Game Rewind

Thursday, October 15th @ Reading (Kalamazoo 4-Reading 1)
Reading, PA- The Kalamazoo Wings didn’t have wait long to earn their first ECHL victory, as the K-Wings defeated the Reading Royals 4-1 in their very first game in their new league.

Jumping out to a quick start, Darryl Lloyd (1st) recorded the K-Wings’ first ECHL tally, when a delay penalty on Reading gave Kalamazoo a 6-on-5 advantage. Lloyd’s wrister from the right circle 1:28 into the contest negated the would-be Royals infraction and gave the K-Wings a lead at 1-0.

Generating traffic in front of the K-Wings net midway in the period, Reading’s Gavin Morgan forced a turnover they capitalized on moments later, with a goal from Ben McLeod (1st) to tie the contest at 1-1.

The second period belonged to the K-Wings, as Kalamazoo exploded for three unanswered tallies. Regaining the lead 2:34 into the second, Anton Kharin (1st) dove to the ice and boosted the puck over Royals goaltender Brian Regan.

Kalamazoo’s power-play propelled the lead to two goals midway through the period, with man-advantage marker from Darryl Bootland (1st).

Lloyd (2nd) closed out the scoring in the period and the game with his second of the night, a slap shot from the left circle.

Two keys to the K-Wings victory were special teams and goaltending. Kalamazoo killed off all eight Reading power-play chances and Nie stopped 33 shots to earn the win.

Saturday, October 17th @ Trenton (Kalamazoo 6-Trenton 2)
Trenton, NJ- For the second straight game, the Kalamazoo Wings put together an impressive second period and in turn ruined the home opener of an opponent, this time a 6-2 victory over the Trenton Devils.   

Dictating the pace for a majority of the opening period Trenton out shot the Kalamazoo 17-6 in the first. As a result of generating more scoring chances, the Devils also registered the game’s first goal from Kyle Kucharski (1st) 7:36 into the period with a wrist shot from the right circle. 

Just like on opening night, the second period belonged to the K-Wings. Kalamazoo out shot Trenton 18-8 in the middle frame and received an offensive onslaught of five goals.

Kalamazoo tied the game 2:26 into the period, with a marker from Rick Cleaver (1st).

After being awarded a penalty shot midway in the period, Darryl Lloyd took advantage of the opportunity scoring his 3rd goal of the season. Just 15 seconds later, Mathieu Curadeau (1st) skated free to the right circled and fired a blast past David Caruso to give the K-Wings a lead of 3-1. One-minute and 15 seconds later, the K-Wings would answer again, this time with Lloyd’s (4th) second of the night to up the lead to three goals.

With just under three minutes remaining in the period, Kalamazoo concluded the period’s scoring with a rebound tally from Trent Daavettila (1st). The goal from Daavettila capped of a span of four goals in 2:57 for the K-Wings.

Both teams traded goals in the third period, Trenton’s Trevor Kell (1st) scored on the power-play 7:20 into period to bring the Devils to within three goals, but a couple of minutes later Darryl Bootland’s (2nd) top of the slot blast closed out the game’s scoring and preserved the K-Wings four-goal victory.

Sunday, October 18th @ Trenton (Kalamazoo 3-Trenton 0)
Trenton, NJ- On Thursday, the Kalamazoo Wings earned their first ECHL victory, three days later, Jeremy Duchesne helped the K-Wings reach another milestone, the team’s first ECHL shutout. Duchesne stopped 25 shots to lead the K-Wings past the Trenton Devils 3-0.     

It was penalties not scoring that saturated the opening 20 minutes of play. Both teams combined for 24 PIMS in the first, with the K-Wings equating for 10 of those minutes. Kalamazoo went 0 for 4 on the power-play in the period, while Trenton squandered both of their chances. 

Continuing their second period magic, Kalamazoo took the lead in the middle stanza with a pair of goals. Executing on their sixth man-advantage opportunity of the night, Andrew Fournier (1st) knocked in a rebound with nine minutes remaining in the period to give the K-Wings a 1-0 lead. Nearly five and a half minutes later, the K-Wings extended their lead to 2-0 with a right circle blast from Sean O’Connor (1st).

Adding insurance, the K-Wings recorded their second power-play marker midway in the final period with a strike from Anton Kharin (2nd).

The K-Wings finish off the road swing winning all three games and outscoring their opponents 13-3.

Fast Forward

After three straight games on the road, Kalamazoo will host their very first ECHL home game this Saturday, October 24th against the Reading Royals at 7:30 p.m. Customary for opening night, all fans will receive a FREE magnetic schedule courtesy of Meijer. Also, fans will receive a FREE team poster courtesy of Fed-Ex Office and Men’s Wearhouse and Tux.  Kalamazoo defeated Reading 4-1 last Thursday at the Sovereign Center.

On the Sunday, October 25th, the K-Wings will battle the Royals starting a 4 p.m. Sunday is the first post-game skate with the players.

Belated Birthday Gift
Goaltender Jeremy Duchesne gave himself a perfect belated birthday gift. Duchesne, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Saturday, recorded the K-Wings first ever ECHL shutout yesterday against Trenton.

Rolling Along
Forwards Rick Cleaver and Anton Kharin have had a productive first three games of the season. Both players start the week on a three-game point streak.

Leave it to Cleaver
Last season’s Rookie of the Year in the International Hockey League, Rick Cleaver is picking up where he left off. Cleaver enters the week tied for the league in scoring with five (1 goal, 4 assists) points.

Homeward Bound
Ending their three-game road swing with a perfect 3-0-0-0 record, Kalamazoo will return to Wings Stadium this Saturday, October 24th to host the Reading Royals. The contest will be the K-Wings very first ECHL home game.

The Obscure Stat of the Week
So far this season, the K-Wings have outscored their opponents 10-0 in the second period. The K-Wings have scored all but three goals this season in the middle stanza.

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 ECHL has to offer. Tickets are on sale now by calling the Wings Stadium Ticket Office at (269) 345-5101.

Get Online
This season, the best way to keep track of the K-Wings is to log onto www.kwings.com. The site has player profiles, information about Wings Stadium events, and much, much more.

Ftorek and Cleaver on the Radio
Join special guests Sam Ftorek and Rick Cleaver this Monday as they join Head Coach Nick Bootland and the “Voice of the K-Wings” Mike Modugno on “K-Wings Live”. The show is on The Classic Hits Station WLKM (95.9 FM) and online through the B-2 Networks through www.kwings.com from 7-8 p.m. at Old Burdick’s Bar and Grill 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 (95.9 FM WLKM & B-2 Networks on kwings.com). Join the “Voice of the K-Wings” Mike Modugno for all 72 regular season games plus the playoffs. Pre-game coverage begins with the Kalsee Credit Union 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.