ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Weekly

Published on March 8, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Game Rewind

Wednesday, March 3rd @ Johnstown (Kalamazoo 5-Gwinnett 4-Shootout)

Johnstown, PA- Starting a season-high seven-game road trip on a high note, the Kalamazoo Wings defeated the Johnstown Chiefs 5-4 in a shootout.

Johnstown jumped ahead 2-0 in the opening period, receiving goals from Trevor Hendrikx (4th) and Troy Schwab (15th). Hendrikx gave the Chiefs the lead with a power-play tally 7:24 into the period, while Schwab used a double screen in front of the K-Wings net to his benefit and buried a even-strength wrist shot from the slot.

Kalamazoo answered back later in the period with a shorthanded tally from Sam Ftorek (13th). Skating on a two-on-one, Ftorek shot from the right circle snuck under the crossbar to cut the K-Wings deficit to a single goal.

Struggling to stop opponents from scoring while their on the power-play, the Chiefs squandered the lead by allowing their second shorthanded goal of the night, which was also their league-leading 13th shorthand goal allowed this season. Skating up from the left circle, Brian McGuirk (12th) tied the league-leading for shorties recording his fourth of the season 8:59 into the second period.

Still on the power-play, Johnstown reclaimed the lead 54 seconds later with Chanse Fitzpatrick's team-leading 25th goal of the season.

Not to be outdone, off the ensuing face-off, Mathieu Curadeau (17th) pulled the K-Wings even at 3-3, scoring the equalizer 30 seconds after the tally from Fitzpatrick.

Kalamazoo earned their first lead of the contest in the third period, when Ftorek (14th) stole the puck from goaltender Kris Moyotte. Ftorek tried to center the pass; however the puck bounded off of Chiefs defenseman Brian Kaufman and into his own net.

Battling back, Johnstown tied the game midway in the period with Hendrikx's (5th) second power-play tally of the net, which forced overtime and eventually a shootout.

Kalamazoo out-dueled Johnstown 2-1 in the shootout earning goals from Curadeau and Ftorek to earn the victory, which extended the K-Wings unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-0-1).

Thursday, March 4th @ Reading (Kalamazoo 6-Reading 3)

Reading, PA- Using a five-goal outburst in the second period, the Kalamazoo Wings defeated the Reading Royals 6-3 to extend their unbeaten streak to eight games (7-0-0-1).

Despite out-shooting the Royals 15-8 in the opening 20 minutes, the K-Wings found themselves trailing 2-1.

Generating plenty of shots early, Rick Cleaver gave Kalamazoo a 1-0 advantage midway in the first period netting his team-leading 23rd goal of the season.

Reading responded late in the period with a equalizer from Andrew Sarauer (15th). Seizing the opportunity of the lone power-play chance of the period, Aaron Brocklehurst (10th) gave the Royals the lead with a marker with just over two minutes remaining in the period.

Dominating the second period, Kalamazoo tied the game 3:23 into the stanza with Cleaver's (24th) second of the night, this time earning his team-leading 11th on the power-play.

Taking the lead for good seven seconds after knotting the contest, Billy Bezeau earned his first of the season with a blast from the left circle. The back-to-back goals seven seconds a part were the quickest in between tallies this season for Kalamazoo.

Kalamazoo extended their cushion to 4-2 midway in the period, when an innocent shot from Jon Landry (7th) beat Josh Johnson.

Putting on a passing clinic, Mathieu Curadeau and Patrick Asselin each with touch passes eventually found Will Colbert in the slot for the defenseman's fourth of the season.

With less than a minute remaining in the period, the K-Wings struck again this time Asselin deflected a Curadeau slap shot to cap off the five-goal outburst.

Curadeau (4 assists) and Asselin (1 goal, 3 assists) led the K-Wings offensive barrage by each player recording four points.

Closing the gap to three goals, Sarauer (16th) tacked on a shorthanded goal in the third.

Saturday, March 6th @ Elmira (Kalamazoo 4-Elmira 1)

Elmira, NY- The Kalamazoo Wings continue to feel at home on the road, as the K-Wings win their third straight away from Wings Stadium with a 4-1 decision over the Elmira Jackals. The victory extended Kalamazoo's unbeaten streak to nine games (8-0-0-1) and their overall win streak to a season-high seven straight.

