ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Weekly

January 3, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Game Rewind

Tuesday, December 27th @ Cincinnati (Cincinnati 8-Kalamazoo 5)

Cincinnati, OH- After scoring two goals in their last two games, the Kalamazoo Wings found their offense scoring five goals; however, they surrendered a season-high eight tallies in 8-5 setback Tuesday night at the U.S. Bank Arena to the Cincinnati Cyclones.

Responding right away in the first period, Taylor Ellington scored the K-Wings' quickest goal of the season; scoring 32 seconds into the game off a Justin Taylor face-off win in the Cyclones zone.

Special teams directly led to four of the combined six goals of the first period. Just one second after a K-Wings penalty elapsed 5:07 into the game, Jonathan Hazen (3rd) scored shorthanded to even the game at 1-1.

Striking again shorthanded later in the period, Mathieu Aubin registered his team-leading 12th goal of the season on a center ice dump-in that went through the legs of goaltender Maxime Clermont. The tally was Cincinnati's fourth shorthander of the season, all of which have come against Kalamazoo.

Clearing the puck out of their zone led to another quick strike for the Cyclones. With the puck bouncing at the K-Wings blue line 16:10 into the period, Justin Vaive (2nd) stole it away from Kalamazoo and scored on a breakaway extending Cincinnati's lead to two goals.

Bryan Haczyk (6th) cut the deficit to 3-2 scoring on a power-play 17:52 into the period. Darryl Bootland, who earned the primary assist on the tally, extended his point streak to a K-Wings' season-high tying seven games.

Cincinnati reclaimed their two-goal cushion with less than a minute remaining in the period with a power-play marker from Anthony Luciani (9th), his team-leading fourth with a man-advantage.

A repeat of the first period, Kalamazoo stormed out of the locker room in the middle frame scoring 1:27 into the period with a goal from Justin Taylor (11th). The goal tied Taylor with Dean Strong for the team-lead.

Kalamazoo pulled even midway in the stanza with a breakaway marker from Dustin Cloutier (1st).

However, momentum will shift back to Cincinnati for the remainder of the period with a pair of goals from Luciani (10th, 11th).

Luciani regained the lead for the Cyclones with a left-circle wrister at the 14:59 mark of the period and for the second time in the game the forward lit the lamp with a power-play tally with under a minute to play in the stanza to net the hat trick.

Keeping up the pressure in the third period, Aubin (13th) put the game out of reach early in the stanza netting his second of the night.

Evan Trupp (2nd) gave the Cyclones their largest lead of the game, a four-goal margin, finishing a two-on-one odd man rush 16:12 into the period.

Cloutier (2nd) capped off the scoring notching his second of the night with 61 seconds remaining.

The eight goals were a season-high allowed by the K-Wings and their most surrendered by Kalamazoo since an 8-0 loss back on November 13, 2010 to the Toledo Walleye.

The loss also extended the K-Wings season-long losing streak to eight games.

Tuesday's game was the 1,200th in the career of K-Wings equipment manager Eric Bechtol.

Friday, December 30th @ Chicago (Chicago 4-Kalamazoo 3-Overtime)

Hoffman Estates, IL- The two previous games between the Kalamazoo Wings and Chicago Express were ended in either overtime or a shootout and Friday night would be no different, as the Express defeated the K-Wings 4-3 in overtime.

Scoring twice in the first five minutes of the contest, Kalamazoo propelled ahead of Chicago. For the second straight game, the K-Wings earned their first goal in the opening minute of play, this time with a deflection from Justin Taylor 52 seconds in the period. The goal, which was setup by a slap shot from Sam Ftorek, was Taylor's team-leading 12th of the season. Also assisting on the goal was Brandon Svendsen, who extended his team-lead in scoring with 28 points.

Friday night was Svendsen's first game back with the K-Wings since December 13th, a span of five games, due to being loan to the American Hockey League's Binghamton Senators.

Taking full advantage of their first power-play of the night, Ftorek earned his second point of the contest registering his seventh-goal of the season with a right-point slap shot. Trent Daavettila and Darryl Bootland earned assists on the tally. For Daavettila the helper was his team-leading 22nd of the season, while Bootland extended his point streak to a K-Wings' season-high eight games.

While the K-Wings controlled the first 20 minutes, the middle stanza belonged to the Express. Devin DiDiomete cut Chicago's deficit in half by finding Nathan Lutz sneaking in from the blue line 6:25 into the second period

With just 22 seconds remaining in the period, the Express pulled even, when Tyler Donati (7th) notched his team-leading 25th point of the season with a wrist shot from the slot.

Chad Painchaud gave the Express with 1:47 remaining in regulation, netting his eighth -goal of the season and his fifth against the K-Wings from a centering pass from Donati.

Battling back 1:30 later and camped in front of the Express net, Bootland (8th) forced overtime with a power-play deflection off a Mike Matczak slap shot.

In the extra session, Pierre-Luc Faubert (8th) struck with the game-winner 4:28 into overtime with a wrister from the slot.

Despite the loss, the K-Wings remain one point ahead of the Express for first place in the North Division standings. The loss was also Kalamazoo fifth straight (0-4-1-0).

Saturday, December 31st Vs Toledo (Kalamazoo 7-Toledo 1)

Kalamazoo, MI- Receiving offensive contributions from 12 of their 16 skaters, the Kalamazoo Wings earned their largest margin of victory (6 goals) in front of the largest home crowd (4,407) of the season, as the K-Wings defeated the Toledo Walleye 7-1 during the 10th Annual New Year's Eve Bash, presented by COOL 101 and WWMT News Channel 3.

