ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Weekly

Published on November 16, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Game Rewind

Friday, November 13th (Kalamazoo 4-Cincinnati 3-Shootout )

Kalamazoo, MI- Entertaining the largest home crowd of the season, the Kalamazoo Wings out-dueled the Cincinnati Cyclones 4-3 in a shootout.

After a quick pass from Sam Ftorek to Darryl Lloyd (6th) led to an odd-man rush; Lloyd finished the rush with a quick goal to give the K-Wings an early 1-0 lead. Also assisting on the goal was Sam Ftorek extended his point-streak to a K-Wings' season-high seven games.

Lloyd would have a chance with a penalty shot to extend the K-Wings lead; however, Jeremy Smith denied the attempt keeping the Kalamazoo advantage to a single-goal.

In the waning moments of the first period, Cincinnati's Scott Reynolds (3rd) scored a shorthanded breakaway tally to tie the contest at 1-1.

Regaining the lead 1:08 into the second, Mathieu Curadeau (8th) knocked in a rebound to extend his point streak to five games. Ryan McGinnis and Rick Cleaver assisted on the tally. McGinnis finished the contest with two assists, while Cleaver lengthens his point streak to five games.

Later in the period, Reynolds won a face-off back to Dwayne Zinger (1st), who blasted the puck past goaltender Jeremy Duchesne to once again draw the Cyclones even.

For the third-time in the contest, Kalamazoo reclaimed the lead in the third with Curadeau's team-leading ninth goal of the season and his second of the night.

Eventually forcing overtime, Reynolds (4th) recorded the equalizer with a power-play marker 14:26 into the third.

Either team was able to score in overtime, which forced a best-of-five shootout. Kalamazoo won the shootout 2-1, receiving goals from Curadeau and Lloyd in the win, while Reynolds was the only goal scorer for Cincinnati.

The win raised the K-Wings record to 3-1 in games that ended in either overtime (1-1) or a shootout (2-0), while tonight was the first extra session contest for the Cyclones.

With 34 saves, Duchesne improved his record to 4-0-0-0 overall and 2-0 in shootouts. Cincinnati's Smith stopped 25 shots in the shootout loss to drop his record to 3-3-0-1.

Saturday, November 14th (Kalamazoo 3-Cincinnati 2)

Kalamazoo, MI- The nationally renowned group the ZOOperstars! amused the fans during the intermissions and the Kalamazoo Wings entertained through 60 minutes of hockey, extending their winning streak to four games with a 3-2 victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones.

The K-Wings roared out of the gates registering twice in the opening period. A deflected shot from Mathieu Curadeau landed on the tape of Jeff Mason (2nd), who rifled the puck five-hole on Jeremy Smith 3:26 into the first to give Kalamazoo a 1-0 advantage. Curadeau's assist extended his point streak to six-games.

On their lone power-play of the period, Kalamazoo extended their lead when Ryan McGinnis recorded his first goal of the season. Using a screen in front of Smith, McGinnis sent a left-circle slap shot off the hip of the goaltender at 12:04 of the period. Assisting on the goal was Rick Cleaver, who extended his point streak to five games. Cleaver has recorded a point in all but one of the K-Wings games this season.

Special teams continued to play a role for the K-Wings early in the second, as Trent Daavettila (8th) upped Kalamazoo's lead to 3-0 with a shorthanded tally.

Trying to rally in the third, Cincinnati received goals from Matt Pierce (9th) and Kevin Roeder (1st), but the comeback would end one-goal short.

In his first action from his return from the American Hockey League, Ryan Nie turned aside 30 shots to increase his record to 4-0-1-0, while Cincinnati's Smith dropped his record to 3-4-0-1 stopping 23 in defeat.

Fast Forward

Kalamazoo will continue wrap-up their four-game home stand with a pair of games this weekend versus the Trenton Devils. The first encounter of the weekend between the K-Wings and Devils will be this Friday, November 20th with a 7:30 p.m. face-off on Grand Rapids Popcorn presented by B-93 FM. Friday's contest is also a Frugal Fan Friday, which features $1 hot dogs and $1 beers. Kalamazoo is 2-0-0-0 versus Trenton this season, with both victories coming at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, New Jersey.

On Sunday November 22nd, Kalamazoo and Cincinnati will meet again with 4 p.m. face-off at Wings Stadium. Sunday's game features a Family Four Pack, which includes four tickets, four Pepsi's and four hot dogs for $44. Following Sunday's contests, fans will have the opportunity to skate with the players. Beginning a four-game week, Trenton starts the week in third place in the East Division, five points behind the first-place Elmira Jackals.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Wings

Goals: Mathieu Curadeau (9 Goals)

Assists: Rick Cleaver (11 Assists)

Points: Rick Cleaver (19 Points)

+/-: Jeff Mason (+11)

Penalty Minutes: Bryan Jurynec (36 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Rick Cleaver (3 Goals)

Short Handed Goals: Trent Daavettila, Andrew Fournier (1 Goal)

Game Winning Goals: Mathieu Curadeau (3 GW)

Shots: Rick Cleaver (45 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Trent Daavettila (24.2%)

Overtime Goals: Mathieu Curadeau (1 Goal)

Shootout Goals: Rick Cleaver, Mathieu Curadeau, Matt Jones, Darryl Lloyd (1 Goal)

Shootout Percentage: Mathieu Curadeau, Matt Jones (100%)

Goals Against Average: Ryan Nie (2.17)

Save Percentage: Ryan Nie (0.929)

Rolling Along

Forwards Rick Cleaver and Mathieu Curadeau enter the week six-game point streak. Cleaver has rung up points in 11 of the K-Wings 12 games this season, while Curadeau has posted 6 goals and 2 assists during the run.

Dominating in the Second

So far this season, the K-Wings have played their best hockey in the second period. Kalamazoo has outscored their opponents 24-12 in the middle stanza.

Four in a Row

Kalamazoo enters the week on a four-game winning streak. The K-Wings are also unbeaten in regulation in five straight games (4-0-1-0).

Thinking Positive

Defenseman Jeff Mason has been in a positive state of mind. Mason, who leads the K-Wings in plus/minus, ranks third league-wide in the same category amongst defensemen at +11.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

With a record of 10-1-1-0, the K-Wings are off to a fantastic start. With a winning percentage of 0.875, Kalamazoo not only has the best winning percentage in the ECHL, but is tied with the Central Hockey League's Odessa Jackalopes for the best winning percentage amongst all professional hockey in North America (with a minimum of at least 10 games played.)

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 ECHL 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.

Duchesne and Jurynec on the Radio

Join special guests Jeremy Duchesne and Bryan Jurynec tonight 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 72 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

Friday, November 20th Vs Trenton 7:30 PM (Frugal Fan Friday)

Sunday, November 22nd Vs Trenton 4:00 PM (Family Four Pack Day)

Wednesday, November 25th @ Cincinnati 7:30 PM

Friday, November 27th @ Cincinnati 7:30 PM

Saturday, November 28th Vs Florida 7:30 PM (Win-Win Night, presented by Win 98.5)

Sunday, November 29th Vs Florida 4:00 PM (Family Four Pack Day)

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

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ECHL Stories from November 16, 2009


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