IHL 2 Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Week in Review

Published on May 31, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


The Kalamazoo Wings continued "Destination: Colonial Cup" with Game Three of the Colonial Cup Finals against the Danbury Trashers on Wednesday (5/24) night at the Danbury Ice Arena in Danbury, Connecticut. The K-Wings struck first midway in the opening period, when Greg Labenski threw a pass ahead to Kory Karlander who skated in one on one on Sylvain Daigle. While Daigle was able to make the initial save, Karlander has able to find his own rebound to score his sixth goal of the playoffs. Kalamazoo built on their lead in the second period, when Nick Bootland capitalized on a Danbury turnover by finding Karlander (7), who scored his second goal of the game on a one-timer between the circles. Danbury executed their first goal of the night on the power-play midway in the second period, when Shawn Collymore (7) beat Joel Martin on the short side to make the score 2-1. The K-Wings regained a two-goal cushion in the third period with a power-play goal from Dustin Virag (3). Late in the period and with their goalie pulled, the Trashers would score again, but it wouldn't be enough, as the K-Wings went on to defeat the Trashers 3-2 and take a two games to one lead in the Best of Seven Series.

The K-Wings continued the series on Friday (5/26) in Danbury with Game Four. Like the previous three games of the Finals, the K-Wings scored the games first goal, as Mike Manley (1) found his own rebound just in front of the crease and beat Danbury's Sylvain Daigle to give the K-Wings a 1-0 lead midway into the opening period. The Trashers answered back in the second period, when forward Shawn Collymore (8) flung a backhander past Joel Martin to tie the game at 1-1. Kalamazoo took the lead for good with less than minute to play in the second period, when Tyler Rennette (5) deked around two players and roofed a power-play tally past Daigle. Goaltender Joel Martin stopped 35 shots including seven in the third period to preserve the 2-1 victory, which gave the K-Wings a three games to one lead in the Best of Seven Series.

Kalamazoo was looking to close out the series and their season on Saturday (5/27) with Game Five of the Finals. The K-Wings power-play took control of the game early striking on their first-two chances on the man-advantage. Daniel Carriere (2) gave the K-Wings the lead with a power-play goal 6:31 into the opening period. Kalamazoo extended their lead to 2-0 two and half minutes later with a power-play blast from Dustin Virag (4). The Trashers cut the K-Wings lead in half early in the second period, with a goal from David Hymovitz (10). Kalamazoo extended their lead to 3-1 midway into the second period with a goal from Damian Surma (4). Danbury answered back with two unanswered goals, including the equalizer from Donny Grover (2) 14:02 into the third period, which forced the game into overtime. In the extra session, the K-Wings would etch their name into the history books, just 1:42 in to the overtime, when Lucas Drake (10) put in a one-timer from between the circles to give Kalamazoo a 4-3 victory and their first-ever Colonial Cup Championship.

Fast Forward

The K-Wings will begin defense of their Colonial Cup this October during the 2006-07 season.

Playoff Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Wings

Goals Nick Bootland, Lucas Drake (10 Goals)

Assists Jason Deitsch (9 Assists)

Points Nick Bootland (16 Points)

+/- Adam Elzinga, Tyler Willis (+10)

Penalty Minutes Tyler Willis (37 Minutes)

Power Play Goals Lucas Drake (6 Goals)

Short Handed Goals Lucas Drake (2 Goals)

Game Winning Goals Lucas Drake (3 GW)

Shots: Nick Bootland (61 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Lucas Drake (22.2%)

Goals Against Average: Joel Martin (1.84)

Save Percentage: Joel Martin (0.933)

Feels Like the First Time

The K-Wings captured their first-ever Colonial Cup with a victory Saturday against the Danbury Trashers. While it was the K-Wings first UHL title, it was the franchise's third overall championship, as the team won two titles in the International Hockey League.

Road Warriors

The K-Wings had no problems winning on the road in the postseason. Kalamazoo went a perfect 7-0 on the road during their Destination: Colonial Cup.

Mr. OT

Lucas Drake overtime game-winner was the third game-winner of the postseason. The three-game winners by Drake led the K-Wings in the postseason.

Time to Celebrate

Saturday will be a day of celebration for the Kalamazoo Wings. The K-Wings will be the Grand Marshals for the 2006 Do-Dah Parade. The annual parade will begin at 11 a.m. in downtown Kalamazoo. Later that the day, the K-Wings will host a Colonial Cup Celebration inside of The Annex. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the event will begin at 7 p.m. Seating will be first come, first serve. Capacity for the event will be limited to 3,000.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

All three of the K-Wings championships have something in common. All three titles were won on the road.

Tickets! Get Your Tickets!!

Tickets for the K-Wings 2006-07 season are on sale now. Catch all the action as your K-Wings play the very best the UHL has to offer. Tickets are on sale now by calling the Wings Stadium Ticket Office 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, much more.

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from May 31, 2006


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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