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ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Knotch Trio in 2nd, Walleye Surge Back at Home

April 15, 2023 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


TOLEDO, OH - The Kalamazoo Wings (29-37-5-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second against Toledo (45-19-4-3), but the Walleye answered with four-straight to win 4-3 on Saturday at Huntington Center.

The K-Wings scored all of their goals in a span of 4:54, with Ben Copeland (6) opening the scoring at the 3:51 mark. On the play, Connor Fedorek (3) sent the puck to Brendan Bushy (1) at the right point, and he found Copeland left circle to open the scoring in the contest.

Then, at the 5:59 mark, Coale Norris (13) scored, deflecting an Ayden MacDonald (16) shot from the goal line as MacDonald surged down the right side. MacDonald forced a turnover as Toledo attempted to send a long pass into the neutral zone, skated with the puck in, and flung it towards the net where Norris redirected it in. With the goal, Norris extends his goal-scoring streak to three games, the longest of his professional career.

David Keefer (4) then made it 3-0 with a goal at the 8:45 mark. On the play, Collin Saccoman (17) brought the puck into the offensive zone and connected with Keefer, who rifled it in from the right faceoff dot. MacDonald (17) earned the secondary assist, which allowed him to collect multiple points in three consecutive games, and Keefer extended his current point streak to seven games (4g, 5a) with the score.

But Toledo found the back of the net on the power play at the 16:13 mark and scored again just 1:24 later to make it 3-2.

Toledo found the equalizer on the first shift of the third period, scoring at the 32-second mark. Toledo then netted the game-winning goal with 6:28 remaining in the third.

Drew DeRidder (0-1-0-0) made his professional debut in net for Kalamazoo and was strong throughout the contest, stopping 33 of 37 shots in the contest.

The K-Wings immediately head home for the season finale Sunday against the Indy Fuel (42-24-5-0) at 3:00 p.m. EDT at Wings Event Center.

For the first time in several years, the K-Wings' red jerseys will be available for auction after the game, and stick around postgame for the K-Wings' annual end-of-the-season awards as well. --

It's not too early to secure 2023-24 K-Wings season tickets. Enjoy exclusive benefits, including guaranteed seat location to all 36 home games, complimentary parking, early access to the arena and more. Click HERE to join the ranks of the K-Wings High Flyers today.

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