CORALVILLE IA (WKZO AM/FM) – The Kalamazoo Wings (4-5-1-0), proud ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Columbus Blue Jackets, overcame a late push by the Iowa Hearlanders (1-7-1-1) in the third period and won in shootout fashion at Xstream Arena on Sunday.
Evan Cormier stopped 32 of 35 shots in the win, including a couple incredible saves in overtime to keep the K-Wings in it. He followed that with a pair in the shootout to secure the victory for the K-Wings.
Kalamazoo opened the scoring with a power play goal by Mason McCarty, who deflected in a one-time shot from the right circle by Brandon Saigeon off the initial feed from Justin Murray at the 8:05 mark of the second.
Iowa answered with a goal late in the period to send the game into the final frame tied, 1-1.
Then in the third, Darby Llewellyn scored his first goal as a K-Wing, stuffing in a rebound from a Max Humitz blast from the blue line to regain the lead. Ryan Cook earned the second assist.
Kalamazoo struck again just 5:42 later as Raymond Brice streaked down the right side and sent the puck into the net. The play was originally ruled a save, but was overturned upon video review. Justin Taylor and Matheson Iacopelli assisted on the goal.
The Heartlanders responded with two goals in just 38 seconds, from the 14:19 mark til the 14:57 mark of the third, to force overtime where neither team scored. Cormier made six stops in the extra frame to send the contest to a shootout.
Saigeon and Taylor both scored on their shootout attempts, and Cormier stopped both Iowa tries to earn Kalamazoo its second road victory. The K-Wings power play unit was 1-2, marking the seventh time in 10 games that Kalamazoo has scored with a man advantage this season.
The K-Wings host the Heartlanders this Wednesday at 7:00 p.m at Wings Event Center.
Broadcast time on 590/106.9 WKZO is 6:35 pm.
THIS REPORT WRITTEN BY CHRIS CADEAU, VOICE OF THE KALAMAZOO WINGS
