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ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Week in Review

October 8, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Record Last Week: 1-1-0 Overall Preseason Record 1-1-0

Game Rewind

The K-Wings started their preseason schedule last Friday night (10/4) at Wings Stadium against the Fort Wayne Komets. The game featured superb goaltending as both teams nearly shutout each other for the entire 60 minutes of play. The game would be decided with only 7 tenths of a second remaining in regulation. K-Wing forward Justin Cardwell (1st) would break the deadlock when he scored the game's only goal as the K-Wings defeated Fort Wayne 1-nothing. Kalamazoo was led by Chad Alban, as the Kalamazoo native stopped 25 shots to record the shutout. Fort Wayne displayed stellar goaltending as well, Pokey Reddick stopped all 18 shots he saw in the 30 minutes he played. His backup Scott Rideout, stopped 16 of the 17 shots he faced and received the loss. The game attendance was 1,806 and was the largest crowed to watch a UHL preseason game at Wings Stadium.

The K-Wings and the Komets finished their preseason, as well as their home and home series on Saturday (10/5) at the McMillan Ice Arena in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Komets would get on the board early, as Colin Chaulk (1st) scored just 1:27 into the opening period. Fort Wayne would enjoy the 1-nothing lead until early into the second period, when a Komet turnover would prove to be costly. Justin Cardwell (2nd) would intercept a pass deep in Fort Wayne's zone and then beat Komet goaltender Mike Summerfelt on the weak side to tie the game at 1-1. The Komets would answer four minutes later, when Sean Vanedam won a face-off in the K-Wings zone and sent it back to Kevin Schmidt at the left point. Schmidt (1st) would beat Kalamazoo goalie Brian Rogers, who was screened on the play with a slap shot to give Fort Wayne a 2-1 lead. At the 10:14 mark of the second period, the Komets would extend their lead to 3-1, when David Beauregard got loose in front and scored his first goal of the preseason. The game would stay 3-1 into the third period, when Fort Wayne would score the game's last goal on Chalk's second tally of the game, as Fort Wayne defeated Kalamazoo 4-1. Both teams concluded their preseason with records of 1-1-0.

Fast Forward

The K-Wings will open up their 29th season of hockey in Kalamazoo this Friday (10/11), as they travel to Port Huron to face the newest team in the UHL the Port Huron Beacons. For the Beacons, the game will not only be their first regular season game, but it will also be the teams first game ever. Port Huron has assembled a solid team and Head Coach Brad Jones will have his troops ready when the K-Wings enter McMorran Arena. The Beacons are led by Brent Gretzky (who is the younger brother of Wayne), Kory Cooper, and Jason Firth. Face-off in Port Huron is set for 7:30 PM.

Kalamazoo will continue their three game road swing the next night (10/12), as they travel to Muskegon to battle the defending Colonial Cup Champions the Muskegon Fury. Before the contest, the Fury will be celebrating their championship season of a year ago with the banner raising ceremony, as well as presenting the members of last year's team with their championship rings. The Fury still has 13 members of their championship team in training camp. The Fury are led by Todd Robinson (scored 92 points last season), goaltender Sylvain Daigle (38-18-3, GAA: 2.17), and Robin Bouchard (scored 23 points in just 22 games). The biggest change with the Fury this season will be behind the bench, as Mike Busniuk replaces former Head Coach Danton Cole, who is now the Head Coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL). The game will also mark the second straight season that the K-Wings will be the home opener for Muskegon. Last season, Kalamazoo lost the opener in Muskegon by the final of 5-3.

Five of a Kind

Five of the six K-Wing players attending AHL camps have returned back to Kalamazoo. Mike Ford, Craig Bilick, Glendon Cominetti, Herman Hultgren, and Kirill Alexeev, who were all at the Cleveland Barons training camp returned back to the K-Wings on Monday.

K-Wings Cut Three

The K-Wings trimmed their roster down to 22 players yesterday, as the team released forward Andy Disch (Dish), and defensemen Matt Kruzich, and Steve Howard.

In the Cards

If the preseason is any indication, the 2002-2003 season will be a good one for Justin Cardwell. Cardwell scored both of the K-Wings goals in the preseason.

Starting the Season on a High Note

K-Wing forward Glendon Cominetti will be starting this season on a high note. The former B.C. Icemen finished last season with a league leading four game current scoring streak.

Final Rosters to Be Set on Thursday

The K-Wings and the rest of the UHL have until 5 PM Thursday (10/10) to finalize their rosters for the upcoming season.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

The K-Wings open the season against Port Huron on a Friday. In their UHL existence (including in Madison 99-00), the K-Wings are 29-30-7 on games played on Friday's.

Tickets Get Your Tickets!!

Tickets for all K-Wing home games are now on sale. Catch all the action as your K-Wings play the very best the UHL has to offer. Tickets for are on sale by calling the K-Wings at 345-5101.

Get on Line

This season the best to keep track of the K-Wings is to log onto www.kwings.com. The new site has player profiles, information about Wings Stadium events, and much more.

K-Wings on Radio

Catch all the K-Wings games home and away on the K-Wings Radio Network (WLKM 95.9, WQSN 1660 AM, and WRCC 1400 AM). Join the "Voice of the K-Wings" Mike Modugno for all 76 regular season games and the playoffs. Pre game coverage begins with the Basic Communications Pre Game Show 15 minutes prior to face-off. For the most complete coverage of the K-Wings from the Opening Face-Off to the Final Buzzer keep your radio tuned this season to K-Wings Radio Network.

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

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