IHL 2 Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Week in Review

Published on February 2, 2004 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


The K-Wings started the week on Wednesday (1/28) as they started a two game road swing in Moline, Illinois versus the Quad City Mallards. Kalamazoo started the games scoring 3:32 into the opening period, when Tim Turner netted his 6th goal of the year to give the K-Wings a 1-nothing lead. After a Jeff Williams (22) goal late in the period tied the game at 1-1, Quad City took the game over in the second period by scoring three unanswered, including Williams (23) 2nd of the game to make the score 4-1. Kalamazoo attempted a comeback late in the second period, as Joe Ritson (9) scored with 2:02 left in the period to cut the Mallards lead to 4-2. The comeback would be short lived, as Quad City added two more goals in the final period, as the Mallards defeated Kalamazoo by the final of 6-2.

When the K-Wings went to St. Charles, Missouri, on Friday (1/30) they found themselves in a defensive battle as the faced-off against the Missouri River Otters. After a scoreless first period, Kalamazoo got on the scoreboard first, when Nick Bootland (24) scored on a wrist shot from the left circle to give the K-Wings a 1-0 lead. With their goalie pulled for the extra skater and less than a minute on the clock, the River Otters tied the game in the third period, when Jeff Petruic (25) deflected a shot past Chad Alban to knot the game at 1-1. With the game tied at 1-1, the teams would need a shootout to decide the winner. Kalamazoo scored on three of their four shooters, while Alban stoned all three Otter shooters to give Kalamazoo a 2-1 victory at the Family Arena.

Kalamazoo was looking for the weekend sweep on Saturday (1/31) when they returned home to play the Rockford IceHogs. Like the two other games during the week, the K-Wings scored first, this time it was a Joe Ritson (10) on the power play scoring just under seven minutes into the first period to give Kalamazoo a 1-0 lead. A few minutes later, the IceHogs struck back, as Dale Junkin scored his sixth goal of the year on the power play to tie the game at 1-1. Kalamazoo regained the lead midway in the period with Jeff Turner's team leading 27th goal of the year to make the score 2-1 in favor of the K-Wings. After a scoreless second period, the IceHogs caught the K-Wings off guard by scoring two early third period goals to take a 3-2 lead. The K-Wings weren't down long, as Marty Flichel (16) scored the equalizer 6:20 into the final period to tie the game at 3-3. Kalamazoo took the lead for good with 12 minutes remaining in the game, when Pat O'Leary capped off a two on one breakaway with his 9th goal of the season. Later in the period, the K-Wings added some insurance with Ritson' s (11) second power play goal of the game. Rookie goaltender Rob Anderson stopped 24 shots to record his third win of the season and his first at Wings Stadium, as the K-Wings went on to defeat the IceHogs 5-3.

Fast Forward

The K-Wings will look to extend a two game winning streak as they play four games in six days. Kalamazoo will open up the week at home against the Rockford IceHogs. The K-Wings are unbeaten at home in their last 13 games. Both teams are very familiar with one another, as Tuesday will mark the eighth meeting of the season and the second in a four day span. The two teams will play again later in the week, as the two travel back to Rockford, Illinois for a Saturday (2/7) contest.

On Friday (2/6), the K-Wings will stay at home, as they start Meijer Scout Weekend against the Flint Generals on Boy Scout Night sponsored by Q 106.5 FM. Flint starts the week in second place in the Eastern Conference, just six points behind the Richmond RiverDogs for the top spot in the east. The K-Wings will be looking to stop Flint's Bobby Reynolds, who is fifth in the UHL in scoring with 60 points.

After going to Rockford on Saturday, the K-Wings will come back on home to face-off against the Muskegon Fury on Girl Scout Day sponsored by WKFR. With a record of 29-11-4, the Fury are not only the top team in the Western Conference, but are also the top team in the UHL. The K-Wings are 1-3-1 this season against their intra-state rivals. Besides Girl Scout Day, the game also coincides is a Family Fun Pack Game. Fans can purchase four tickets (blue level), four cokes, and four hot dogs for just $28. Following the game there will be a post game skate with the entire K-Wings team.

Lighting the Lamp

K-Wings forward Jeff Turner has had no problems scoring goals. Turner, who leads the K-Wings with 27 goals, is also fifth in the UHL in the same category.

Home Sweet Home

The K-Wings are 9-2-5 at Wings Stadium. The .719 winning percentage at home is the third highest in the UHL. Only Fort Wayne and Muskegon have higher home winning percentages.

Hot Shot

K-Wings forward Tim Turner leads all rookies with 103 shots on goal. Tim, who is the younger brother of K-Wing Jeff Tuner is also fifth among rookies in assists with 17.

Lucky 13

The K-Wings will be looking extend their new franchise record 13 game home unbeaten streak as they host the Rockford IceHogs tomorrow. Kalamazoo has not lost a regulation game at home since November 21st.

Road Warriors

In 24 road games this year, the K-Wings have won 12 games, which tie them with last year's total for road victories for the entire season. Last season, the K-Wings were 12-21-5 away from Wings Stadium.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

Kalamazoo has demonstrated a balance scoring attack this season. In fact, the K-Wings are the only team in the UHL that has received at least one point from every player on their roster.

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 all K-Wing home games are on sale by calling the K-Wings at (269) 345-5101.

Get on Line

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

Watson on the Radio

Join special guest Dan Watson as he joins Head Coach Mark Reeds, the "Voice of the K-Wings" Mike Modugno, and WQSN Sports Director Ryan Maguire tonight on " K-Wings Live". The show is on The Sports Station 1600 AM WQSN Monday's from 6-7PM live from The Sports Forum on Mosel.

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 Countdown to Face-Off 15 minutes prior to the drop of the puck. For the most complete coverage of the K-Wings from the Opening Face-Off to the Final Buzzer keep your radio tuned to the K-Wings Radio Network this season.

Upcoming Games

Tuesday, February 3rd Vs Rockford 7:00 PM (Classic Hits 96.5 FM Classic Ticket Night)

Friday, February 6th Vs Flint 7:30 PM (Meijer Boy Scout Night sponsored Q-106.5 FM)

Saturday, February 7th @ Rockford 7:05 PM (CST)

Sunday, February 8th Vs Muskegon 7:30 PM (Meijer Boy Scout Night sponsored by WKFR)

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from February 2, 2004


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