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The Kalamazoo Wings (17-18-0-2) and Fort Wayne Komets (21-16-0-1) combined for 18 goals and 87 shots in a wild game on Wednesday night.
In the end, it was the K-Wings who came away with the 10-8 victory. Tanner Sorenson led the K-Wings with a 6-point night, scoring two goals and adding four assists. Chris Collins and Reid Gardiner each scored a pair of goals and two assists each while Eric Kattelus scored a pair of goals and an assist. Sorenson becomes the first player in the ECHL this season to record six points in a single game.
A big third period pushed the K-Wings to victory as they scored five of their 10 goals in a span of just over 13 minutes.
Specials teams played a huge role in the opening period. Leading by a score of 3-2 after the first twenty minutes, the K-Wings received goals from Kyle Bushee, Gardiner and Eric Kattelus. All three goals were scored on the power play. The Komets scored one goal on the man advantage and the other while short-handed.
Taking a commanding lead in the second, the Komets reeled off four goals in the first 13 minutes to take a 6-3 lead. Collins and Kattelus added goals later in the second and the Komets added their fifth of the period to make it a 7-5 Komet lead after two periods.
The third period belonged to the K-Wings. Gardiner scored a power play goal at the 4:13 mark of the period. Collins scored his 19th of the season minutes later while the K-Wings were on the penalty kill to make it a 7-7 game.
Sorenson added a pair of goals just over two minutes apart to give the K-Wings a 9-7 lead. Gardiner capped off the night by scoring an empty net goal, his 21st goal of the season, to give the K-Wings a 10-7 lead. The Komets added a goal before time expired for the 10-8 final. The K-Wings outshot the Komets 50-37.
K-Wings News and Notes:
On the Move: Forward Chris Collins signed a Player Tryout Agreement with the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. Collins has scored 48 points (19g, 29a) in 37 games this season. Before signing with the Moose, Collins was on a 10-game point streak in which he tallied 23 points.
All-Star Replacement: With forward Justin Taylor on the IR, forward Reid Gardiner will be taking his place in the upcoming All-Star Classic to be held in Toledo next Monday night. Gardiner has ranks second on the team in points (40) and is second in the in goals (21). Like Collins, Gardiner is riding an ECHL long 17-game point streak during which time he has tallied 31 points.
Submitted by Mark McGlothlen
