IHL 2 Kalamazoo Wings

Kalamazoo Wings Week in Review

Published on December 26, 2006 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


The K-Wings commenced their two-game week on Friday (12/22) against the Muskegon Fury. Kalamazoo opened up the scoring midway through the first period on a slap shot from Adam Elzinga (5). Muskegon closed out the period registering three unanswered goals to claim a 3-1 lead. The K-Wings dominated the second period killing off six Muskegon power-play chances and using that momentum to create scoring chances. Forward Jesse Rycoft capped his first-goal as a K-Wing 7:22 into the period. A little over two-minutes later, Scott Dobben tipped in a rebound to knot the game at 2-2. The game remained tied until the final minute when Muskegon's Chase Trull (2) scored the go ahead goal with just 43 seconds remaining. With Muskegon believing victory was all but a certainty, Kalamazoo came back to tie the contest at 4-4 with a tally from Lucas Drake (6). Muskegon squeaked out a shootout win, outscoring the K-Wings 3-1 in the extra session to skate away with a 5-4 win.

Kalamazoo wrapped up the week and their four-game home stand on Saturday (12/23) against the Port Huron Flags. Looking to make franchise history by winning their sixth straight game, the Flags jumped out of the gates by scoring two goals in the opening period. For the second straight night, the K-Wings erased a two goal deficit during the second stanza. Nick Bootland tallied his team leading 19th goal of the season on a power-play goal 4:35 into the period. Kalamazoo pulled even near the 10-minute mark of the period on Dobben's eighth goal of the season. Dobben (9) kept his scoring touch in the third period registering his second goal of the game on an off balance slap shot from the left circle. With less than two minutes to play in regulation, Port Huron's Bobby Kukulka (7) extended his consecutive goal streak to six games with a one-timer from the right circle. With the score tied at 3-3, the teams headed into a shootout. Outscoring the K-Wings 3-2 in the extra session, the Flags would go on to win 4-3 and record their first-ever victory at Wings Stadium.

Fast Forward

Kalamazoo opens up the week and a four-game road swing tonight (12/26) against the Muskegon Fury at 7:30 p.m. The K-Wings are 1-3-1 against their division rivals. With a record of 26-3-0, Muskegon has dominated the UHL and leads the K-Wings by 16 points for first place honors in the Eastern Conference. The Fury also possesses the longest current winning streak in the league at seven games. Kalamazoo holds the honor of being the last team to defeat the Fury back on December 2nd.

On Wednesday (12/27), Kalamazoo will head to the eastern part of the state to battle the Port Huron Flags for a 7:00 p.m. face-off. Just like Muskegon, the K-Wings were the last time to defeat to the Flags back on December 10th, a span of six games. Port Huron's six-game rampage has pushed them into a tie for third place with the Elmira Jackals.

Kalamazoo will stay on the eastside of the state on Friday (12/29) for a 7:30 p.m. face-off against the Flint Generals. The K-Wings are 2-2-0 against the Generals this season, which includes a 4-3 victory in the team's lone battle at the Perani Hockey World and Event Center back on November 25th. Both teams will face-off again in Kalamazoo on Sunday during the 5th Annual New Year's Eve Bash presented by WWMT and COOL 101 FM. Tickets for Sunday's 7:30 p.m. game will also get fans in the post-game bash for FREE. The bash includes a public skate featuring music from Soundscape DJ Services and dance in The Cube. With skate rentals limited, we encourage fans to bring their own skates.

On Saturday (12/30), the K-Wings will conclude a four-game road swing against archrivals, the Fort Wayne Komets, at 7:30 p.m. Kalamazoo is 2-1-0 against Fort Wayne this season; however, both of the K-Wings victories came at Wings Stadium.

Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Wings

Goals: Nick Bootland (19 Goals)

Assists: Glenn Detulleo (23 Assists)

Points: Nick Bootland (29 Points)

+/-: Joe Markusen (+10)

Penalty Minutes: Tyler Willis (73 Minutes)

Power Play Goals: Justin Cross (7 Goals)

Short Handed Goals: Scott Dobben (2 Goals)

Game Winning Goals: Nick Bootland (4 GW)

Shots: Nick Bootland (136 Shots)

Shooting Percentage: Lucas Drake (31.6%)

Shootout Goals: Nick Bootland, Glenn Detulleo (2 Goals)

Shootout Percentage: Nick Bootland, Glenn Detulleo (100%)

Goals Against Average: Ryan Nie (2.11)

Save Percentage: Ryan Nie (0.930)

On the Road Again

After playing four straight at home, the K-Wings will hit the road for four games. On the season, the K-Wings are 8-4-0 away from Wings Stadium.

Rolling Along

Kalamazoo travels to Muskegon not losing a game in regulation in their last four games. The four-game unbeaten streak is the longest this season by the K-Wings.

Four With Four

Glenn Detulleo, Lucas Drake, Justin Cross and Scott Dobben all enter tonight's game looking to extend four-game point streaks. In addition, Dobben also has a three-game goal streak coming into this evening's game, which is one-game shy of tying Nick Bootland for the K-Wings' season high.

Thinking Positive

Defenseman Joe Markusen has been in a positive state of mind. Over the last eleven games, Markusen has a plus/minus rating of +10; subsequently Joe has taken over as the K-Wings leader in plus/minus.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

A good reason for the K-Wings averaging just 23.2 minutes a game in penalties, which ranks eighth in the league, has been their ability to avoid the fighting majors. Kalamazoo has not dropped the gloves in a span of 10 games (11/29/06 @ Chicago), the longest streak in the UHL.

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 UHL 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 your K-Wings is to log onto www.kwings.com. The site has player profiles, photos, information about Wings Stadium events, and much much more. Fans of myspace can befriend the official site of Wings Stadium and the Kalamazoo Wings at www.myspace.com/wingsstadium.

Drake and Cross on the Radio

Join special guests Lucas Drake and Justin Cross, as they join Head Coach Mark Reeds and the Voice of the K-Wings, Mike Modugno on "K-Wings Live" on January 8th. The show is on Sports Radio AM 1660 Mondays from 6-7 PM at The Cabana Bar and Grille inside the Holiday Inn Kalamazoo on South 11th Street. Come join us for the last "K-Wings Live" of 2006. Remember "K-Wings Live" will be on a two-week hiatus due to the holidays.

K-Wings on Radio

Catch all the K-Wings games home and away on the K-Wings Radio Network (WLKM 95.9 FM and Sports Radio AM 1660). Join the Voice of the K-Wings, Mike Modugno for all 76 regular season games plus the playoffs. Pre-game coverage begins with the Digital Highway 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 27th @ Port Huron 7:00 PM

Friday, December 29th @ Flint 7:30 PM

Saturday, December 30th @ Fort Wayne 7:30 PM

Sunday, December 31st Vs Flint 7:30 PM (5th Annual New Year's Eve Bash presented by WWMT and COOL

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from December 26, 2006


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.

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