ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

K-Wings Weekly

Published on December 17, 2012 under ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Game Rewind

Wednesday, December 12th @ Fort Wayne Komets (Fort Wayne 7-Kalamazoo 3)

Fort Wayne, IN- Dropping their fifth straight (0-3-1-1) on the road, the Kalamazoo Wings (10-11-1-1) started a stretch of four games in five nights with a 7-3 defeat Wednesday night to the Fort Wayne Komets (12-9-0-1) at the Allen County Memorial Coliseum.

Placed in a hole early, the K-Wings fell behind 3-0 to the Komets. Luca Caputi (3rd, 4th) notched a pair of goals to start the game. Caputi's high-slot slap put Fort Wayne on the board 3:59 into the contest.

Spinning from the right circle, Caputi's second tally caromed off of a K-Wings skate and past Joel Martin midway in the stanza. Fort Wayne pushed their lead to three goals three minutes later when Matt Firman (4th) stripped John Armstrong of the puck behind the K-Wings net and quickly forced it over the goal line.

Answering immediately, Nick Sirota scored 21 seconds later with his third goal in two games and his seventh-goal over all on a one-timer that was setup by Eric Kattelus, who increased his point streak to four games with the assists.

Regaining a three-goal cushion early in the second period, Fort Wayne's Jean-Michel Rizk finished off an odd-man rush tacking on his ninth-goal of the season 2:57 into the stanza.

Keeping up the pressure on the K-Wings, Josh Brittian (8th) pushed the Komets advantage to 5-1 midway in the period with a wrist shot from the left circle.

Trying to mount a comeback early in the final 20 minutes, Kalamazoo quickly struck for a pair of goals from Aaron Clarke (8th) and Armstrong (4th) within the first 3:46 into the period to cut the Komets lead to two goals.

All of Armstrong's four goals this season have come against Fort Wayne.

Shutting the door on the K-Wings comeback bid, Brittian (9th, 10th) tacked on an empty-netter and a breakaway marker to record a hat trick.

Making his first appearance as a K-Wing, Brooks Ostergard replaced Martin to start the third period and made nine saves on 10 shots, while Martin (8-8-1-1) received the loss stopping 23 shots.

Friday, December 14th Vs Evansville IceMen (Kalamazoo 3-Evansville 2-Shootout)

Kalamazoo, MI- For the first time (1-8-0-0) this season, the Kalamazoo Wings (11-11-1-1) entered the third period trailing their opponent and came back to taste victory with a 3-2 shootout win Friday night versus the Evansville IceMen (10-14-0-3) on Stars Wars Night.

Evansville got on the board midway through the first period after Kevin Baker (5th) scored on a third chance opportunity that was created by Todd Robinson, who received an assist on the goal to raise his point streak to eight games.

Pulling even with less than two minutes remaining in the period, Brett Lysak (11th) centering pass hit off the stick of Matt Gens and into the IceMen's net. Assisting on the goal were Eric Kattelus and Nick Sirota. Kattelus extended his point streak to five games, while Sirota upped his point streak to four games.

Baker (6th) helped the IceMen regain the lead in the second period, netting the lone goal in the period and his second of the contest with a power-play strike with 12:42 remaining the stanza.

Digging the puck from the Evansville corner early in the third, Lysak found Kattelus near the crease for the forwards ninth goal of the season.

Held scoreless for the remainder of regulation and overtime, the K-Wings and IceMen would settle matters in a shootout. As the third shooter for Kalamazoo in the extra session, Kattelus netted the lone goal of the shootout to secure the victory for the K-Wings.

Joel Martin made a game-high 38 saves for his ninth victory of the season (9-8-1-1).

Saturday, December 15th Vs Florida Everblades (Florida 2-Kalamazoo 1)

Kalamazoo, MI- On Teddy Bear Toss Night, Coach Nick Bootland was ejected late and the K-Wings fell to the visiting Florida Everblades 2-1. Joel Martin saved 30 of 32 shots and Aaron Clarke scored Kalamazoo's lone goal in the first period.

The first period featured numerous scoring opportunities for the K-Wings but they were unable to capitalize until late in the opening frame, when Aaron Clarke (9th) picked off a pass in the neutral zone and skated in all alone and buried it the top corner.

The goal sent 1,057 teddy bears cascading down from the stands with the K-Wings 13th annual Teddy Bear Toss Night. The stuffed animals collected will be divided between Toys for Tots, the Salvation Army and for the K-Wings annual visit this Monday, December 17th at 2 p.m. at the Children's Hospital at Bronson.

Despite trading scoring chances on both ends of the ice with both goaltenders playing strong resulted with a scoreless period.

In the third period, Kalamazoo continued to lead until 4:27 remaining when Florida defenseman Ryan O'Byrne (2nd) poked home a loose puck during a mad scramble in front of K-Wing goaltender Joel Martin.

As time ticked down, Kalamazoo found themselves down two men and Florida took advantage. Matt Marquardt (10th) drilled home a one-timer into the back of the net with 1:24 left in the game.

