IHL 2 Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Game Recap

Published on February 25, 2009 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Kalamazoo, MI - Whether it was a few extra cups of coffee or a big breakfast, the Port Huron Icehawks mastered the morning on their way to a 3-2 Education Day victory over the Kalamazoo Wings Wednesday.

Derek Patrosso (14th) buried the deciding goal on the power play at 11:00 of the third period to push the Icehawks to victory. Patrosso, who had two goals on the day and was named the No. 1 star, lifted the rebound of a Daniel Tetrault point shot into the upper half of the net.

The rare 10:30 a.m. start had no adverse effect on the first-place Icehawks, who withstood a two-goal, third-period burst from the K-Wings and remained undefeated in 25 games in which they hold a lead after 40 minutes.

Lucas Drake spearheaded the K-Wings' comeback from a 2-0 hole by setting up Rick Cleaver (20th at :51) on the man-advantage and netting a shorthanded goal (22nd at 8:04) off a Glenn Detulleo setup. Anthony Battaglia earned an assist on the Cleaver goal to keep his point-scoring streak, now at seven games, alive.

Despite tremendous vocal support from the youthful Education Day crowd of 5,004 and two first-period power plays, the K-Wings had to deal with a deficit after 20 minutes. Port Huron's Nick Lindberg (22nd) received a long lead pass from defenseman Jamie Carroll and hammered a left-wing slapshot past Kalamazoo goalie Joel Martin for a 1-0 Icehawks lead at 17:17.

With Port Huron carrying a 23-0-1-0 record when leading after two periods, the onus was on Kalamazoo to at least forge a tie before the middle frame expired. Unfortunately for the K-Wings, the IHL's first-place team continued to play steadily and increased the margin to 2-0 by the second intermission.

The Icehawks struck for their second even-strength goal at 3:50 of the second, as Patrosso (13th) directed one in from Martin's doorstep. Lindberg played a key role in the goal, taking a hard check behind the K-Wings net before spinning a pass to a posted-up Patrosso. Jamie Lovell earned the second assist, the second Port Huron blueliner to get on the board.

Later in the period, with Port Huron on the power play, Martin made the save of the game on former longtime NHLer Bryan Smolinski. The 16-year veteran, who played six games in the IHL in the 1996-97 season for the Detroit Vipers, was turned away from point-blank range by Martin's outstretched right pad.

Tyler Willis, five-time WKLM Most Popular Player and alternate captain, returned to the K-Wings lineup after 30 games on the injured reserve. He recorded seven penalty minutes in his first action since December 16th.

For Game Stats: http://pointstreak.com/prostats/gamesheet_full.html?gameid=735260

The K-Wings will play the middle leg of the home stand this Friday, February 27th with a 7:30 p.m. face-off versus the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Exteriors of Kalamazoo Night.

This Friday is also the final K-Wings Frugal Friday. During every Friday home game in February, Wings Stadium will offer $1 hot dogs and beer.

Single-game tickets for any of the K-Wings 38 regular season home games are currently on sale at the Wings Stadium Ticket Office. Ticket Office hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information, call Wings Stadium Ticket Office during regular business hours at (269) 345-5101.

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 25, 2009


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