ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Weekly

Published on December 14, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Wednesday, December 9th Vs Reading (Kalamazoo 4-Reading 3-Shootout)

Kalamazoo, MI- Weathering the storm outside, as well as inside of Wings Stadium, the Kalamazoo Wings erased a three-goal third period deficit to defeat the Reading Royals 4-3 in a shootout.

Scoring a late power-play goal in the opening period from Eric Werner (2nd), the Royals controlled much of the first two periods of play.

Reading's dominance continued in the second netting goals from Olivier Labelle (4th) and Danick Bouchard (8th) to take what would seem to be a commanding 3-0 lead.

The blistering winds outside did not appear to be as severe as the K-Wings scorching offense in the third. Kalamazoo stormed back with three unanswered tallies, starting with Mitch Versteeg's first professional goal 6:52 into third stanza.

By keeping the puck from leaving the attack zone, Rick Cleaver not only kept the K-Wings on-side, he also rushed to puck to Ryan McGinnis (3rd) who slapped in the team's second goal of the night.

Ben Simon (4th) knocked in the equalizer with 4:28 remaining in regulation, when he whacked in a Darryl Lloyd rebound, which forced overtime.

Remained tied through five minutes of overtime, the K-Wings would go on to out-duel the Royals in the shootout 3-1, receiving goals from Cleaver, Andrew Fournier and Lloyd.

Kalamazoo's Jeremy Duchesne improved his record to 5-1-1-0 stopping 31 shots in the win. Allowing just one goal in the shootout, Duchesne is now 3-0 in shootout finishes.

The K-Wings are now 4-0-0-0 versus the Royals. The victory extended the K-Wings first place lead over the Cincinnati Cyclones to three points.

Earning a point with a shootout loss, the Royals extended their unbeaten streak in regulation to four games. Reading also extends their first place lead in the East Division over the Elmira Jackals to six points.

Friday, December 11th Vs Toledo (Toledo 6-Kalamazoo 2)

Kalamazoo, MI- Establishing their offense early, the Toledo Walleye snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-2 victory over the Kalamazoo Wings.

Before the crowd could settle in their seats from the Steel Magnolia's performance of the National Anthem, Toledo was on the scoreboard. Maxime Tanguay (8th) put the Walleye on the scoreboard nine seconds into the game with a rebound marker.

Near the conclusion of the period, Adam Hobson recorded his team-leading 12th goal of the season to push Toledo's advantage to 2-0.

Toledo's strangle hold continued in the second netting three more goals. Former K-Wing, Dominic Osman (5th) sent a wrister over the shoulder of Julien Ellis to extend the led to three goals.

Midway into the period Toledo's Mike Hedden (7th) and J.C. Sawyer (10th) rung up goals 57 seconds apart to give the Walleye a five-goal cushion.

Battling back in the third period, Kalamazoo registered goals 1:04 a part from Mathieu Curadeau (10th) and Matt Jones (9th). Curadeau is now second on the K-Wings in goals scored behind Rick Cleaver's 11, while Jones continues to torch the Walleye scoring his fifth goal in his last two games against Toledo.

Any chance of the K-Wings comeback was dashed later in the period with Osman's (6th) second of the night.

Saturday, December 12th (Kalamazoo 7-Wheeling 3)

Kalamazoo, MI- If you came to Wings Stadium on Saturday, you had to be in a giving mood. Not only did you have to bring stuffed animals for the 10th Annual Teddy Bear Toss game, you also had to bring hats, as Andrew Fournier's three first period goals guided the Kalamazoo Wings to a 7-3 victory over the Wheeling Nailers.

It didn't take long for the fans to throw their stuffed animals to the ice. Fournier (9th) got the crowd in a frenzy scoring 2:47 into the period. Fans celebrated the goal by tossing 886 stuffed animals onto the ice.

A majority of the bears collected will be donated to Salvation Army. The remaining bears will be delivered by Kalamazoo Wings players, Slappy and Santa Claus to patients of The Children's Hospital at Bronson on Monday, December 14th at 1 p.m

Fournier (10th) kept the pressure on the Nailers four minutes later going his second of the night on a wrap-around.

After going 0-for-9 the night before, Wheeling's power-play unit got back on track with a tally from T.J. Fox (5th) to cut the K-Wings lead to 2-1.

Pushing their lead by to two goals, seconds after a Rick Cleaver's blast hit the pipe, Ryan McGinnis (4th) was there to pick-up the pieces and fire the rebound past Brad Thiessen.

Following the goal, Thiessen was pulled in favor of Jordan Parise. Thiessen's night ended with 14 minutes played and stopping five saves on eight shots.

Parise fait would not be much better, as Fournier slid the puck just across the goal line late in the period to record his first hat trick of the season.

