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IHL 2 Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Weekly

March 16, 2009 - International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Game Rewind

Wednesday, March 11th @ Bloomington (Kalamazoo 3-Bloomington 2)

Bloomington, IL - Trying to move up in the standings, the Kalamazoo Wings defeated the Bloomington PrairieThunder 3-2 in a shootout and in the process inched to within two points of the idle Fort Wayne Komets, who currently reside in third.

Erupting right off the opening draw, Bloomington's Jon Booras (33rd) brought the puck from behind the K-Wings net to the right circle, where he flung a wrister over the shoulder of goaltender Jason Tapp 27 seconds into the contest to give the Thunder the early 1-0 advantage.

Extending their lead midway into the first, Brett Holmberg created a turnover at the PrairieThunder blue-line and sent an outlet pass to John Nail (10th), who scored on a breakaway.

Kalamazoo cut the deficit in half with 1:06 remaining in the frame, when Trent Daavettila stole the puck from Geoff Patton and fed a perfect pass to Rob Jarvis for the rookies 10th lamp-lighter of the season. The assist by Daavettila now gives the native of Howell, Michigan a four-game point streak.

Proving it's better to give than receive in the second period, Kalamazoo tied the game 5:51 in the stanza. On a reversal of their first tally, Jarvis found a streaking Daavettila (3rd) cutting towards the net for the equalizer. Normally a defenseman, the assist was the second point for Jarvis, who was playing his first full professional game at forward due to injuries to the K-Wings roster.

No scoring in the third or in the overtime forced a shootout. The extra session lasted eight shooters with the K-Wings out-dueling Thunder 2-1 in the shootout to escape with the victory. Scoring in the shootout for Kalamazoo was Detulleo and Rod Aldoff, who netted the game-winner for Kalamazoo, while former K-Wing Jan Jas scored the lone tally for Bloomington.

The win was the K-Wings 16th road victory of the season, which surpasses the team's road output from a season ago.

Friday, March 13th Vs Bloomington (Bloomington 4-Kalamazoo 3)

Kalamazoo, MI - One of hockey's most frequently repeated proverbs is that the first and last minutes of a period are especially important.

The Kalamazoo Wings and the Bloomington PrairieThunder did their best to validate that saying Friday night at Wings Stadium, as the 'Thunder outscored the K-Wings 3-1 during those crucial opening and closing moments on their way to a 4-3 triumph.

Bloomington netted goals in the final minutes of the first and second periods, then former K-Wing Jan Jas (19th) scored the eventual game-winner 23 seconds into the final frame. Third period goals by Rick Cleaver (23rd at 3:16) and Tommy Lange (19th at 19:32) drew Kalamazoo within one, but the visitors prevailed to move within 14 points of the fourth-place home side.

The K-Wings outgunned the 'Thunder 35 shots to 21 in the final two periods, but couldn't manage to get even on the scoreboard after falling behind by two early. Bloomington's rangy goaltender Jason Wolfe stopped 37 of 40 shots for the victory, his eighth of the season and second over Kalamazoo at Wings Stadium.

Bloomington initiated the scoring with a fluky goal at 11:52 of the first. Corey Rutt (6th) scooped up the puck at center ice and blasted a 50-foot slapshot from above the left circle that Kalamazoo goalie Joel Martin casually punched away. Unfortunately it bounced off a K-Wings defenseman and into the vacated net for one of the oddest goals of the season.

The PrairieThunder made it 2-0 with another goal that seemingly came out of nowhere. With the K-Wings on a power play, and under 30 seconds to play in the period, Nick Goyens intercepted a pass in the neutral zone and floated the puck ahead to Bill Bagron. Crossing the Kalamazoo blue line, Bagron (11th) decided to fire a wrist shot that struck the inside of the right post and caromed behind Martin for Bloomington's eighth shorthanded goal on the year.

After accruing only five shots in the opening frame, the K-Wings came out of the locker room for the second determined to put more rubber on goal. They did just that, ringing up 18 shots in the middle period, and not surprisingly they got their first puck behind Wolfe as a result.

Dominic Osman, skating for the first time as a K-Wing after Thursday's trade from Fort Wayne, earned his 19th goal of the season at 13:29 to break the ice. Keeping with the early theme, he got the puck behind Wolfe in an unconventional way when Lucas Drake's one-timer from the low slot deflected off his shin and into the goal. The second assist went to Glenn Detulleo.

But just as they did in the first, the 'Thunder got a goal in the final minute to head into the intermission on their terms. This time it was defenseman Goyens, with Bloomington enjoying its first power play of the contest, spinning a wrister through a screen for a 3-1 lead at 19:32.

Saturday, March 14th @ Fort Wayne (Fort Wayne 5-Kalamazoo 2)

Fort Wayne, IN - Defending their home ice, the Fort Wayne Komets defeated the Kalamazoo Wings and in the process moved into second place in the International Hockey League with a 5-2 victory.

Two previous times this week, the K-Wings had surrendered a goal in the opening minute of a period, and Saturday versus the Komets would be more of the same. Scrambling in front of the K-Wings net, Konstantin Shafronov (18th) knocked in a Mathieu Curadeau rebound to give Fort Wayne the early 1-0 lead 40 seconds into the contest.

Struggling on the power-play, Kalamazoo might have found a remedy with the acquisition of Dominic Osman. Playing against his former team for the first time since being traded on Thursday's, Osman assisted on Kalamazoo's power-play equalizer from Lucas Drake. Scoring on a second chance opportunity in front of Nick Boucher, Drake recorded his team-leading 25th goal of the season 6:25 into the period.

Gaining some breathing room in the second, Fort Wayne added a pair of goals from Olivier Legault and Shafronov. Legualt (5th) broke the tie on the power-play at 6:15 deflecting a Rod Aldoff blue line blast. Just 1:25 later, Shafronov added his second of the night on a backhander.

