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Jr. K-Wings Weekly

January 29, 2013 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings News Release


Game Recap-

Wednesday, January 23rd @ Port Huron Fighting Falcons. 2-1 Win

Port Huron, MI - The first two times the Port Huron Fighting Falcons and the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings met this season, the Falcons emerged victorious. Since then, these two squads have faced off five times, and all five times, the Jr. K-Wings have been able to best their rival. The most recent contest happened on Wednesday night when Kalamazoo scored the 2-1 win over Port Huron.

The first period had the type of energy that you would expect from these two heated rivals. There were magnificent saves, hard hits, and even a fight. The only thing the period lacked was a goal, as the teams headed to the locker rooms deadlocked at zero.

The second period was a very different story than the first. A costly turnover by Kalamazoo in their own defensive zone allowed Port Huron to strike first at the 5:25 mark. Mitch Maloney shot the puck from the point and Bryan Yim (6th) was able to tip it in from the slot to give Port Huron the 1-0 lead.

A little over a minute later, the Jr. K-Wings would respond. Brett Beauvais fired a shot from the point that appeared to be stopped by Alex Blankenburg, but the puck came dribbling out and Danny Hamburg (12th) was able to capitalize on this rebound opportunity. Hamburg's goal tied the game at one.

Soon after they tied the game up, Kalamazoo took the lead. On the Kalamazoo power play, Christian George was able to find space in the slot, and after a perfectly placed Mac McDonnell pass, George was able to score his 4th goal of the year to give Kalamazoo the 2-1 lead over Port Huron.

In the third period, the Fighting Falcons had a few quality chances to even the game up, but Alex Okicki did not allow only pucks past him, and the Jr. K-Wings were able to leave Port Huron with a victory and two points. Kalamazoo is now only one point out of first place in the NAHL North Division; they trail co-leaders Soo and Jamestown.

Official game stats can be found at http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1993806

Friday, January 25th @ Janesville Jets. 4-2 Win.

Janesville, WI - The Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings have been making a strong push to get the top of the NAHL North Division. After their 4-2 victory over the Janesville Jets on Friday night, they have now won six of their last seven contests, and have gotten points in seven straight games.

Early in the game, Janesville was able to take advantage of their very first power play opportunity, as Donovan Gardiner (2nd) scored against his former team when he tipped in theNick Albergo shot from the point.

The Jr. K-Wings would not be able to get onto the scoreboard in the first, but it did not take long in the second for them to score. Newcomer Kody Polin (1st) was able to score on the power play in his first game with the club. His goal was assisted by fellow Lucas Kohls, who had only played four games with the Jr. K-Wings before Friday night.

While recent acquisitions for Kalamazoo tied the game up, their established veterans gave them the lead at the 6:44 mark in the second period. Luc Boby (16th) scored on the power play. His goal was assisted by Kalamazoo's leading scorer Robbie Payne and Brendan Vetter.

The veteran Jr. K-Wings continued to have an impact on the game. Only fifty five seconds into the third, Taylor Burden (15th) fired home the one timer from the slot to give the Jr. K-Wings the insurance goal and the 3-1 lead.

Kalamazoo would need to the extra goal as Janesville would fight back to make it a 3-2 game. At the 9:21 mark, Jordan Hinley(11th) was able to tip the puck into the back of the net with the backhander.

Kohls (2nd) was able to give the Jr. K-Wings their two goal lead back when he was able to score on the rebound opportunity. Polin continued his impressive debut with his second point of the night, as he was credited with an assist on the score. This would prove to be the final goal of the game, as the Jr. K-Wings defeated the Jets by the score of 4-2.

Official game stats can be found at http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1993810

Saturday, January 26th @ Janesville Jets. 6-5 SO/Win.

Janesville, WI - This game between these two NAHL North Division squads saw both teams make goalie changes, a combined seventeen penalties, a combined nine goals, and a penalty shot...and that was just the first two periods. Eventually, the Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings would end up on the winning side of this shootout thriller; they defeated the Janesville Jets by the score of 6-5.

Just as they did the previous night, Janesville struck early in Saturday night's contest. With only two minutes gone in the first period, Janesville took the 1-0 lead on Kalamazoo when Connor Lemirande(7th) found the back of the net.

The Jr. K-Wings were able to respond to this goal midway through the first period when Trevor Boyd(8th) was able to drive home the loose puck in front of the Jet crease and tie the game up at one.