Registering his team-leading sixth power-play goal of the season, Sam Ftorek (8th) propelled the K-Wings on the scoreboard with a blast from the blue-line 13:56 into the contest.

Finding breathing room in the second period, Kalamazoo struck three times in the middle stanza starting with a quick marker 1:13 into the second from Darren Archibald (3rd).

A nifty pass from Steven Anthony set up the K-Wings next goal midway in the period. Weaving around two defensemen, Anthony found Trent Daavettila streaking towards the net, who beat Dustin Carlson on a backhander.

Archibald continued the K-Wings strangle-hold earning his second of the night with a wrist shot from the right-circle 16:42 into the period. On the season, three of Archibald's four goals have come against Toledo.

Forward Brandon Svendsen picked up his second assist on the goal, both occurred on tallies from Archibald.

Reversing roles early in the third period, Archibald sent a centering pass to Svendsen, who rifled home his 11th goal of the season.

Two minutes later, Darryl Bootland (8th) extended his point streak to nine games by deflecting a Taylor Ellington slap shot.

Raising the lead to seven goals, Bryan Haczyk (7th) was in perfect position to drive home the puck, when a John Kivisto slap shot hit off the glass of the end zone and landed to the right side of the net.

Toledo earned their lone goal of the night late in the third period with a power-play tally from Joey Ryan (1st)

While the goal derailed the shutout bid of Riley Gill (12-7-1-2), it took away from an early birthday celebration, as the goaltender, who turned 27 on January 1st, stopped 35 shots in the victory.

Carlson (2-2-0-0), who was making his Walleye debut after starting the season with the Ontario Reign also made 35 saves in the contest.

The victory also snapped a season-long five-game (0-4-1-0) winless streak for the K-Wings, who will enter the New Year in first place in the North Division.

Fast Forward

The K-Wings will continue their four-game home stand at Wings Stadium with the second-leg of the stretch this Friday, January 6th, when Kalamazoo hosts the Greenville Road Warriors at 7:30 p.m. This Friday will be a Frugal Fan Friday, featuring $1 Beer, $1 Hot Dogs and $1 Pepsi products. On the season, the K-Wings are 0-1-0-0 versus the Road Warriors, who are tied for second place in the South Division.

Kalamazoo will conclude the week on Saturday, January 7th with a 7:30 p.m. face-off versus the Trenton Titans on a Saturday "Celebrity" Series game featuring Elvis, presented by The Pain Clinic Fans are encouraged to dress in their best Elvis costume for a chance to win $100. There will be a prize for both adults and kids. After the game, there will be a post-game concert by the King! On the season, Kalamazoo is 1-1-0-0 versus Trenton, who are in fourth place in the Atlantic Division.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Wings

Goals: Justin Taylor (11Goals)

Assists: Trent Daavettila (23 Assists)

Points: Brandon Svendsen (31 Points)

+/-: Joe Sova (+10)

Penalty Minutes: Darryl Bootland (107 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Sam Ftorek (6 Goals)

Short Handed Goals: Trent Daavettila, Brandon Svendsen, Justin Taylor (1 Goal)

Game Winning Goals: Brandon Svendsen (5 GW)

Shots: Sam Ftorek (84 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Dustin Cloutier (28.6%)

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

Shootout Goals: Steven Anthony, Taylor Ellington, Dean Strong, Justin Taylor (1 Goal)

Shootout Percentage: Taylor Ellington (100%)

Goals Against Average: Riley Gill (3.00 )

Save Percentage: Riley Gill (0.896)

Ending the Year off Right

Defenseman Sam Ftorek scored seven of his season total of eight goals in the month of December. Ftorek also leads the team with six power-play goals.

Nearing Double Digits

Kalamazoo's Darryl Bootland enters this week on an impressive point streak. Bootland has earned a point in each of his last nine games, which is a season-high for the K-Wings.

Heating Up

Defenseman Mike Matczak and forward Justin Taylor are starting to heat up. Both players enter the week on a three-game point streak.

Lighting the Lamp

Kalamazoo enters the week ranked second in the ECHL averaging 3.68 goals-a-game. The average also makes the K-Wings the most prolific scoring team in the Eastern Conference.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

The K-Wings received offensive contributions from 12 out their 16 skaters in the team's 7-1 victory last Saturday versus the Toledo Walleye. The six-goal margin was also the largest margin of victory this season for the K-Wings.

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 the team's brand new website at www.kwings.com . The site has player profiles, video on your hometown team, and much, much more.

Cloutier and Svendsen

Join special guests Dustin Cloutier and Brandon Svendsen as they join Head Coach Nick Bootland and the "Voice of the K-Wings" Mike Modugno this Monday on "K-Wings Live". The show is on The Classic Hits Station WLKM (95.9 FM) and online through www.kwings.com from 6-7 p.m. at Old Burdick's Wings West.

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

Friday, January 6th Vs Greenville 7:30 PM (Frugal Fan Friday)

Saturday, January 7th Vs Trenton 7:30 PM (Saturday "Celebrity" Series Game, Featuring a Post-Game Elvis Concert, Presented by The Pain Clinic)

Wednesday, January 11th Vs South Carolina 7:00 PM ("Cocktails in the Cube", Presented by WKMI)

Friday, January 13th @ Cincinnati 7:35 PM

Saturday, January 14th Vs Toledo 7:30 PM (4th Annual McDonald's Golden Ice Game Presented by WNWN)

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 3, 2012


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