Wings successful in sudden death OT

KALAMAZOO , Mich. – “I didn’t want to have my ankles taken out and end up on my face. I was trying to save my life,” Kalamazoo Wings goaltender Ryan Nie said after Cincinnati Cyclones forward Brett Robinson slid full-speed under a leaping Nie.
         
In addition to opposing players, the Kalamazoo Wings (3-0-0) allowed two third period goals, forcing them into their second overtime game of the season. Both teams walked away with one point, but the Wings walked away with the win in a sudden-death shootout.
         
Kalamazoo controlled much of the play in first period, while Cincinnati (1-1-2) drew three penalties. The Wings cashed in once, netting a power play goal from Trent Daavettila at 14:31. The second and third periods were a different story as the momentum swung toward Cincinnati.
         
“You knew they were going to come back, you knew they were going to respond. They’re a championship organization, so you know how they’re going to come out,” Wings coach Nick Bootland said.
         
Rookie forward Sam D’Agostino scored two of Cincinnati’s three goals, with Robinson adding the tying tally early in the third period.
         
A long shot to make the team out of training camp, D’Agostino made an impression on the Cincinnati coaching staff after playing only one shift the previous night.
         
“Usually at this level everyone is working hard, so I just kind of brought what I thought I had to bring and it just ended up working out for me,” D’Agostino said.
         
D’Agostino nearly scored his first professional hat trick later in the period but was robbed by a sprawling Nie through a crowd.
         
“If they score you can’t worry about it. It’s something you have to put in the back of your head and forget about,” Nie said.
         
With four players per side, the overtime frame brought plenty of excitement, culminating with Wings defenseman Wes O’Neill clanging a shot off the crossbar as the crowd of 1,605 rose to their feet. Ultimately, the teams ended up in the shootout.
         
“It’s great for the goalies when you win, but when you lose, it all comes down to you,” Nie said.
         
The best-of-five shootout ended with all ten skaters failing to find the back of the net. Kalamazoo started the sudden round with defenseman Steven Tarasuk deking the puck through goalie Marc Cheverie. Cincinnati hoped to respond with Alternate Captain Scott Reynolds.
         
“All you can do is worry about the next shot and make a save,” Nie said.
         
Reynolds shot high glove side and Nie emphatically pulled the puck out of the air for the win.
         
Sunday’s game marked the birthday of Slappy, Kalamazoo’s winged mascot. The K-Wing’s players celebrated the event with special Slappy-adorned jerseys.
 
 
Wednesday – October 27:       KALAMAZOO-2     FLORIDA-3
         
The Kalamazoo Wings (3-1-0) hit the road on Wednesday, losing their first game of the season to the Florida Everblades (3-3-0).
         
Kory Karlander scored his fourth goal of the season, tying the game at two in the second period. He also added an assist on Jordan Fulton’s first period score. Karlander leads the Wings with four goals and five assists through the team’s first four games.
         
Florida forward Alexandre Imbeault scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season and leads the league in that category. Alex Hutchings scored the game winning goal at 13:20 of the third period in front of a home crowd of 3004 people.
         
Kalamazoo and Florida will face each other again in a two-game series starting Friday in Florida at 7:30 p.m.