KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The party atmosphere was going strong as the Wings Stadium crowd cheered their K-Wings to victory on opening night. This year there are ten returning players to the cast that won the North Division and Eastern Conference crowns in 2010-11. Coach Nick Bootland has crafted a winning tradition in this western Michigan city and shows no signs of slowing down now. This was a primarily defensive battle, as the visiting Cincinnati Cyclones provided a worthy opponent in this tilt. The opening stanza offered both squads a chance to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the other. Veteran Wings net minder Riley Gill showed the same strong skill set that propelled the team to the finals last season. Gill stoned the ‘Clones shooters throughout the period. For the first 15:40, both teams failed to penetrate the opposition net. Kalamazoo scored first on a hard shot by Brandon Svendsen that flew past Cyclones goalie Chet Pickard. There were some hard hits, as both teams battled ferociously to gain dominance over the other. This delighted the home crowd as they screamed for more every time the hard checking Wings rattled the glass with a Cyclones player. By the end of the first, Gill had stymied the Cincinnati efforts to put the biscuit in the basket. The Cyclones managed to tie the score in the second period, on a goal by Garrett Wilson that he slipped past Gill at the 9:56 mark. This was the Cyclones first shorthanded goal of the season and came while team mate Adam Comrie sat in the sin bin for delay of game. The score remained knotted at one apiece for the rest of the period in spite of power play opportunities by both sides. The third period began and both squads tried mightily to gain the edge, when Svendsen struck again with a shot off of the crossbar that crossed the line, giving the K-Wings a 2-1 advantage and the game winning goal. The Cyclones tried furiously to knot the score in the final minutes of the contest. Despite their efforts with a man advantage, Wings center Kory Karlander tallied an empty netter to put the game out of the Ohioans reach. Contact the Author/photographer at Rob.Huelsman@prohockeynews.com
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