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ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings to Face South Carolina in Eastern Conference Quarterfinals

April 11, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


KALAMAZOO, MI- The Kalamazoo Wings announced their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals schedule on Monday, as they get set to tangle with the second-seeded South Carolina Stingrays in a best of seven series to open the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs.

Kalamazoo clinched their berth in the postseason after a 4-0 win against Toledo on Saturday at Wings Event Center, and locked up the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a season total of 82 points.

Kalamazoo and South Carolina haven't played one another since the 2013-14 regular season, when each team picked up a win in the two games played. Kalamazoo and South Carolina have met 16 times during regular season play in their team histories, with the Wings posting a 7-7-2 record.

The Wings match up with the top defensive team in the league in the Stingrays, who allowed just 162 goals on the season, for an average of 2.25 goals allowed per game. The South Division champions are led by ECHL All-Rookie team goaltender Vitek Vanecek, who posted an 18-7-5-1 record on the season, with a goals against average of 2.03 and a save percentage of .917%. The first-year pro was the ECHL's Goaltender of the Month in March, after posting a 6-0-1 record to go along with a 1.27 goals against average and a .949% save percentage.

South Carolina are the defending Eastern Conference champions, as the Stingrays made it all the way to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2015, but lost to the Allen Americans in seven games. They competed in four tight series during their run to the finals, playing 27 of a maximum 28 playoff games.

The Wings have made the postseason in six of their seven years as members of the ECHL, and look to advance past round one for the first time since 2012. Coincidentally, the Wings faced the Stingrays in round two of the 2012 postseason, marking the only time the two clubs have met in a playoff series. South Carolina are three-time Kelly Cup Champions, having lifted the trophy in 1997, 2001, and 2009.

Both Kalamazoo and South Carolina enter postseason play on their best point streaks of the season. The Wings are 9-0-1-0 in their last ten games and the Stingrays are 12-0-3-1 in their last 15 tilts.

Though entering as the lower seed, a scheduling conflict results in a quirky first round that features three games at Wings Event Center to open the best of seven match-up. The entire schedule can be seen below.

#2 South Carolina Stingrays (44-18-10) vs. #7 Kalamazoo Wings (38-28-6)

Game 1 - Friday, April 15 at 7 p.m. ET at Kalamazoo

Game 2 - Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m. ET at Kalamazoo

Game 3 - Monday, April 18 at 7 p.m. ET at Kalamazoo

Game 4 - Thursday, April 21 at 7:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina

Game 5 - Saturday, April 23 at 7:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina (If Necessary)

Game 6 - Sunday, April 24 at 7:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina (If Necessary)

Game 7 - Tuesday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. ET at South Carolina (If Necessary)

The Wings have also released their slogan for the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs as "Leave Your Mark." The slogan, adopted by the team since the beginning of the season, aims to motivate each person to leave their metaphorical "mark" on everything they do. If enough "marks" are left, then the team will be able to leave their literal "marks," in the form of their prints on the Kelly Cup.

Single-game playoff tickets are now on sale! Tickets can be purchased at kwings.com or at the Wings Event Center box office. Box office hours are Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. A $2 discount is applied on all tickets purchased before the date of the game. Any student that shows a valid ID can get tickets for just $11.

Listen to all 72 regular season and post season games on AM 1660 The Fan in Kalamazoo, or online at www.1660thefan.com/listen-live. Live coverage begins fifteen minutes before puck drop with the Flame Tamer Pregame Show.

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