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ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

Kalamazoo Wings vs. Port Huron Border Cats

March 16, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Saturday, March 16, 2002 Game #66 . Road Game #34.UHL Game #460

Tonight's Game: The Wings make their final visit to McMorran Arena this season in today's matchup with the Port Huron Border Cats. Kalamazoo snapped a three-game winless streak with a 6-2 victory over Asheville last night at Wings Stadium. The Border Cats were in Muskegon last night, where they fell by a 7-5 score. Kalamazoo is 29-32-4 on the season for 62 points, which puts them sixth in the Western Conference. Port Huron has a mark of 24-28-12 for 60 points, putting them sixth in the Eastern Conference. Kalamazoo returns home tomorrow to host Rockford in the 21st Annual St. Patrick's Day Green Ice Game, while Port Huron will play host to Muskegon here at McMorran Arena.

Port Huron/Kalamazoo Series: This is the ninth of ten meetings between the Wings and the Border Cats this season. The series closes out next Friday night when Port Huron visits Wings Stadium. The clubs are even so far with four wins apiece. The series breakdown is as follows:

Saturday, October 27: Kalamazoo 4, Port Huron 3 (SO) at McMorran Arena
Thursday, November 8: Kalamazoo 4, Port Huron 2 at McMorran Arena
Friday, December 7: Port Huron 6, Kalamazoo 2 at McMorran Arena
Saturday, December 8: Kalamazoo 6, Port Huron 2 at Wings Stadium
Saturday, December 15: Port Huron 4, Kalamazoo 0 at McMorran Arena
Sunday, December 16: Port Huron 5, Kalamazoo 3 at Wings Stadium
Friday, December 28: Port Huron 3, Kalamazoo 1 at Wings Stadium
Thursday, February 21: Kalamazoo 5, Port Huron 1 at McMorran Arena
Saturday, March 16: KALAMAZOO AT PORT HURON Friday, March 22: Port Huron at Kalamazoo

Last Matchup: Thursday, February 21 - Kalamazoo 5, Port Huron 1 - Randy Holmes and Jeff Scharf had two goals apiece to lead the Wings over the Border Cats by a 5-1 score at McMorran Arena. Kalamazoo had a 2-0 lead at the first intermission thanks to first period goals from Holmes and Scharf, but it was cut in half by a Paul Pollilo goal at 2:13 of the second. Holmes answered less than two minutes later to put the lead back at two, and Michael Ford scored on the power play at 16:29 to give the Wings a 4-1 second intermission lead. Scharf added his second of the night in the third period to further pad the lead. Scott Langkow stopped 24 of 25 Border Cat attempts for the Wings, while Kevin St. Pierre turned away 24 of 39 for Port Huron.
PP: 1-for-1 PK: 4-for-4 SOG: 39 SOGA: 25

Recent Action: Last 10 games: 4-5-1 Last 5 games: 2-2-1 Friday, March 15: Kalamazoo 6, Asheville 2 - The Wings picked up their first win over the Smoke in the final meeting between the two teams this season, bettering Asheville 6-2 at Wings Stadium. Kalamazoo erased a two-goal deficit with six unanswered goals. After Asheville picked up goals from Jeff Petruic at 15:00 of the first period and Marty Diamond at 2:34 of the second period, it was all Kalamazoo for the rest of the evening. Harry Schwefel started the flood at 10:57 of the second, and Ted Laviolette tied the game with a power-play blast from the left point at 12:37. The Wings picked up four goals in the third period, getting two from Michael Ford and one each from Randy Holmes and Craig Bilick. Scott Langkow got the win with 35 saves on 37 Asheville tries, while Smoke goaltender Blaine Russell turned away 35 of 41 in the loss.
PP: 1-for-4 PK: 3-for-3 SOG: 41 SOGA: 35

Saturday, March 10: Fort Wayne 3, Kalamazoo 1 - Derek Gauthier had two goals, including an empty-netter, and Ryan Severson netted the game-winner to lead the Komets to the 3-1 win at Wings Stadium. The Komets jumped out to a 2-0 lead by the 8:44-mark of the second period, but the Wings closed within a goal when Troy Mann scored a power-play goal at 14:13 of the second. The Wings could not find the equalizer, however, and Gauthier iced the win with 1:28 remaining. Scott Langkow stopped 29 of 31 shots for the Wings, while Martin Fillion turned away 18 of 19 for Fort Wayne.
PP: 1-for-7 PK: 3-for-4 SOG: 19 SOGA: 32

