ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Weekly

Published on November 29, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Kalamazoo, MI- In the first of two straight contests at Wings Stadium between the Kalamazoo Wings and the Greenville Road Warriors, it was Greenville that used a three-goal third period to defeat the K-Wings the first-ever Old Burdick's Thanksgiving Night Game.

End-to-end action led to plenty of scoring chances and goals in the opening period. Kalamazoo broke the dead-lock 10:57 into the opening period with a rebound power-play tally from Trent Daavettila (6th).

Greenville pulled even later in the period after Trevor Glass found the rebound of his initial shot for his first goal of the season.

In the waning moments of the first period, the Road Warriors jumped ahead with a power-play marker from Blake Parlett (2nd).

Kalamazoo needed only 35 seconds to respond to Parlett's go-ahead goal, with a equalizer from Brady Leisenring (1st), who was making his season debut for the K-Wings. Assisting on the goal was Sam Ftorek, who pushed his point streak to four games.

Early in the second period, Kalamazoo regained the lead with the help of another player making his debut. Andrew Fournier finished off a two-on-one odd man rush to Justin Taylor, who netted his first goal of his pro career. Taylor was making his debut for the K-Wings after being reassigned to Kalamazoo from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. The assist from Fournier extended his point streak to four games.

Back-to-back goals in the middle of the stanza from Conner Shields (5th) and Paul Mcllveen (2nd) would give Greenville a 4-3 advantage, but the K-Wings found a way late in the period to knot the game again.

With less than 10 seconds remaining in the period, Brian McGuirk stole the puck from goaltender Dov Grumet-Morris, who was trying to play the puck out of net, and gave it to a wide open Tyler Doig (1st), who placed it in the vacant net.

Greenville pulled away in the third period, with three unassisted tallies, two of which were empty-netters. Marc-Olivier Vallerand (8th, 9th) lit the lamp twice in the period, including the game-winner, to cap off a three-point night. With 18 points on the season, Vallerand leads all ECHL rookies in scoring. Brendan Connelly recorded his team-leading 10th goal of the season on the second empty-netter.

Friday, November 26th (Kalamazoo 2-Greenville 6)

Kalamazoo, MI- For the second straight night, the Greenville Road Warriors came into Wings Stadium and defeated the Kalamazoo Wings, this time 6-2, on Salvation Army Kettle Kick-Off Night.

After surrendering the first goal of the game in the first two nights of a four-game road swing, Greenville struck first 2:57 into the opening period on Friday with a goal from Jimmy Kilpatrick (3rd).

The key phrase of the first period was response and for the K-Wings they answered back less than two minutes later with a breakaway tally from Andrew Fournier (6th), which extended his point streak to five games.

Ten seconds after T.J. Reynolds went into the penalty box, Kory Karlander found Jordan Fulton (5th) to the right of the net for the go ahead marker.

Falling behind 2-1, it was Greenville's opportunity to respond. The Road Warriors lived up to their nickname, needing only 28 seconds to record the equalizer from Mark Voakes (6th).

In the second period, Brendan Connolly continued to rack up points. Connolly extended his point streak to 10 games and his assist streak to six games with a cross-rink feed to Igor Gongalsky (1st) midway in the stanza.

Capitalizing on a four-on-three power-play, Julien Brouillette's slap shot from between the circles pushed the Warriors ahead 4-2. The goal was Brouillette's eighth of the season, the most of any defensemen in the ECHL.

Greenville extended their lead to three goals late in the period with Gongalsky's (2nd) second on the night.

Putting the game out of reach, Kilpatrick (4th) recorded his second tally of the night on a power-play midway through the period.

While there wasn't much scoring, the third period did feature plenty of penalties. The game featured four fighting majors in the final 7:05 of the game. The K-Wings were whistled for 60 of their 66 minutes in the final period, while Greenville received 46 minutes of penalties in the third period for a game total of 52 PIMS for the night.

Sunday, November 27th (Kalamazoo 1-Wheeling 3)

Wheeling, WV- The Wheeling Nailers gained sole possession of second place in the North Division on Saturday night with a 3-1 victory over the Kalamazoo Wings.

