WHEELING, WV – The Kalamazoo Wings (6-9-2-0) scored early and never trailed Saturday in a 4-1 win over the Wheeling Nailers (8-7-4-0) in the final game of a five-game road trip at WesBanco Arena.
The K-Wings scored first for the first time on the road this season when Yannick Veilleux won a battle from the right wing position off of an offensive zone face-off and shoveled a backhander past Alex D’Orio while falling down. Wheeling tied the score at 1-1 with 1:43 left in the opening from on a wrist shot from Ryan Scarfo in the right circle, but Adam Dauda capped off a transition rush with his second goal of the season just 48 seconds later to put Kalamazoo up 2-1 after one.
A second period one-timer from Aaron Thow gave the K-Wings a 3-1 lead on their first power play of the night. Jake Hildebrand stopped all 12 shots he faced in the frame and finished the game with 28 saves on 29 shots in the win.
Late in regulation, Matheson Iacopelli caught a head-man pass from Zach Frye and raced in on a breakaway, lifting a shot over D’Orio for the fourth K-Wings goal. The victory snapped a five-game skid and was Kalamazoo’s first road win of the season.
The K-Wings return home Sunday afternoon for a 3 p.m. game against the Fort Wayne Komets at Wings Event Center. The game is Kalamazoo’s annual Teddy Bear Toss, where fans can bring new teddy bears to throw on the ice when the K-Wings score their first goal. The team will then donate those teddy bears to Bronson Children’s Hospital.
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