Saturday, March 9: Muskegon 7, Kalamazoo 3 - Brant Blackned had a hat trick and two assists to lead the Fury's 7-3 charge over the Wings at Walker Arena. The game's momentum turned in favor of the home club in the first period, when Greg Dupre received a four-minute double-minor for high-sticking. Muskegon took full advantage with two power play goals, both from Blackned. Rustyn Dolyny also had two goals for the Fury, with Todd Robinson and Mike Bayrack each adding one goal apiece. Harry Schwefel, Michael Goldkind, and Craig Bilick each had a goal for Kalamazoo. Tim Knudsen stopped 29 of 36 Fury shots on the evening, while Michal Lanicek turned away 20 of 23 Wings shots in the winning effort.
PP: 0-for-1 PK: 1-for-3 SOG: 23 SOGA: 36

Friday, March 8: Fort Wayne 4, Kalamazoo 3 (SO) - Kalamazoo and Fort Wayne added another classic matchup to their longtime rivalry, with Fort Wayne taking away this battle 4-3 in a shootout. The Wings took a 2-0 lead with goals from Harry Schwefel and Michael Goldkind, but the Komets answered with three straight goals - from Kelly Miller, Dustin Virag¸ and Derek Gauthier - to take a 3-2 advantage. But Craig Bilick, playing his first game for Kalamazoo, tied it up with a goal at 10:03 of the third period. Both teams got goals in the first round of the shootout, but goaltenders ruled the extra session until Mike McKay solved Scott Langkow in the fifth round to give the Komets the extra point. Langkow made 28 saves in regulation for Kalamazoo, while Martin Fillion stopped 13 of 16 Kalamazoo shots on the evening.
PP: 0-for-3 PK: 3-for-3 SOG: 16 SOGA: 31

Sunday, March 3: Kalamazoo 5, Knoxville 2 - Michael Goldkind snapped a 37-game goal-free skid with two tallies to lead the Wings over Knoxville at Wings Stadium. Randy Holmes opened the scoring with a power play goal at 14:10 of the first period, and Goldkind picked up his first less than two minutes later. His second came at 4:29 of the second period. The teams traded goals the rest of the way, with Jim Brown and Greg Dupre scoring for the Wings opposite Knoxville power play goals for Loui Mellios and Eric Ellis. Scott Langkow stopped 44 of 46 Knoxville shots to get the win, while Brad Guzda turned away 29 of 34 Wings chances in the loss.
PP: 1-for-3 PK: 3-for-5 SOG: 34 SOGA: 46

Through The Years:
2000-01 Through 65 games - 33-28-4
2001-02 Through 65 games - 29-32-4
2000-01 Through 66 games - 34-28-4

March Birthdays: RW Jeff Scharf turned 25 on March 6
RW Michael Ford turned 25 on March 8
D Andrew Huggett turns 25 on March 31

Wings at Wings Stadium (17-12-3, .578): Kalamazoo is five games above .500 on the Wings Stadium ice this season. The Wings were 21-13-3 for 45 points (.608) on home ice last year.

Wings On The Road (12-20-1, .378): Kalamazoo is eight games below .500 on foreign ice this season. The Wings were 16-18-3 for 35 points (.472) in opposing rinks last year.

Injuries: D Jeff Foster (shoulder), RW Sandy Lamarre (knee), and C Steve Moore (knee) are all on the 21-day injured reserve list and will not return this season.

Special Teams: Power Play - Kalamazoo's power play unit is at 13.7 percent on the season (40 for 292), which is 14th in the UHL. It will face a Port Huron penalty kill tonight that is 7th in the league at 82.8 percent. Penalty Kill - The Wings are killing penalties at a rate of 79.1 percent, which is 11th in the UHL. The penalty killing unit goes against a Port Huron power play tonight that is 8th in the league at 17.2 percent.

