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ECHL Kalamazoo Wings

Wings Use Six Unanswered Goals to Snap Nailers' Streak

March 25, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Kalamazoo Wings News Release


Ludwig Blomstrand of the Kalamazoo Wings
Ludwig Blomstrand of the Kalamazoo Wings
(Kalamazoo Wings)

KALAMAZOO, MI- Ludwig Blomstrand netted two goals and eleven different Kalamazoo Wings registered a point as the Wings came back from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Wheeling Nailers, 6-4, on Friday at Wings Event Center.

The Nailers opened the scoring early in the contest, led by Cody Wydo's start of a Wheeling counter-attack. Wydo poked the puck to the stick of John McCarron, creating a two-on-one break. In the zone, McCarron faked to feed a cross-ice pass, and lifted the puck over the glove of Joel Martin.

Continuing to push the pace, Wheeling upped their lead to 2-0 late in the first period. A faceoff win from Jordan Kwas rolled to the blue line where James Melindy ripped a slap shot past the leg of Martin and into the goal.

The second stanza started where the first ended, with the Nailers continuing to push the Wings on their heels, and their efforts earned them a 3-0 lead. Connor Leen stopped a clearance attempt along the right boards, slid the puck to the slot where Anton Zlobin was able to unload a slap shot, under the crossbar and behind Martin.

Powered behind their first man advantage of the game, the Wings took the momentum and made it a 3-1 game midway through the second frame. Tanner Sorenson blasted a shot from the top of the right circle that deflected off the body of Eric Kattelus and over the Nailers' netminder Brian Foster.

Clawing back to within one, the Wings made it 3-2 in the final seconds of the middle period. Alex Mallet set up at the left circle, executed a precise cross-ice pass to Blomstrand whose shot beat the pad of Foster.

The momentum continued to snowball early into the third period, propelling the Wings to tie the game. A Kalamazoo faceoff win rolled to the tape of Ben Wilson at the blue line, allowing him to fire a slap shot towards the net, where Justin Taylor tipped the puck over the blocker of Foster.

Just 32-seconds later, Justin Kovacs raced in on a breakaway, sneaking the puck between the pads of Foster, seemingly giving Kalamazoo a 4-3 lead. However, the goal was disallowed as a penalty was called behind the play. Kalamazoo successfully killed the ensuing Wheeling power play, and popped home their fourth strike just as the power play ended. David Gilbert created a two-on-one, saucered a pass to Mallet, who pushed the chance between the pipe and Foster's pad.

Kalamazoo cashed in their fifth unanswered goal of the night, courtesy of Lane Scheidl, midway through the final period. Taylor carried in beyond the Nailers' net, dished a backhand pass to Scheidl who had worked his way into open ice, and knocked home a quick wrister to make it 5-3.

The torrid scoring onslaught continued for the Wings in the third period, after Kovacs carried in on a two-on-one, looked off the goaltender, scooted a pass under a Nailer defender, and to the tip of Blomstrand's stick for a tap-in.

Wheeling stopped the bleeding with a power play strike with just over five minutes remaining in the game, but it would be their last tally of the night. Riley Brace wheeled around the Kalamazoo zone along the left-wing boards and into the slot where he let loose a slap shot through the pads of Martin.

The victory was the league-leading 30th of the season for Martin.

Next: Kalamazoo vs. Wheeling- Saturday, March 26, 7:00 p.m., Wings Event Center.

Notes: Scheidl has five goals in his last five games. 11 different players registered a point in tonight's contest. Kalamazoo outshot the Nailers, which is only the 12th time the Wings have outshot their opponent all season. The win by the Wings snapped an 11-game streak in which Wheeling had registered at least a point.

Stats: http://echl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=13547

Saturday's game at Wings Event Center against the Wheeling Nailers is the first ever Geocaching Night. Fans will be invited to use coordinates to geocache prizes around the arena. There will also be the final post-game jersey auction of the season, as the Wings will auction off the "futuristic" jerseys from the 2016 CCM ECHL Hockey Heritage Week.

Listen to all 72 regular season and post season games on AM 1660 The Fan in Kalamazoo, or online at www.1660thefan.com/listen-live. Live coverage begins fifteen minutes before puck drop with the Flame Tamer Pregame Show.

Single-game tickets are now on sale! Tickets can be purchased at kwings.com or at the Wings Event Center box office. Box office hours are Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. A $2 discount is applied on all tickets purchased before the date of the game. Any student that shows a valid ID can get tickets for just $10.

Check out the Kalamazoo Wings Statistics




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Ludwig Blomstrand of the Kalamazoo Wings
Ludwig Blomstrand of the Kalamazoo Wings
   

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