Game Rewind Wednesday, January 16th Vs Elmira Jackals (Elmira 2-Kalamazoo 1) Kalamazoo, MI - On a night where Joel Martin (14-16-2-1) established a new Kalamazoo Wings (16-19-2-1) ECHL record for saves in a single-game with 46, the K-Wings surrendered a late goal by Louie Caporusso, as the Elmira Jackals (20-15-2-2) snuck out with a 2-1 victory Wednesday night at Wings Stadium. Martin's 46 saves surpasses the previous high of 45 saves shared by Julien Ellis (@ Gwinnett 11/07/09) and Jeremy Duchesne (@ Charlotte 11/08/09). Despite being outshot 22-5 in the second period, it was the K-Wings that broke through to score the game's first tally, as Nick Sirota notched his 11th goal of the season with a right circle wrist shot 1:09 into the stanza. Standing on his head in the middle frame, Martin turned aside a fury of shots, but none bigger than stoning Rob Bellamy on a penalty shot opportunity with 6.4 seconds remaining in the period to preserve the one goal lead. Pulling even on their 45th shot of the night, Kevin Harvey (3rd) released a quick wrister that went up and over Martin's shoulder with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation. As the clocked clicked down and game looking like it would be heading to overtime, Caporusso (11th) dashed those dreams by sneaking behind the Kalamazoo defense and on the semi-breakaway scored the game-winning tally on a back-hander with 35 seconds remaining. Not to be outdone by Martins performance, former K-Wing goaltender, Maxime Clermont (9-6-2-1) was busy between the pipes, stopping 37 shots for the victory. Friday, January 18th @ Evansville IceMen (Evansville 4-Kalamazoo 3- Overtime) Evansville, IN - Taking advantage of a power-play in overtime, Kevin Baker (12th) redirected a Todd Robinson slap shot 2:48 into the extra session to give the Evansville IceMen(16-22-1-3) a 4-3 overtime victory over the Kalamazoo Wings (16-19-3-1) to force a fourth place tie in the North Division. Doing what no other member of the K-Wings has done this season, Nick Sirota (12th) increased his goal streak to a season-high three games 3:51 into the first period by tipping in an John Armstrong slap shot. Armstrong extended his point streak to three games with the assist. Tying the game at 1-1 with 40 seconds remaining in the opening period, Aaron Gens notched his second goal of the campaign with a rebound wrister from the slot. Josh Beaulieu (16th) put the IceMen ahead 1:36 into the second period with a power-play marker. Beaulieu, who leads the IceMen in goals scored, has notched a team-best seven of those goals with a man-advantage. Evansville increased their lead to 3-1 later in the period, when Dylan Clarke found Jason Dale open on the backdoor for his seventh goal of the season. Inching closer late in the period, Sirota netted his second goal of the game with a power-play strike. Sirota, who has earned five goals in his last three games, has registered 13 goals on the season tying him with Aaron Clarke and Eric Kattelus for the team-lead. Assisting on Sirota's goal were Armstrong and Alexandre Grenier, who has earned at least one point in each of his four games with Kalamazoo. Battling back to tie the game at 3-3, John May (1st) scored the equalizer 6:09 into the third period to force overtime with a wrist shot from the right circle that was setup by a pass from Jon Higgins. The points were the first this season in a K-Wings uniform for both May and Higgins. Saturday, January 19th Vs Fort Wayne Komets (Kalamazoo 3-Fort Wayne 2) Kalamazoo, MI - In a divisional clash, the Kalamazoo Wings (17-19-3-1) scored three goals in the opening 20 minutes to defeat the Fort Wayne Komets (22-19-1-1) 3-2 during the 5th Annual McDonald's Golden Ice Game, presented by WNWN. Getting on the board quick, John Negrin (2nd) utilized a screen and fired a slap shot past Marco Cousineau 2:17 into the contest. The goal by Negrin was the quickest to start a game by Kalamazoo, the previous high was also against the Komets (2:36) on November 3rd at Wings Stadium. With a man-advantage, St. Anselm College alum and 15-year pro, Sam Ftorek notched his fourth goal of the season, all of which coming on the power-play, midway in the stanza. Another St. Anselm graduate, Nick Wheeler (1st) would get a power-play goal of his own two and half minutes later to cut the K-Wings lead in half 11:32 into the period. Just 27 seconds later, Kalamazoo's Aaron Clarke made it 2-for-2 on the power-play for the K-Wings swatting an Elgin Reid slap shot