KALAMAZOO, Mich. – According to many rumors, tomorrow might be the end of the world. For the Kalamazoo Wings, this rumor plays a symbolic role after losing Game Four of the best-of-seven Kelly Cup Finals series. The 7-5 loss to
Photo by Larry Burdick
“You play as hard as you can. You can’t save it for anything because there’s no reason to have anything left in the tank if it’s your last game– whether it’s the last game of your career or last game of the season,” Kalamazoo alternate captain Sam Ftorek said.
The Aces scored five unanswered goals in the first period, creating a hole too large for Kalamazoo to climb out of.
“We came out flat. We came out soft,” Ftorek said. “They came out to win it and we kind of sat back and watched for the first [period]. Five goals is hard to come back from.”
Not that they didn’t try.
Kalamazoo outscored the Aces 4-2 in the finals two periods, creating an unhappy locker room on both ends of the ice.
“I’m happy that we got the win and that we’re one win away from an opportunity that we’ve talked about, but I’m obviously a little disappointed in the way we finished,” Aces Head Coach Brent Thompson said. “I thought human nature set in when we got up by five and I thought it was a tale of two different hockey teams.”
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Despite the final two periods of the game, Kalamazoo Head Coach Nick Bootland was even more frustrated.
“We didn’t match the intensity that they came out to play with. We knew they were going to be acclimated to the ice surface and the time change. We knew they were going to play with more energy,” he said. “There’s a difference between doing things quickly and hurrying to do thing. We hurried too much and tried to force things and didn’t keep things simple.”
“There were glimpses of our gameplan in the second and third period. When we did that we seemed to have some sustained pressure but it’s not an easy game to play for us.”
Aces forward Tyler Ruegsegger scored two goals and added an assist to lead his team and grab first star honors.
“I was happy with the game. It was one of those things, first shot was a screen and happened to go in and second shot went in for me. That’s why you play the sport. Some nights go your way, some nights are better than others,” Ruegsegger said.
Ruegsegger opened the scoring for the Aces just over two-minutes into the
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Forwards Wes Goldie and Curtis Fraser scored 22 seconds apart to put Kalamazoo in an early three-goal deficit that deflated the raucous home team crowd. Mark Isherwood and Daryl Boyle also added goals for Alaska in the period.
“We just tried to compete hard and we were fortunate to come away with the win,” Ruegsegger said. “I think we had a good start and that was a big important aspect. We had a good start and a couple of our shots went in and we have to carry that into tomorrow.”
Kory Karlander led the way for Kalamazoo, scoring two goals and adding an assist. He struck early in the second period to pull the K-Wings within three goals and re-energize the crowd. His second tally of the night with 3:23 left in the game created a similar momentum boost, but the K-Wings couldn’t finish off the miracle comeback.
Andrew Fournier, Aaron Clarke, and Dean Strong also added goals for the K-Wings.
Nie made 12 saves on 17 shots in the first period before giving way to backup goaltender Riley Gill. It was the first game-action in the playoffs for Gill.
“We just shot,” Ruegsegger said about beating Ryan Nie. “Sometimes they go in more than they don’t.”
Aces goaltender Gerald Coleman made 30 saves.
Alaska knows that while tomorrow might not necessarily be their last day on Earth, it’s a different story for Kalamazoo.
Photo by Larry Burdick
“You can’t look too far ahead against a great hockey team like Kalamazoo. You have to respect the game and just play one shift at a time,” he said. “The final game is always the hardest game to win and we have to be prepared for a battle. That’s a great hockey team over there and they’re going to be ready. We just have to match that readiness.”
Contact the writer: Ryan.Loren@ProHockeyNews.com Contact the photographer at Larry.Burdick@prohockeynews.com