Kalamazoo was unable to recover after the late go-ahead goal by the Everblades and lost by the final of 2-1. Coach Nick Bootland was ejected in the match up that saw Joel Martin stop 30 of 32 total shots faced.

Sunday, December 16th @ Fort Wayne Komets (Fort Wayne 2-Kalamazoo 1-Overtime)

Fort Wayne, IN- Daniel Maggio's (3rd) overtime tally with 44.2 seconds remaining in the extra session propelled the Fort Wayne Komets (13-10-1-1) past the Kalamazoo Wings (11-12-2-1) 2-1 Sunday night at the Allen County Memorial Coliseum and in the process lengthened the Komets lead over the K-Wings to three points for third place in the North Division.

A slew of scoring chances were generated on three power plays for the K-Wings, but no goals in the first period. Kalamazoo outshot Fort Wayne 13-7 in the opening 20 minutes, including eight on the power-play, but the game remained scoreless.

The gridlock ended with 15:31 remaining in the second period, when Alexandre Mallet out muscled two Komet defenders behind the net and fed Stefan Schneider in front for his first goal of the season. Mallet, a first year-pro and 2012 draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks, earned his first pro point with the assist.

Working the puck quickly in through the neutral zone, the Komets evened the game at 1-1 five minutes later, when Ryan Lasch found Brett Smith in the slot for his fifth goal of the season.

The score remained tied until the waning moments of overtime, when Maggio earned the game-winner with power-play strike from the slot.

While earning a point for the overtime loss, the K-Wings extended their road winless streak to a season-long six games (0-3-2-1).

Fast Forward

Returning home, the K-Wings will start the week on Friday, December 21st with a 7:30 p.m. face-off versus the Komets on COOL 101 Game Show Night and a FANomenal Friday, featuring $2 beer, $1 Pepsi and $1 pretzels. Kalamazoo is 4-2-0-0 against Fort Wayne, who starts the week three points ahead of the K-Wings for third place in the North Division.

Before heading off on holiday break, Kalamazoo will head to the Ford Center on Saturday, December 22nd for a 7:15 p.m. (CDT) encounter against the Evansville IceMen. On the season, the K-Wings are 3-1-0-0 against the IceMen, who start the week in fifth place in the North Division, two points behind Kalamazoo.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Wings

Goals: Brett Lysak (11 Goals)

Assists: Sam Ftorek (18 Assists)

Points: Eric Kattelus (25 Points)

+/-: Brett Lysak (+9) Penalty Minutes: Mitch Versteeg (33 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Darren Archibald (4 Goals)

Short Handed Goals: Eric Kattelus (1 Goal)

Game Winning Goals: Eric Kattelus (2 GW)

Shots: Sam Ftorek, Brett Lysak (70 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Aaron Clarke (18%)

Overtime Goals: Entire Team (0 Goals)

Shootout Goals: Michael Davies, Brett Lysak, Kory Karlander, Eric Kattelus (1 Goal)

Shootout Percentage: Michael Davies (100%)

Goals Against Average: Joel Martin (2.63 )

Save Percentage: Joel Martin (0.921)

Hungry Like a Wolf

Earlier today, forward Stefan Schneider was reassigned by the Vancouver Canucks to the AHL's Chicago Wolves. Schneider, who has played in eight games this season with Kalamazoo, has earned two points (1 goal, 1 assist), including a goal in the K-Wings last game on Sunday against the Fort Wayne Komets.

Nearing Milestones Defenseman Sam Ftorek and forward Brett Lysak are each closing in on a personal milestone. Ftorek needs two more points to reach 600 for his career, while Lysak is two points shy of 400.

Snapping a Streak

Kalamazoo will head to the Ford Center on Saturday looking to snap a streak. The K-Wings hit the ice trying to end a season-high six-game (0-3-2-1) road winless streak.

Close Calls The K-Wings have had their share of close games this season. Sixteen (5-8-2-1) of Kalamazoo's 26 games this season have been decided by a single-goal.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

When the K-Wings earn their first goal of the game, it is usually scored by Aaron Clarke. Clarke leads the K-Wings this season with four first goals.

K-Wings Live

Join special guests Head Coach Nick Bootland and the "Voice of the K-Wings" Mike Modugno on Monday, January 14th for the next edition of "K-Wings Live". The show is on WZUU (92.5 FM) and online through www.kwings.com from 6-7 p.m. at Old Burdick's Downtown.

K-Wings on Radio

Catch all the K-Wings games, home and away, on the K-Wings Radio Network (92.5 FM WZUU & 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 20 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 21st Vs Fort Wayne 7:30 PM (COOL 101 Game Show Night)

Saturday, December 22nd @ Evansville 7:15 PM (CDT)

Friday, December 28th Vs Fort Wayne 7:30 PM (90's Sit Com Night)

Saturday, December 29th @ Toledo 7:05 PM

Monday, December 31st Vs Cincinnati 7:00 PM (11th Annual COOL 101/WWMT New Year's Eve Bash)

Friday, January 4th Vs Toledo 7:30 PM (FANomenal Friday & Singles Night)

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

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