Saturday afternoon at the Borgess Health Rink inside Wings West.

The first period got underway with the Jr. K-Wings being able to spring out to a 1-0 lead. Robbie Payne got a great feed up the middle from Mark Esshaki, and was able to make one Springfield defender miss on his way to snapping a wrister into the top corner of the goal, notching his team-leading 14th of the season. The goal extended Payne's point streak to five games.

Only two and a half minutes later, Kalamazoo would add to their early one goal lead. Davis DeKorte carried the puck around the back of the goal, and fed it in front to a waiting Trevor Boyd, who was able to find an open corner of the net for his fourth goal of the season. The two-goal lead would stand for the duration of the first period.

The lead would quickly be sliced to one, as Springfield tallied their first of the game at the 2:11 mark of the second period. Brett Skiba carried the puck into the Kalamazoo end on his backhand and fluttered a shot that beat Okicki. The goal for Skibba was his team leading 12th of the season.

The third period was filled with back and forth action for the entire twenty minutes, but neither team was able to score. Even with an extra attacker for the last thirty seconds, the Jr. Blues weren't able to muster up a scoring chance, and the Jr. K-Wings' 2-1 lead would be enough for a victory.

Official game stats can be found at: http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1993602

Sunday, November 25th Vs. Springfield Jr. Blues. 2-1 Win.

Kalamazoo, MI- The Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings (14-8-1) got a goal from Taylor Burden, and a boatload of stops from Marcus Due-Boje, as they led the team to victory over the Springfield Jr. Blues (10-12-2) by a score of 2-1 to complete their weekend sweep on Sunday at the Borgess Health Rink inside Wings West.

For the second straight game in as many days between these two teams, the shots on goal favored the Jr. Blues through the first period of play. They were able to put ten shots on Kalamazoo goalie, Marcus Due-Boje, who stopped all eleven in blanking Springfield during the opening frame. Matt Leon was equally successful in the opposing net for the Jr. Blues, as he stopped all eight of the Jr. K-Wings' first period shots.

After going 79 minutes and 53 seconds without a goal dating back to the first period of yesterdays contest, Kalamazoo was finally able to break the scoreless tie, midway through the second period. Notching his fourth goal of the season was Taylor Burden, who deflected a shot by Brett Beauvais, giving the Jr. K-Wings a one goal lead heading into the final frame.

The Jr. Blues wouldn't be silenced for the whole sixty minutes, as they were able to notch their first of the game and tie the contest at 1-1. Simon Koscielski drove hard to the goal and was able to stuff one past Due-Boje for his first of the season.

With less than four minutes remaining in the third period, the Jr. K-Wings would put the game out of reach with the eventual game-winning goal. Directly off a faceoff win from Kyle Gattelaro, new addition Mac McDonnell pounced on the loose puck and shot it into the top corner of the goal for his first of the season.

The goal would be enough for Due-Boje (3-1-0) to pick up a victory after leading his team with 34 saves.

Official game stats can be found at: http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1993612

Looking Ahead

The Jr. K-Wings, winners of three straight, are set to hit the road for their next three contests. The first two of those will take place this week, as Kalamazoo is set to travel to Janesville, Wisconsin for two games against the Jets. Kalamazoo and Janesville split their first two games of the season, both in Kalamazoo. The first was a one-goal thriller, with the Jr. K-Wings escaping with two points on the back of a 1-0 victory. The following day, it was the Jets with the J-Wings' number, as they tagged Kalamazoo for six goals on their way to a 6-4 win. Janesville has only two active players that have double-digit points, as they are led by Jason Ford, whose ten goals and eight assists for eighteen points lead the next leading scorer, Jordan Himley, by seven points. Himley has chipped in with nine goals and two helpers on the season.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings

Goals: Robbie Payne (14 Goals)

Assists: Josh Dangel (16 Assists)

Points: Robbie Payne (24 Points)

+/-: Sam Johnson, Brett Beauvais (+10)

Penalty Minutes: Josh Dangel (52 PIMs)

Power Play Goals: Robbie Payne (5 PPG)

Short Handed Goals: Mikhail Bushinksi (1 SHG)

Game Winning Goals: Robbie Payne (3 GWG)

Shots: Kyle Gattelaro (71 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Luc Boby (31.7%)

Goals Against Average: Marcus Due-Boje (2.95 GAA)

Save Percentage: Marcus Due-Boje (.914%)

Led by the men in the big pads

In Kalamazoo's weekend sweep of the Springfield Jr. Blues, their goaltenders Alex Okicki and Marcus Due-Boje allowed two goals in 120 minutes of play, and combined for 83 saves. Okicki shined bright on Saturday, making a career-high 49 stops, and Due-Boje also set a career mark with his 34 saves. They were both able to pick up 2-1 victories against a Jr. Blues team that peppered the Jr. K-Wings with 85 shots in two games.

Mac Attack

Kalamazoo forward Mac McDonnell had his presence felt in Sunday's 2-1 victory, as he scored is first career NAHL goal. The tally came at the 16:01 mark of the third period, and stood as the game winning goal for the Jr. K-Wings. McDonnell has tallied two points on a goal and an assist in his first three games with the team.

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, November 30th @ Janesville 7:00 PM CST

Saturday, December 1st @ Janesville 7:00 PM CST

Friday, December 7th @ Port Huron 7:00 PM

Saturday, December 8th Vs. Soo 2:00 PM

Sunday, December 9th Vs. Soo 2:00 PM

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North American Hockey League Stories from November 27, 2012


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