Reading, PA. – A late third period tally from Colin Jacobs made the difference Friday night as the K-Wings topped the Royals 6-4 on Friday night.
Reid Gardiner netted a pair of points in his return to Kalamazoo after being reassigned on Thursday. Gardiner was one of three K-Wings to record a multi-point night. Netminder Ivan Kulbakov recorded a victory and an assist on Friday for the K-Wings. Tanner Sorenson netted his first point of the season in his first game since returning to the K-Wings.
The Kalamazoo power play got the K-Wings off to a fast start on Friday night in Reading with a pair of goals in less than two minutes. Wade Murphy opened the scoring 4:43 into regula.tion with his fifth goal of the season. Murphy’s shot from the right side found a way to the back of the net, beating Austin Lotz, and giving Kalamazoo the 1-0 lead. Shortly after the K-Wings found themselves on the man-advantage once again. Off a face-off Tanner Sorenson, in his first game since returning to Kalamazoo, put a shot on net with traffic in front. Perched on the door-step Zach Saar tipped the puck, giving the K-Wings a 2-0 lead. Before the end of the period the lead would be expanded once again. With the teams playing four-on-four hockey Reid Gardiner made a quick impact in his return to Kalamazoo. Ben Wilson dropped the puck to Gardiner, who blasted a one-timer past Lotz, pushing the lead to 3-0. Kalamazoo finished the first period scoring three goals on seven shots.
In the middle frame the Royals cut into the K-Wing lead, outscoring Kalamazoo 3-1 in the period. Breaking in from the blue line, Michael Huntebrinker took a wrist shot that just squeezed through the arm of Ivan Kulbakov, getting the Royals on the board. Midway through the period the K-Wings pushed the lead back to three. Tyler Ganly’s slap shot from the point went through traffic sneaking past Lotz, giving Kalamazoo the 4-1 lead. Reading picked up a pair of goals in the last ten minutes of the period with tallies from Josh McDonald and Frank DiChiara, cutting the lead to 4-3 after forty minutes of play.
Reading knotted the game up just over midway through the third period. Steven Swavely capitalized on a turnover in front of the Kalamazoo net. With the score knotted up the K-Wings struck once more. After Lotz foiled a two-on-one Colin Jacobs cleaned up the rebound in front of the net, putting the puck into a nearly empty cage, giving the K-Wings the lead. Kalamazoo would add an empty net tally from Justin Taylor, skating away with a 6-4 victory.
Ivan Kulbakov stopped 36 of 40 shots in the victory and added an assist on the K-Wings empty net goal. Kalamazoo finished the night two-for-four on the man-advantage.
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