KALAMAZOO , Mich. – The Kalamazoo Wings (5-3-2) missed out on a chance to tie for the North Division lead in a 3-1 loss to the Gwinnett Gladiators (8-2-2) on Friday night at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo. The Gladiators entered the game with the best record in league but were without leading scorers Derek Nesbitt and Ryan Garbutt who were called up to the AHL this week. Kalamazoo also sent forward Brandon Svendson to the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Nov. 7. The line of Svendson, Kory Karlander, and Jordan Fulton had been Kalamazoo’s top line through the first nine games of the season, with Karlander and Svendson combining for 30 points in those nine games. “Our other lines weren’t contributing as much as we needed,” Coach Nick Bootland said. “We were probably going to make that switch anyway.” Karlander opened the scoring for Kalamazoo at 12:32 into the first period, with Gwinnett’s Ian McKenzie sitting in the penalty box for roughing. Karlander extended his point streak to 10 games and leads the Wings with 18 points. The Gladiators quickly responded just over a minute later with a goal from Will Colbert, his first goal of the season. Colbert also added an assist on Gwinnett’s second goal of the night. The Wings spent much of the first two periods hemmed into their own zone with many turnovers coming in the neutral zone and at the blue line. “We didn’t show up to compete. They have the best record in the league right now and we watched. We watched for a period and a half and tried to respond,” Bootland said. Gwinnett broke the 1-1 tie in the second period when foward Pat Galivan beat goaltender Ryan Nie over the right shoulder with a quick snapshot. Through two periods, the Gladiators outshot the Wings 20-12. “When things seem to go wrong, guys seem to just keep their mouth shut and go through the motions,” team captain Wes O’Neill said. The Wings spent the second intermission trying to “wake up,” Bootland said. “That’s one thing I try to tell them: Guys relax, get back to the basics, we’re a good team and just go out there and have fun. It’ll come,” O’Neill said. Both Bootland and O’Neill felt the team played better in the third period, even as the Gladiators changed their game plan. “They were right up in our face all night,” Bootland said, “And the last nine minutes they backed off and let us come to them to make it very difficult.” After failing to convert on a late power play, the Wings pulled goalie Ryan Nie with just over a minute left to play. The Wings failed to convert with the extra man and Galivan intercepted a pass from Wings’ forward Sam Ftorek in the neutral zone to ice the game with the empty net goal. The Wings continue their three-game homestand against the Toledo Walleye Saturday night, before taking on the division-leading Wheeling Nailers Sunday afternoon. “There’s nothing I can tell these guys that they probably don’t know already,” O’Neill said. “We just have to make sure we come ready to compete.”
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