Cutting the K-Wings advantage to two goals, Blair Yaworski (5th) tipped in a Aaron Clark past Tyson Sexsmith midway in the period; however the K-Wings responded with two unanswered.

In an unconventional way Bryan Jurynec notched his third tally of the year in the second period. Jurynec flipped a wrist shot from outside the blue line toward the goal. The puck would have sailed high over the net but instead, Parise had the puck deflect off the end of his glove and into the back of the net.

Another impromptu bounce help the K-Wings extend their lead to 6-2. Wrapping up a four-point night, Cleaver pass deflected off of a Wheeling defenseman and into the net. The goal was Cleaver's team-leading 12th of the season. Earning an assist on the tally was Fournier and Blake Friesen, who earned his first point of the season with the helper.

Starting the third period with a bang, Andrew Lord (4th) brought the Nailers back to within three goals scoring 12 seconds into the frame.

Counterpunching minutes later, Mathieu Curadeau (11th) scored with a power-play wrister to give the K-Wings the four-goal victory. Fournier recorded his second assist of the game giving the forward a career-best five-point net. The five point outburst also ties a K-Wings' season-high set by Matt Jones back on December 5th in Toledo.

While Curadeau's tally would be the final goal, there would be plenty of fireworks. Kalamazoo and Wheeling combined for 44 minutes in penalties in the third period, including three fights in a span of 1:37.

In his first game as a K-Wing, goaltender Tyson Sexsmith stopped 36 shots to earn the victory. Kalamazoo is now 9-1-0-0 during teddy bear toss night games at Wings Stadium.

Fast Forward

Continuing their season-high eight-game home stand with their fourth and fifth leg of the swing, the K-Wings will host the Gwinnett Gladiators this Friday, December 18th at 7:30 p.m. Friday's game is also a Frugal Fan Friday, which feature's $1 hot dogs and $1 beers. On the season, Kalamazoo is 1-0-0-0 versus Gwinnett. The Gladiators start the week in third place in the South Division. The K-Wings are also 3-1-0-0 versus the South Division.

Kalamazoo and Gwinnett will meet again at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, December 19th on Air National Guard Night. Bring the kids to Wings Stadium, as Santa Claus will also be at the game.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Wings

Goals: Rick Cleaver (12 Goals)

Assists: Rick Cleaver (17 Assists)

Points: Rick Cleaver (29 Points)

+/-: Darryl Lloyd (+12)

Penalty Minutes: Bryan Jurynec (74 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Rick Cleaver (6 Goals)

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

Game Winning Goals: Mathieu Curadeau (3 GW)

Shots: Rick Cleaver (78 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Mathieu Curadeau, Andrew Fournier (22.0%)

Overtime Goals: Mathieu Curadeau (1 Goal)

Shootout Goals: Rick Cleaver and Darryl Lloyd (2 Goals)

Shootout Percentage: Matt Jones, Brian McGuirk (100%)

Goals Against Average: Ryan Nie (2.66)

Save Percentage: Ryan Nie (0.918)

The Mad Hatter

Forward Andrew Fournier tied a K-Wings season-high and established a personal career-best by recording five points (3 goals, 2 assists) during the K-Wings 7-3 victory Saturday versus Wheeling. The hat trick from Fournier was his first in his career and the second this season earned by a K-Wing.

Five Alive

Kalamazoo's Rick Cleaver starts the week on a five-game point streak. Cleaver, who has earned nine points (3 goals, 6 assists) during his current run, has now recorded point streaks of five or more games on three separate occasions this year.

Lethal Lloyd

Forward Darryl Lloyd has been able to find ways to find the K-Wings generate offense. Lloyd has produced six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in his last five games.

Southern Comfort

On the season, the K-Wings have played solid hockey against the South Division. Kalamazoo is 3-1-0-0 versus the South with their lone loss occurring versus the Florida Everblades back on November 29th

The Obscure Stat of the Week

So far this season, when the K-Wings have played on Saturday they have usually won. Kalamazoo is 7-1-0-0 on games played on the last day of the week.

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.

-MORE-

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.

Featherstone and Peralta on the Radio

Join special guests Devin Featherstone and Sal Peralta 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, December 18th Vs Gwinnett 7:30 PM (Frugal Fan Friday, $1 Beer, $1 Hot Dogs)

Saturday, December 19th Vs Gwinnett 7:30 PM (Santa Claus Visits/Air National Guard Night)

Saturday, December 26th Vs Wheeling 7:30 PM

Sunday, December 27th Vs Cincinnati 4:00 PM (Family Four Pack/Post-Game Skate w/Players)

Thursday, December 31st Vs Cincinnati 7:30 PM (8th Annual New Year's Eve Bash, Presented by Cool 101 and WWMT)

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

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