Moments after Boyd's goal, Robbie Payne (20th) created a turnover behind the Janesville net, and he was able to get the wraparound goal to give Kalamazoo the 2-1 lead. This goal came just a few seconds into a Janesville power play, and it was the first shorthanded goal of the year for Kalamazoo.

The special teams of the Jr. K-Wings would not be done scoring points. At the 17:46 mark in the first, the Jr. K-Wings took advantage of a 5 on 3 situation, and Payne was able to find Kyle Gattelaro (6th) in the slot for the backdoor goal.

After the Gattelaro goal, Kalamazoo still found themselves on the power play. Again, they were able to capitalize on this opportunity.Kody Polin (2nd) continued to make an immediate impact with his new team and extended the Kalamazoo lead to 4-1 as the two teams went to the locker room for the first intermission.

The Jets would come out of the first intermission with a different goalie, as Brock Kautz took over for Austin Priebe. The Jets came out firing in the second, and scored less than five minutes into the period when Zach Diamantoni (6th) got the even strength goal to cut the Jr. K-Wing lead to 4-2.

The rest of the second period would belong to Janesville. Jason Ford (13th) recorded his first goal of the evening at the 7:01 mark when the Jets found themselves with two extra attackers on the ice. Ford capitalized on the rebound opportunity from the Todd Koritzinsky backhanded shot attempt from the slot.

Kalamazoo's penalty kill, which had been so solid, again let them down on Ford's next goal at the 8:02 mark. Ford was able to score on a loose puck just outside of the Kalamazoo crease for his 14th goal of the season. This goal tied the game up at four goals apiece.

The Jr. K-Wings lost the lead with 8:49 remaining in the second period when Koritzinsky (2nd) drove a wrister home from the top of the circle to give the Jets the 5-4 edge. This goal would be the end of the road for Alex Okicki, as he was replaced by Marcus Due-Boje.

The new goaltenders had an immediate impact on the game, with both being able to halt the opposing team's momentum. However, Kalamazoo was finally able to get one past Kautz at the 14:40 mark in the third period when Brett Beauvais (4th) was able to score the game-tying goal.

It seemed only fitting that such a back and forth contest would require an overtime session, and that is exactly what happened. When overtime failed to yield a winner, a shootout was needed. In the shootout, Due-Boje continued his hot streak for the Jr. K-Wings, stopping all four shots he faced. The Jr. K-Wings got scores from Gattelaro and Kody Polin and were able to win the game by the score of 6-5.

With the Soo Eagles losing in a shootout, and the Jamestown Ironmen losing in regulation, Kalamazoo now leaves Wisconsin as a co-leader of the NAHL North Division with 58 points.

Official game stats can be found at http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=1993821

Looking Ahead

The Jr. K-Wings have some much needed rest after the last few weeks have been jam packed with action. They are off for the entirety of the upcoming weekend, before they are set to play three games in three days, as they face the Michigan Warriors in Flint on Friday evening, and then make their way back home for a two-game set with the Springfield Jr. Blues.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings

Goals: Robbie Payne (21 Goals)

Assists: Robbie Payne (25 Assists)

Points: Robbie Payne (46 Points)

+/-: Luc Boby, Taylor Burden (+13)

Penalty Minutes: Trevor Boyd (71 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Robbie Payne (7 PPG)

Short Handed Goals: Lucas Kohls (2 SHG)

Game Winning Goals: Robbie Payne, Lucas Kohls, Danny Hamburg (3 GWG)

Shots: Robbie Payne (137 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Luc Boby (22.4%)

Goals Against Average: Marcus Due-Boje (2.68 GAA)

Save Percentage: Marcus Due-Boje (.924%)

Back on Top

After Kalamazoo's three-win week, the Jr. K-Wings are tied for the top spot in the North Division with the Soo Eagles with 58 points. Each team has 27 wins on the season, but the Eagles still have three-games at hand on the Jr. K-Wings. The two teams will meet twice again on the season.

Payne Named POTW

Kalamazoo forward Robbie Payne was honored by the league this week, as he was named Combat Hockey's North Division Player of the Week after posting five points on a goal and four assists, while firing 14 shots on goal and playing to a +3 rating in three games..

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, February 8th @ Michigan 7:05 PM

Saturday, February 9th Vs. Springfield 2:00 PM

Sunday, February 10th Vs. Springfield 2:00 PM

Saturday, February 16th Vs. Janesville 2:00 PM

Sunday, February 17th Vs. Janesville 2:00 PM

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