Kalamazoo Wings vs. Evansville IceMen
Ford Center – Jan. 18, 2013 – 7:15 p.m.
COACH’S CORNER – KALAMAZOO WINGS: http://bit.ly/10muJtb
The Evansville IceMen (15-22-4; 34) host another fellow North Division contingent on Friday night when the Kalamazoo Wings (16-19-3; 35) make their fourth appearance at the Ford Center. The IceMen come into tonight’s game with hopes of vindicating a lopsided loss in Kalamazoo on Jan. 5 and leapfrogging the Wings for fourth place in the division. The Wings, losing three of their last four games, look to get back on track against an Evansville squad that has gone (4-2-1) in January. The IceMen are (2-3-1) against the Wings this season.
LAST RESULT:
EVA: Wednesday, Jan. 16- L vs. Ft. Wayne, 1-0
Game Sheet: http://echl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=10063
Brief Recap: The Evansville IceMen dropped the first decision of a three-game home stand on Wednesday as the Ft. Wayne Komets prevailed in a heavily defensed contest. The loss is just the first in the last four home games for the IceMen while the Komets have now won five of its last six away games with their only setback coming in Evansville one week ago.
The defensive struggle took to the midway point of the final period when Ft. Wayne Forward Mike Hoban broke the scoreless tie, scoring the only goal of the game for either team on Wednesday night. Hoban’s third goal of the season came 9:59 into the third period and was assisted by Ft. Wayne Center Eric Giosa. Scoring the game-winning goal paved the way to a second star of the game honor for Hoban against the IceMen.
IceMen Goaltender Paul Karpowich went save-for-save with Ft. Wayne Goaltender Ken Reiter for the majority of the game, but ultimately took the loss despite saving 25-of-26 shots faced, equalling a .962 save percentage. Karpowich represented the IceMen as the third star of the game despite declining his record to (6-8-2) on the season.
KAL: Wednesday, Jan. 16- L vs Elmira, 2-1
Game Sheet: http://echl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=10062
LAST MEETING:
Saturday, Jan. 5- EVA 3 @ KAL 7
Game Sheet: http://echl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=10009
Brief Recap: After being on the receiving end of four middle period goals on Friday, the Evansville IceMen fell victim to four consecutive special teams goals by the Kalamazoo Wings on Saturday. The abundance of second period penalties ultimately denied the IceMen the opportunity to break even with the Wings in the North Division standings.
Kalamazoo Forward Eric Kattelus had another strong performance against the IceMen on Saturday night as he was a part of five of the Wings’ seven goals. Kattelus scored two goals and dished out three assists on his way to the game’s first star honor. The Kalamazoo forward now has 13 goals on the season with seven of those triumphs coming against the IceMen.
Kattelus’ efforts overshadowed another presumptuous effort by IceMen Left Winger Wade MacLeod, who accounted for two of Evansville’s three tallies against the Wings. MacLeod struck for the game’s initial goal 8:20 into the first period, giving the IceMen their first lead in the opening interval. IceMen Right Winger Kevin Baker and Center Todd Robinson assisted on MacLeod’s first of two goals.
EVA Leading Scorers:
LW Josh Beaulieu- 34pts. (15G,19A)
C Todd Robinson- 32pts. (2G,30A)
C Nathan Moon- 26pts. (12G,14A)
LW Dylan Clarke- 26pts. (12G,14A)
KAL Scoring Leaders:
LW Aaron Clarke- 29pts. (13G,16A)
D Sam Ftorek- 23pts. (3G,20A)
F Nick Sirota- 21pts. (11G,10A)
D Elgin Reid- 19pts. (5G,14A)
THE NUMBERS:
EVA is (10-10-3) vs North Division opponents
KAL is (13-12-3) vs North Division opponents
EVA is (4-5-1)9 in their last 10 games
KAL is (5-5-0)10 in their last 10 games
EVA is (10-13-0) at home
KAL is (10-10-0) on road
ECHL Today: http://echl.com/echl-today-jan-18-p181381
Wings Goaltender Joel Martin is tied for third in the ECHL with 14 wins.
Left Winger Josh Beaulieu leads the IceMen with 15 goals and 34 points.
Kalamazoo is the league’s second-least penalized team (13.13 PIMS/gm).
Evansville is (13-2-3) when leading after two periods.
