CORALVILLE, IA (WKZO AM/FM) – The Kalamazoo Wings (23-30-4-0) took the lead twice early against the Iowa Heartlanders (15-30-12-1) on Saturday, but ultimately fell 5-3 at Xtream Arena.
Justin Taylor (14) got the K-Wings going in a hurry, scoring just 34 seconds in on the first shot of the game. Mason McCarty (12) sent the puck to Taylor with a wide-open slot as the Heartlanders got caught in a shift change. Taylor then went backhand to forehand for the goal, and Justin Murray (21) earned the secondary assist.
Iowa responded quickly, however, also scoring on its first shot at the 1:04 mark.
Kurt Gosselin (5) pushed the K-Wings back out on top, scoring on the power play at the 8:15 mark of the first. Gosselin played catch with Brandon Saigeon (24) before blasting the one-timer into the net. Olivier LeBlanc (8) collected the secondary assist.
The Heartlanders bounced back with two goals in the second period, the first on the power play at the 3:07 mark and the second to take the lead at the 15:23 mark. Iowa struck again to make it 4-2 at the 4:09 mark of the third.
Max Humitz (14) then scored to bring the K-Wings back within one at the 6:29 mark, stopping a shot by Murray (22) with his skate in the left circle and sending it into the net before the Iowa defense could react. Collin Saccoman (10) picked up the secondary assist.
Iowa finished the scoring in the game with an empty-net goal at the 18:22 mark of the third period.
Evan Cormier (8-17-3-0) made several fantastic stops to keep Kalamazoo in the game, finishing with 23 saves on 27 shots faced.
The K-Wings head back home to face the Fort Wayne Komets (29-21-4-2) on ‘Green Ice’ Friday at 7:00 p.m. EST 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
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