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ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

Kalamazoo Wings Weekly Release

March 25, 2002 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


THIS WEEK
Wednesday, March 27
Wings at Rockford
8:05, Rockford MetroCentre
7:50, AM-1660 WQSN

Friday, March 29
WINGS VS. MISSOURI
7:30, Wings Stadium
7:15, AM-1660 WQSN

Saturday, March 30
WINGS VS. MUSKEGON
7:30, Wings Stadium
7:15, AM-1660 WQSN

SEASON RESET
Last Week: 0-2-2
Current Record: 29-35-7, 65 points
Games This Week: 3

WEEKLY RECAP
Sunday, March 24: Quad City 6, Kalamazoo 1 - The Mallards blew the game open with two goals in a 27-second span of the second period and cruised to a 6-1 win over the Wings at The MARK of the Quad Cities. The Wings struck first in the game, with Greg Dupre knocking home a Darcy Anderson centering pass at 8:08 of the first period. The Mallards tied it on a controversial goal from Kevin St. Jacques at 14:01 and took a 2-1 lead at 15:29 on a Mark McFarlane goal. The game was close until the middle of the second period, when Jesse Rooney scored at 13:07 followed by Steve Gibson at 13:34. The two quick goals changed the momentum of the contest. Brandon Sampair added two more goals, at 18:56 of the second period and 10:05 of the third, to get the game to its 6-1 final. Tim Knudsen turned aside 34 of 40 Quad City chances on the evening, while Andy Kollar made 17 saves on 18 shots in his professional debut. PP: 0-for-3 PK: 2-for-3 SOG: 19 SOGA: 40

Saturday, March 23: Fort Wayne 3, Kalamazoo 2 (SO) - The Komets erased a two-goal deficit in the third period and went on to take the shootout session as well for a 3-2 win over the Wings at Wings Stadium. Brendan Farquhar scored his first professional goal just 1:55 into the game, and Michael Ford tallied on the power play at 4:59 of the first period to give Kalamazoo a 2-0 lead. That stood through the rest of the first period and through the entire second period, but Derek Gauthier got the Komets on the board at 2:42 of the third period and Michel Massie tied the game at 12:07. Craig Desjarlais and Massie scored for the Komets in the extra session, while the Wings' only shootout goal came from Randy Holmes. Scott Langkow turned aside 31 of 33 shots in regulation, while Fort Wayne's Martin Fillion turned away 12 of the season-low 14 shots the Wings fired at him in regulation. PP: 1-for-4 PK: 6-for-6 SOG: 14 SOGA: 33

Friday, March 22: Port Huron 4, Kalamazoo 3 (SO) - Port Huron goaltender Matt Mullin stopped 21 shots in regulation and shut out the Wings in the extra session to lead Port Huron to a 4-3 shootout win at Wings Stadium. The Border Cats hopped out to a 2-0 lead with goals from Rick Judson at 9:11 of the first period and David-Alexander Beauregard at 2:25 of the second frame, but the Wings ripped off three consecutive tallies - from Michael Goldkind at 3:23 of the second period, Michael Ford at 15:40 of the second, and Craig Bilick at 1:37 of the third to take a 3-2 lead. Port Huron equalized on a Joey Bastien goal at 11:14 of the third period to force the shootout. Only one shooter - Port Huron's Ian Jacobs - was successful in the extra session. Scott Langkow made 25 saves in regulation and four in the shootout in the losing cause. Special teams played a big role in the contest - each team had two power play goals on the evening. PP: 2-for 6 PK: 5-for-7 SOG: 24 SOGA: 28

Wednesday, March 20: Missouri 6, Kalamazoo 5 - Dustin Whitecotton scored with 1:21 left to give Missouri a 6-5 win over the Wings at Family Arena. Kalamazoo got first period goals from Craig Bilick and Jim Brown, but Missouri's Jason Gudmundson answered Brown's goal 28 seconds after the fact and the game went into the first intermission with a 2-1 Kalamazoo lead. The clubs traded goals in the second period - Bilick scoring his second of the night just 43 seconds in and Jeff Scharf picking up a goal at 8:05, while Charlie Blyth scored for Missouri at 2:02 before Gudmundson got his second goal at 16:51. That gave the Wings a 4-3 lead in the second intermission, but it didn't last - Eric Murano scored 28 seconds into the third period to tie the game, and then Gudmundson picked up a hat trick to give Missouri the lead at 8:47. Craig Bilick completed his own hat trick with an equalizer at 14:40, setting the stage for Whitecotton's heroics. Ted Laviolette had a great night for the Wings as well, registering four assists. Scott Langkow stopped 32 of 38 shots for Kalamazoo, while Missouri 's Aaron Vickar denied 24 of 29 Wings chances. PP: 1-for-4 PK: 1-for-3 SOG: 29 SOGA: 38

NEXT IN LINE
Wednesday, March 27: Wings at Rockford - Kalamazoo plays its final road game of the year at the Rockford MetroCentre against the Rockford IceHogs. Rockford has played great down the stretch - the club is on a five-game winning streak and has won seven of their last eight contests.

