K-Wings Win Three; Taylor Makes History

The Kalamazoo Wings (7-6-1-0) may have ended the holiday weekend with a loss, however, they managed to pick up six points by winning three of the four games they played.

On Wednesday, the K-Wings hosted the Iowa Heartlanders (3-8-2-1) at Wings Event Center. After allowing an Iowa goal in each of the first two periods, the K-Wings kicked it into overdrive in the final period.

With just under 10 minutes remaining in the game, Brandon Saigeon put the K-Wings on the board with his second goal of the season.

With time ticking down in the period, the K-Wings got a boost from two players making their return to the team after spending time in the AHL.

Logan Lambdin, fresh off his stint with the Chicago Wolves, scored the game-tying goal with just 20 seconds left in regulation.  Lambdin was able to push a rebound into the net to send the game into overtime.   Mason McCarty took the initial shot.

In overtime, Brenden Miller gave the K-Wings a win with a goal, following a Heartlander turnover, courtesy of Max Humitz, who then brought the puck in the offensive zone, handing it off to Miller. Miller had been on loan to the Iowa Wild to start the season.

Evan Cormier was in the net for the K-Wings, stopping 24 of the 26 shots he faced.

On Friday, the K-Wings hosted the Wheeling Nailers (7-8-0-0).

After falling behind 1-0 on a Nailers goal in the closing minutes of the first period, the K-Wings reeled off four unanswered goals to take a 4-1 victory.

Raymond Brice led the way with two goals, his third and fourth of the season.

Coale Norris put the K-Wings on the board with a power play goal early in the second period.  The goal by Norris was his second of the year.

Brice added his first of the night at the midway point of the period to give the K-Wings a 2-1 lead.

Adding to their lead before the period was over, Darby Llewellyn notched his second of the season on a rebound.

Brice finished off the scoring for the K-Wings with his second of the night early in the third period to give the K-Wings a 4-1 lead and eventual victory.

The game was not without incident as Anthony Collins took exception to a hit that Jack Van Boekel of Wheeling put on the K-Wings Matheson Iacopelli in the first period.

Collins, who got the better of Van Boekel in the tussle, were both given five minute fighting penalties.  Van Boekel was then suspended for three games and fined an undisclosed amount following the game for elbowing.  Iacopelli did not return to the K-Wings lineup for the rest of the weekend.

Cormier was between the pipes for the victory.

Traveling to Indianapolis to take on the Fuel on Saturday night, the K-Wings came home with the victory and Justin Taylor continued to etch his name into the K-Wings record books.

Taylor got things rolling for the K-Wings early in the game by scoring his second goal of the season.  More importantly, the goal by Taylor tied him for the lead as the K-Wings All-Time Goal Scorer with 239 goals as a K-Wing.

The Fuel would tie the game later in the period on a goal by Cooper Zech.   Zech would give the Fuel the lead in the opening minutes of the third period, for a 2-1 advantage.

Taylor scored his historic goal minutes after the goal by Zech. Taylor, camped out in front of the net, knocked in a shot by Chad Nychuk to knot the game at 2-2 and move ahead of K-Wings legends, Kevin Schamehorn and Mike Wanchuk, who have held the record for over 30 years.

The goal by Taylor was scored on the power play.

Max Humitz, who assisted on the second Taylor goal, netted one of his own just two minutes later to give the K-Wings a 3-1 lead.   Brice added an empty-net goal to seal the 4-2 victory.

Hunter Vorva was in the net for the K-Wings, stopping 35 of the 37 shots he faced.

On Sunday, the two teams met up again, this time in Kalamazoo.   The K-Wings fell behind early as the Fuel scored two first period goals in route to a 3-2 victory.

Chad Nychuk and Mason McCarty scored for the K-Wings in the loss.   Cormier was in net, stopping 27 of the 30 shots he faced.  The K-Wings had 14 shots on the net.

The K-Wings travel to Florida to take on the Everblades this Wednesday and Thursday and then battle the Orlando Solar Bears on Saturday.

They will return home on December 9th as they take on the Toledo Walleye on Teddy Bear Toss Night.

Photos by Kimberly Moss

By: Mark C. McGlothlen