Dominating puck possession in the first period, Wheeling earned the first goal of the night with a power-play marker from Alexander Smigelski (4th). With Nick Peterson battling for the puck in the right corner, Peterson was able to spin free and find Smigelski for the go-ahead one-timer.

While it looked like the Nailers were going into the intermission with an advantage, a turnover created by Andrew Fournier changed the complexion of the period. After swiping the puck loose, Fournier found Justin Taylor for his second goal of the season. Taylor, who was reassigned to the K-Wings earlier in the week from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, has earned points in all three contests he has played for Kalamazoo, while Fournier extended his point streak to a K-Wings' current-high of six games.

A scramble in front of the K-Wings net, regained the lead for the Nailers in the second period. Planted off the right post early in the period, Kris Vernarsky was able to fight off two K-Wings defenders and knock in a rebound to record his fourth goal of the season.

Later in the period, while skating along the half wall, Andrew Lord (7th) fired a wrist shot from just below the right circle that snuck over the shoulder of Ryan Nie to push close out the game's scoring.

Fast Forward

Kalamazoo will start the month of on Wednesday, December 1st with a 7 p.m. face-off versus the Florida Everblades on College Night. All college students with valid identification will receive specials on drinks and 50% off on concessions. On the season, the K-Wings are 0-2-0-1are the Everblades, who start the week in third place in the South Division.

The K-Wings will start a four-game road swing this Friday, December 3rd with a 7:35 p.m. encounter against the Wheeling Nailers at the WesBanco Arena. On the season, Kalamazoo is 1-1-0-0 against Wheeling, who are two points ahead of the K-Wings for second place in the North Division.

Kalamazoo will end the week on Saturday, December 4th with a 7:30 p.m. battle against the Elmira Jackals. This will be the first meeting of the season between the teams. Elmira enters the week in first place in the Atlantic Division.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Wings

Goals: Kory Karlander (8 Goals)

Assists: Kory Karlander (13 Assists)

Points: Kory Karlander (21 Points)

+/-: Brandon Svendsen (+6)

Penalty Minutes: Darryl Lloyd (47 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Andrew Fournier, Kory Karlander (4 Goals)

Short Handed Goals: Jon Landry, Brandon Svendsen (1 Goal)

Game Winning Goals: Six Players Tied (1 GW)

Shots: Sam Ftorek (57 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Justin Taylor (40%)

Overtime Goals: Sam Ftorek, Kory Karlander (1 Goal)

Shootout Goals: Steven Tarasuk (1 Goal)

Shootout Percentage: Steven Tarasuk (50%)

Goals Against Average: Riley Gill (2.50)

Save Percentage: Ryan Nie (0.917)

Six Pack

Forward Andrew Fournier enters the week on a four-game point streak. The six-game point streak is the longest current point streak by a member of the K-Wings.

Ftorek Nears Milestone

Forward Sam Ftorek is closing in on a personal milestone. Ftorek is four points shy of 500 in his career.

On a Roll

Besides Fournier, forwards Trent Daavettila and Justin Taylor enter the week on a point streaks. Daavettila has earned points in four straight, while Taylor has registered at least one point in three straight games.

Snapping a Streak

The K-Wings start the week looking to snap a streak. Kalamazoo will head into Wednesday looking to end a season-high four-game losing streak.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

The K-Wings have shared the wealth when it comes to scoring game-winning goals. Seven different players (including shootouts) have recorded winning goals this season for Kalamazoo.

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.

Fulton and Jurynec on the Radio

Join special guests Jordan Fulton and Bryan Jurynec as they join Head Coach Nick Bootland and the "Voice of the K-Wings" Mike Modugno this Monday on "K-Wings Live" presented by Miller Lite. The show is on The Classic Hits Station WLKM (95.9 FM) and online through www.kwings.com from 7-8 p.m. at Center Ice Sports Bar inside Wings West on Sports Drive.

K-Wings on Radio

Catch all the K-Wings games, home and away, on the K-Wings Radio Network (95.9 FM WLKM & 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

Wednesday, December 1st Vs Florida 7:00 PM (College Night)

Friday, December 3rd @ Wheeling 7:35 PM

Saturday, December 4th @ Elmira 7:35 PM

Monday, December 6th @ South Carolina 7:05 PM

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

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ECHL Stories from November 29, 2010


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