Leading The Way: LW Randy Holmes leads the team in scoring with 26 goals and 31 assists for 57 points. C Jim Brown is second in scoring with 54 points (22G, 32A). Holmes is tied for the team goal scoring lead with Michael Ford, and Brown leads the team in assists. D Jeff Foster is on the 21-day injured reserve list with a plus-9 rating, which is still the best on the team. RW Benoit Beausoleil leads the club in penalty minutes with 197.

Grasping At Straws: The Wings are on the brink of playoff elimination as they progress through the weekend. Flint gained a point in the standings last night with a shootout loss to Fort Wayne, which gives Flint 78 points on the season. The highest point total the Wings can earn this season is 80 if they win their remaining nine games. Therefore, the Wings will be eliminated from the playoffs if they lose tonight in regulation. Kalamazoo will also be eliminated if Flint wins tonight over Muskegon, regardless of what happens here at McMorran Arena tonight. A win for the Wings combined with a regulation or shootout loss for Flint would keep the Wings alive.

They Keep Coming: The Wings saw their fifth and sixth new players in the past three weeks make a debut last night against Asheville. C Bryan Farquhar had his two assists in his first professional game, and D Brendan Kenny played his first professional game in over two years last night. Both players come to the Wings from the Western Michigan University program, which saw its season end in the CCHA playoffs last weekend. Farquhar finished his senior season when Ohio State eliminated WMU from the CCHA playoffs, and was drafted by the Wings in Tuesday's UHL North American Amateur Draft. Kenny, a graduate assistant coach with the program, played a four-year career with the Broncos from 1993 to 1997 and went on to play three seasons in the Western Professional Hockey League with Monroe and Amarillo. The pair joins Mike May, Dave Agnew, Jason Modopoulos, and Craig Bilick on the list of players who have joined the Wings in the month of March.

Fitting The Bill: RW Craig Bilick has been a great boost for the Wings since he was acquired from Elmira earlier this month. Bilick has at least one point in each of the four games he's played for the Wings, including a two-point evening with a goal and an assist last night against Asheville.

Exploding Late: Kalamazoo had two things take place for the first time this season last night against Asheville. It was the first time this season on home ice that the Wings came back from a first-period deficit to win a game. The Wings also set a new season high for goals scored in a period with the four-goal third frame. The Wings have scored three goals in a period on twelve occasions this season.

Lawrence At The Helm: Mark Lawrence will complete the 2001-02 season as the interim Head Coach for the Kalamazoo Wings. Lawrence was named to the post following the resignation of Dennis Desrosiers on February 13. Lawrence, 30, started the season as a player, but suffered a season-ending knee injury on January 6. He had been behind the bench as an assistant coach since that time. Lawrence returned to Kalamazoo for the 2001-02 season after spending the previous two years in the New York Islanders organization. He was with the Dallas Stars organization from 1992-97, during which time he played 321 games with the IHL's Kalamazoo Wings/Michigan K-Wings. Lawrence is in 17th place on the IHL franchise's all-time scoring list with 90 goals and 97 assists for 187 points. He played 142 games in the NHL for the Islanders and Dallas, during which time he scored 18 goals and added 26 assists for 44 points.

Under New Management: Wings Stadium officials announced on March 1 that Stadium Management Company, headed by President and CEO R.T. Parfet, has signed a letter of intent to purchase the Kalamazoo Wings franchise from Keith Decker. The purchase is expected to be finalized following the 2001-02 UHL season. Decker has been the sole owner of th Kalamazoo Wings franchise for the past two season and was the majority owner of the franchise in its inaugural season of 199-00 when it was based out of Madison, WI. He received the 2001 UHL Governor Of The Year award last summer. Parfet founded the original Kalamazoo Wings franchise in 1974 and oversaw the 26-year run of the franchise in the International Hockey League. The franchise changed its name to the Michigan K-Wings in May of 1995, and operated under that name until ceasing operations in April of 2000. The club's history includes two Turner Cup Championships, in 1979 and 1980, and a 13-year run as the primary affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars franchise. Parfet was twice named IHL Executive Of The Year, in 1982 and 1999.

Strike Early: Although last night was an exception, the Wings often have had games decided in the first 20 minutes this season. Kalamazoo is 4-24-1 when trailing after one period this season and is 2-28-1 when trailing after two frames. By comparison, the Wings are 15-4-3 when ahead in the first intermission and 19-3-2 when up in the second intermission.

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