Friday, March 29: WINGS VS. MISSOURI - The Missouri River Otters come into Wings Stadium at 7:30 on Friday in the thick of a playoff battle. Missouri starts the week in a third-place tie with Fort Wayne at 85 points, while Flint is just one point back at 84. The Wings had beaten the River Otters eight straight times dating back to last year before Missouri came from behind to win 6-5 at Family Arena this past Wednesday. Former Kalamazoo Wings defenseman Jason Hughes will return to Wings Stadium for the first time since leaving town with the Knoxville Speed back on January 11.

Saturday, March 30: WINGS VS. MUSKEGON: Kalamazoo closes the curtain on the 2001-02 season with a 7:30 contest against the Muskegon Fury. Muskegon has secured the second-place spot in the Western Conference and will spend the final week of the season honing up for the playoffs. The Wings are winless in their last seven games against the Fury this season.

HELP US FINISH THINGS UP!: The Wings have two home games in this final week of the 2001-02 regular season! On Friday night, the Missouri River Otters come to town on Fan Appreciation Night! We'll have the 2001-02 Team Poster for fans at the doors while supplies last, so arrive early! It's also the final Brewster's Puck Pack Night at Wings Stadium! Fans can get four $7 tickets, a $5 gift certificate and a coupon for free breadsticks or chili con queso at Brewster's Junction, two Wings Stadium open skating passes, and two hockey pucks all for just $25! That's over a $60 value! The Puck Pack Coupon is needed to get a Puck Pack - fans can find that coupon in this week 's editions of the Kalamazoo Gazette!

Then on Saturday, the Wings finish up their season against the Muskegon Fury at 7:30 PM. It's the annual Awards Night at Wings Stadium - you can help honor your favorite Kalamazoo Wings players for their great accomplishments this season! It's a finale that you won't want to miss!

Plenty of tickets are still available for the Wings' two home games against Missouri and Muskegon this weekend! For ticket information, call the Wings Stadium box office at 616-345-5101 or stop by Wings Stadium. Box office hours are 10 AM to 6 PM Monday through Friday, and at 10 AM this Saturday. Tickets are also available at all participating Ticketmaster outlets, including online at www.ticketmaster.com.

BY THE NUMBERS: LW Randy Holmes and C Jim Brown are tied for the team lead in scoring with 58 points apiece. Holmes has 26 goals and 32 assists, while Brown has 23 goals and 35 assists. RW Michael Ford leads the team in goals scored with 29, and Brown leads the club 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 212.

ANSWERING THE CALL: Wings captain Jim Brown was called up to Cleveland of the American Hockey League on Saturday morning and had two fantastic games for the Barons this weekend. He assisted on Cleveland's only goal in a 4-1 loss to Milwaukee on Saturday, and had a hat trick in Cleveland's 7-4 loss to Rochester on Sunday. Brown will be staying with the Barons indefinitely, and will accompany the team out west for a game at Utah on Wednesday night.

EXPERIENCE "K-WINGS LIVE": K-Wings Live, the Kalamazoo Wings weekly coach's show, hits the airwaves on The Sports Station, AM-1660 WQSN at 6:00 every Tuesday night this season. Broadcast live from Gallagher's Eatery on Stadium Drive, the program is a weekly look at the week gone by and the week ahead for the team with the voice of the Wings, Brian Smith, head coach Mark Lawrence, and a Wings player. We also take questions from the folks in attendance at Gallagher's. This week's player has yet to be determined - Jim Brown was originally scheduled to be on the program, but is with Cleveland in the AHL.

WWW.KWINGS.COM - YOUR HOME FOR WINGS HAPPENINGS: Set your homepage to www.kwings.com to keep in touch with everything going on with the Kalamazoo Wings! The site contains information about your favorite Wings players, and their pictures have arrived on the site! You can also get ticket information, check out the schedule, and sign up for Kalamazoo Wings E-News to receive all the latest information on the Wings directly in your email box! Check it out at www.kwings.com.

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