Midway in the period, the K-Wings would lose the services of Glenn Detulleo. The team's leading scorer left the game with an injury after a vicious elbow by Brad McMillian, which earned the forward a five-minute major and a game-misconduct.

While the K-Wings didn't take advantage of the extended man-advantage, they would capitalize on the power-play in the third. Jordan Little found a streaking Tommy Lange, who followed up on his own shot to record his 20th goal of the season and extend his point streak to four games.

Halting any attempt of a K-Wings comeback, the Komets tacked on two late goals from Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn (14th) and an empty-netter from Guy Dupuis (14th) to secure the victory.

Fast Forward

Kalamazoo will begin their four-game week tomorrow, Tuesday, March 17th with a 7 p.m. face-off versus the Muskegon Lumberjacks during the 28th Annual "World Famous" Fifth-Third Bank Green Ice Game, presented by The CW 7 and WRKR. Chicago Blackhawks featured soloist James Cornelison will sing the Canadian and American National Anthems and the Kalamazoo Pipe Band will play in the concourse before the game, as well as during the first period intermission. Following the contest, the K-Wings will auction off their special St. Patrick's Day jerseys. On the season, the K-Wings are 4-7-0-0 versus the 'Jacks.

On Friday (3/20), the K-Wings will play their lone road game of the week with a 7:05 (CDT) encounter at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum against the Bloomington PrairieThunder. Kalamazoo leads Bloomington by 12 points for fourth place and is 5-5-0-0 versus the Thunder.

Returning home to start a three-game home stand, the K-Wings will battle the Flint Generals this Saturday, March 21st at 7:30 p.m. Prior to the game, the K-Wings Alumni will battle the Red Wings Alumni at 4:30 p.m., presented by WOTV and COOL 101. The alumni game is FREE for anyone that has tickets to the K-Wings-Generals contest. Kalamazoo is 11-1-0-0 versus Flint on the season.

Kalamazoo will complete the week with a 4 p.m. face-off this Sunday, March 22nd versus Muskegon on Faith Night. Sunday's contest will also feature the last player post-game skate. Admission for the post-game skate is $5 and skate rental, if needed, is $3.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Wings

Goals: Lucas Drake (25 Goals)

Assists: Glenn Detulleo (46 Assists)

Points: Glenn Detulleo (69 Points)

+/-: Mark Nebus (+16)

Penalty Minutes: Jordan Little (121 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Dominic Osman (7 Goals)

Short Handed Goals: Anthony Battaglia, Glenn Detulleo, Lucas Drake (2 Goals)

Game Winning Goals: Glenn Detulleo (6 GW)

Shots: Tommy Lange (217 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Glenn Detulleo (16.4%)

Overtime Goals: Lucas Drake (2 Goals)

Shootout Goals: Anthony Battaglia (4 Goals)

Shootout Percentage: Anythony Battaglia, Justin Cross (66.7%)

Goals Against Average: Joel Martin (3.00)

Save Percentage: Joel Martin (0.910)

Green With Envy

A tradition will continue tomorrow, as Kalamazoo plays the Muskegon Lumberjacks during the 28th Annual Green Ice Game at 7:00 p.m. The K-Wings are 18-6-0-3 on Green Ice and 14-4-0-2 in their IHL history.

Heating Up

Center Tommy Lange is heating up the rookie points race. Lange is on a four game point streak, tying him for third among rookie scoring with 40 points.

Blast From the Past

The K-Wings Alumni will take on the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Saturday at 4:30 p.m. before the K-Wings face the Flint Generals. The game is free for fans by purchasing tickets to the K-Wings-Generals contest.

Snapping a Streak

The K-Wings will look to snap two streaks tomorrow. Kalamazoo had dropped two straight overall, as well as two in a row at Wings Stadium.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

When Glenn Detulleo went down in the second period with an injury and missed the remainder of Saturday's game against Fort Wayne, he was the fifth player (Detulleo, Tyler Willis, Bryan Jurynec, Anthony Battaglia and Mark Nebus) with major offensive contributions to be out of the K-Wings lineup. In total, Kalamazoo was missing 185 points out of their lineup, which includes three of their top five offensive weapons.

Tickets! Get Your Tickets!!

Tickets for all K-Wings home games are now on sale. Catch all the action as your K-Wings play the very best the IHL 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.

Ondrej and Stayzer on the Radio

Join special guests Martin Ondrej and Blair Stazyer as they join Head Coach Nick Bootland and the "Voice of the K-Wings" Mike Modugno on "K-Wings Live". The show is on The Classic Hits Station WLKM (95.9 FM) and online through the B-2 Networks through www.kwings.com from 7-8 p.m. at Old Burdick's Bar and Grill inside the Holiday Inn Kalamazoo on South 11th Street.

K-Wings on Radio

Catch all the K-Wings games, home and away, on the K-Wings Radio Network (95.9 FM WLKM & B-2 Networks on kwings.com). Join the "Voice of the K-Wings" Mike Modugno for all 76 regular season games plus the playoffs. Pre-game coverage begins with the Kalsee Credit Union 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 the K-Wings Radio Network.

Upcoming Games

Tuesday, March 17th Vs Muskegon 7:00 PM (28th Annual "World Famous" Fifth-

Third Bank St. Patrick's Day Green Ice Game, presented by The CW7 and WRKR)

Friday, March 20th @ Bloomington 7:05 PM (CDT)

Saturday, March 21st Vs Flint 7:30 PM (Red Wings Alumni Game, Sponsored by WOTV and COOL 101 FM)

Sunday, March 22nd Vs Muskegon 4:00 PM (Faith Night)

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics



International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 16, 2009


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