A battle between the two most prolific scoring offenses in the ECHL turned out to be a defensive struggle in the opening period. The teams combined for 16 shots in the first 20 minutes of play, with the Jackals out-shooting the K-Wings 9-7.

Kalamazoo did register first on the scoreboard with a rebound marker from Trent Daavettila (17th). Camping out in front, Daavettila was in the right place to find a second chance opportunity from an initial shot from Sam Ftorek. Louis Liotti earned a second helper on the tally.

Elmira knotted the score at 1-1 with less than two minutes remaining in the first. Off a left-circle draw, Chris Korchinski laid the puck back to Chaz Johnson, who rung up his sixth goal of the year.

Tom Morrow reclaimed the lead for Kalamazoo early in the second period. Morrow blue-line slap shot was his third goal of the season and his first since November 28th versus the Florida Everblades at Wings Stadium.

Pulling away in the third period, the K-Wings tacked on two more goals. Jon Landry (8th) wrister from the slot gave Kalamazoo some insurance, while Dean Strong (7th) empty-netter was the icing on the cake.

Kalamazoo also kept Elmira's Tyler Donati off the score sheet, which snapped a 17-game point streak for the forward.

Sunday, March 7th @ Reading (Reading 6-Kalamazoo 5-Overtime)

Reading, PA- The Reading Royals were able to snap the Kalamazoo Wings winning streak, but were unable to halt the K-Wings unbeaten streak, which is now at 10 games (9-0-1-1), as the Royals outlasted the K-Wings 6-5 in overtime.

Putting in a rebound, Jimmy Fraser (5th) got the Royals on the scoreboard 4:42 into the game. Kalamazoo answered back midway in the frame, capitalizing on their lone chance of the period on the power-play. Rick Cleaver deflected a Jon Landry slap shot to earn his team-leading 25th goal of the season and 12th with a man-advantage.

Late in the period, Reading reclaimed the lead by taking full advantage of their lone power-play in the first with a tally from Stefano Giliati (16th).

With 26 seconds remaining in the stanza, Kalamazoo pulled even at 2-2 with a lamp-lighter from Mitch Versteeg (4th).

The see-saw battle continued in the second period, as Aaron Brocklehurst (11th) scored on the power-play 1:50 into the period to give the Royals a 3-2 lead.

Just like they did in the first period, Kalamazoo founds ways to respond in the second. Sam Ftorek (15th) blue-line blast trickled through the legs of Andrew Engelage to tie the contest at 3-3.

Skating along the right circle, Giliati recorded his second tally of the night and fourth point overall with wrist shot that sailed over the sprawled out left leg of Ryan Nie.

Finishing off a two-on-one, Versteeg (5th) recorded the equalizer 15:55 into the period on a wrist shot form the slot. The point was Versteeg's third of the game, as he also assisted on Ftorek's tally. Assisting on the goal was Patrick Asselin, who with the helper extended his point streak to four games.

Once again, it was Reading reclaiming a one-goal lead, this time it was Andrew Sarauer (18th), who gave the Royals a 4-3 advantage and in the process extended his goal streak to five straight games.

Responding for the fifth time in the contest, Kalamazoo knotted the score at 5-5 with Cleaver's (26th) second of the night to force overtime.

In the extra session, Reading needed only 48 seconds to secure the victory, as deflected up popped into the air and was found by Olivier Labelle (21st), who spun around and flung in the game-winner.

Fast Forward

Heading back out east, Kalamazoo will finish up their season-high seven-game road swing with three games starting this Friday, March 12th with a7:35 p.m. face-off against the Elmira Jackals at the First Arena. After defeating the Jackals last Saturday 4-1, the K-Wings are 1-0-0-0 versus the top team in the East Division.

Kalamazoo will travel to Sun National Bank Center for a 7 p.m. face-off on Saturday, March 13th to battle the Trenton Devils. The K-Wings are 3-1-0-0 against the Devils this season. Trenton starts the week in third place in the east.

Kalamazoo will conclude the week and the road trip on Sunday, March 14th with a 3:05 p.m. encounter against the Wheeling Nailers. Sunday's clash starts a string of four straight games between the division rivals. On the season, Kalamazoo is 2-2-0-0 against Wheeling.

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from March 8, 2010


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.

OurSports Central