that bounced off the pipe into the net for his team-leading 14th goal of the campaign. Fort Wayne worked the game to 3-2 scoring late in the period, when John Dunbar (2nd), who was in the right corner, snuck the puck between the post and Joel Martin with 54 seconds remaining in the period. Clarke (1 goal, 2 assists) and Reid (3 assists) each had three points in the period, while Ftorek chimed in with two points (1 goal, 1 assist) for Kalamazoo., After combining for five goals in the first period, neither the K-Wings nor the Komets registered a goal on the scoreboard in the final 40 minutes. Martin (15-16-3-1), who finished the game with 39 saves, has stopped 85 shots in his last two home games. Fast Forward Kalamazoo will begin a two-game road trip this Friday, January 25th with a 7:05 p.m. encounter against the Toledo Walleye at the Huntington Center. On the season, Kalamazoo is 4-3-1-0 against Toledo, who starts the week tied for second place in the North Division. Staying in the state of Ohio, Kalamazoo will travel to the U.S. Bank Arena on Saturday, January 26th for a 7:30 p.m. showdown against the Cincinnati Cyclones. On the season, the K-Wings are 1-2-0-1 against the Cyclones, who start the week atop of the North Division. The K-Wings will finish the week at Wings Stadium on Sunday, January 27th with a 3 p.m. face-off versus the Bakersfield Condors during Wendy's Kid Movie Day and a Family Hockey Day in the 'ZOO, presented by Consumers Credit Union, Bronson Orthopedic & Sports Medicine, Charter Media and MLive. During all Family Hockey Day's in the 'ZOO all kids eat FREE, fans can also participate in a post-game skate with the players and on January 27th, the first 500 kids will receive a FREE K-Wings goaltender mask on a stick, courtesy of Consumers Credit Union. Following the game, the K-Wings will be showing Pixar short films. Sunday will mark the first time since the 2011 Kelly Cup Finals (Alaska) and the first time in the regular season that Kalamazoo will play a team from the Western Conference. Team Leaders: Kalamazoo Wings Goals: Aaron Clarke (14 Goals) Assists: Sam Ftorek, Kory Karlander (21 Assists) Points: Aaron Clarke, Eric Kattelus (32 Points) +/-: Darren Archibald (+6) Penalty Minutes: Harry Young (43 Minutes) Power Play Goals: Eric Kattelus (5 Goals) Short Handed Goals: Eric Kattelus, Nick Sirota (1 Goal) Game Winning Goals: Aaron Clarke (3 GW) Shots: Sam Ftorek (101 Shots) Shooting Percentage: Eric Kattelus (17.3%) Overtime Goals: Entire Team (0 Goals) Shootout Goals: Kory Karlander, Eric Kattelus (2 Goals) Shootout Percentage: John Armstrong, Michael Davies, Sam Ftorek (100%) Goals Against Average: Joel Martin (2.73) Save Percentage: Joel Martin (0.916) Building on the Road Kalamazoo has been gaining momentum away from Wings Stadium. The K-Wings have earned points in four (3-0-1-0) out of their last five road games. Power Surge Defenseman Sam Ftorek has lit the lamp four times this season. All four of Ftorek's goals have come on the power-play. Nearing a Milestone Forward Brett Lysak is closing in a personal milestone. Lysak needs one more point to reach 400 Stopping the Puck Joel Martin has been a brick wall for the K-Wings. Martin, who leads the ECHL with 1,047 saves, has recorded 85 saves in his last two home games. The Obscure Stat of the Week On Saturday against Fort Wayne, defenseman John Negrin recorded a goal 2:17 seconds into the game. The goal by Negrin was the quickest recorded by the K-Wings this season, breaking the previous mark of 2:36 also against the Komets on November 3rd at Wings Stadium. K-Wings Live Join special guests Head Coach Nick Bootland and the "Voice of the K-Wings" Mike Modugno on Monday, February 11th for the next edition of "K-Wings Live". The show is on WZUU (92.5 FM) and online through www.kwings.com from 6-7 p.m. at Old Burdick's Wings West. K-Wings on Radio Catch all the K-Wings games, home and away, on the K-Wings Radio Network (92.5 FM WZUU & 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 20 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, January 25th @ Toledo 7:05 PM Saturday, January 26th @ Cincinnati 7:35 PM Sunday, January 27th Vs Bakersfield 3:00 PM (Wendy's Kid Movie Night and Family Hockey Day in 'ZOO, presented by Consumers Credit Union, Bronson Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, Charter Media and MLive) Wednesday, January 30th Vs Fort Wayne 7:00 PM (Red Solo Cup Night, Presented by WNWN) Friday, February 1st @ Fort Wayne 8:00 PM
