IHL 2 Kalamazoo Wings

Kalamazoo Wings Week in Review

Published on March 19, 2007 under International Hockey League 2 (IHL 2)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Kalamazoo began their three-game week on the road with a rare Thursday (3/15) contest in Bloomington against the PrairieThunder. Bloomington grabbed an early 1-0 lead midway through the first period with a power-play goal from Alex Goupil (18). Kalamazoo stormed back with two unanswered tallies. Kory Karlander tied the game at 1-1 with a 4-on-4 goal from the slot. The K-Wings took the lead late in the opening period when a Thunder turnover by Tyler Rennette was kept in the attack zone by Karlander. Kory passed the puck to Tyler Willis, who found Adam Elzinga for his seventh goal of the year. There was plenty scoring in the second period, including a pair of goals from the Thunder to give them a 3-2 lead. For the second time in the contest, Karlander (36) pulled the K-Wings even, this time scoring on the power-play. Bloomington jumped back ahead 4-3 late in the period with a power-play goal from Jarad Bourassa (13). The Thunder put the game on ice in the third period with an empty net goal from Goupil (19), which gave Bloomington a 5-3 victory and their second straight victory over Kalamazoo.

Winless in their last three games, Kalamazoo concluded a two-game road swing on Friday (3/16) against Rockford. A penalty filled opening period generated no offense from either team, but the second would be a different story. For the second straight night Elzinga (8) tickled the twine with blast from the high slot 3:47 into period. After Rockford knotted the contest at 1-1, Kalamazoo's Justin Cross (23) would break the tie, lighting the lamp with a no angle slapshot from the right corner. Rockford pulled even 1:03 into the final period, with a goal from Preston Mizzi (23). Nick Bootland (35) gave the K-Wings the lead for good, converting on a 5-on-3 power-play rebound midway through the period. Kalamazoo received some insurance in the final two minutes with an empty net goal from Paul Caponigri (11) en route to a 4-2 victory over Rockford, snapping the IceHogs 11-game home winning streak.

A tradition continued Saturday (3/17), as the K-Wings hosted the Port Huron Flags during the 26th Annual World Famous Fifth-Third Bank St. Patrick's Day Green Ice Game presented by WKFR and WOTV. A Chris McAllister check on Colt King seemed to the spark that ignited a physical first period that was also filled with scoring. After Port Huron's Steve Hildenbrand (13) scored with a power-play slap shot 1:03 into the game, the K-Wings answered back with three goals of their own. Nick Bootland (36) made the sellout crowd of 5,413 jump to their feet, as he tied the game at one 8:44 into first with a power-play deflection off a Ryan Mahrle pass. Playing in his 600th career game, Willis gave the K-Wings a 2-1 lead with a power-play tally of his own at 10:44. Less than two minutes later, Karlander (37) extended Kalamazoo's lead to 3-1 with a backhanded tally. In the second period, Kalamazoo's pot of gold was more of a gold rush, as the K-Wings exploded outscoring the Flags 4-1 in the period to take a 7-2 lead. Cross (24,25) led all scorers in the period scoring twice. Lucas Drake (13) and Adam Elzinga (9) also lit the lamp in the second for Kalamazoo. Drake's goal ended a six-game goal drought, while Elzinga extended his goal streak to three games. The scoring feast continued in the third, as Karlander (38) and Bootland (37) each netted their second of the game, while Jesse Rycroft capped off the scoring registering his 9th goal of the season in Kalamazoo's 10-2 victory over Port Huron. The 10 goals by the K-Wings are the most ever scored on Green Ice and are a season high.

Fast Forward

Kalamazoo hits the ice three times this week including two straight meetings this Friday (3/23) and Saturday (3/24) on the road against the Elmira Jackals. The K-Wings are 5-1-0 against the Jackals this season, including 2-0-0 in Elmira, who starts the week in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

The K-Wings will finish off the week on Sunday (3/25) with a 4 p.m. face-off at Wings Stadium against the Port Huron Flags. This season, Kalamazoo is 8-2-1 against Port Huron, including a current four-game winnings streak. The Flags are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Sunday's game, which will be the last regular season visit by Port Huron, coincides with WKFR's Kidz Club Day, which will feature mascots from the Discovery Channel courtesy of Charter Communications

Double Digits

Kalamazoo's 10-goal outburst last Saturday was the most this season by the K-Wings. The 10-goals also broke a 21-year record for most goals scored on Green Ice and ties the UHL season high held by the Rockford IceHogs.

Good Things Come in Threes

Adam Elzinga, Nick Bootland and Tyler Willis all start the week on a three-game point streak. Besides the three-game point streak, Elzinga heads into Friday's game on a three-game goal streak.

Back on Top

With three goals over the weekend, forward Justin Cross has once again climbed atop the UHL lead for goals by a rookie. Cross, who has scored 25 times this season, leads Quad City's Brent Pilkington by one goal for the league lead.

Dishing it Out

Defenseman Tyler Kindle dished out three assists last Saturday versus Port Huron. The three assist effort ties five other players for a K-Wings' season high for assist in a single-game.

The Obscure Stat of the Week

With their win against Port Huron on Saturday during the 26th Annual World Famous St. Patrick's Day Green Ice Game, the K-Wings improved their record to 17-6-3 on Green Ice, which includes their IHL totals. All-time the K-Wings are 22-11-3 all-time on colored ice and 9-7-1 since joining 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 the 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.

Gillis and Versteeg-Lytwyn on the Radio

Come see special guests Ryan Gillis and Mark Versteeg-Lytwyn, as they join Head Coach Mark Reeds and the Voice of the K-Wings, Mike Modugno on "K-Wings Live". 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.

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

Friday, March 23rd @ Elmira 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 24th @ Elmira 7:30 PM

Sunday, March 25th Vs Port Huron 4:00 PM (WKFR K-Wings Kidz Club Day)

Wednesday, March 28th Vs Elmira 7:00 PM

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics

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International Hockey League 2 Stories from March 19, 2007


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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