K-Wings to meet Florida Everblades in Round One

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo Wings kick off the first round of the 2011 Kelly Cup playoffs Tuesday night against the Florida Everblades after an up-and-down season. The K-Wings clinched the North Division for the second time in their two-year history in the ECHL. The team finished with a 40-24-2-6 record, good for first place in the North Division and third place overall in the Eastern Conference. On the other side of the ice, the Everblades finished the season with a 37-30-1-4 record, which dropped them to third South Division and sixth overall in the Eastern Conference.Despite their relative lack of success, the Everblades played winning hockey against the K-Wings all year. In five games against the K-Wings, the Everblades compiled a 4-1-0 record. With one game going to overtime, the K-Wings have a 1-3-1 record against Florida this season. Kalamazoo enters the playoffs after winning their last two games of the regular season. The K-Wings beat the Elmira Jackals 4-1 in their regular season finale and shutout the Cincinnati Cyclones 5-0 on April Fool’s Day. The Everblades enter the playoffs on a two-game streak of their own, dropping their final two contests before the playoffs. A weekend series against the South Carolina Stingrays resulted in a 5-4 loss on April 1 and a 2-1 shootout loss on April 2.Kalamazoo forward Kory Karlander leads the K-Wings in scoring against the Everblades this season with five points (2g, 3a). Karlander finished tied for first in scoring on the team, with forward Trent Daavettila. Both skaters finished with 80 points. Karlander’s 34 goals ranked second on the team, behind forward Andrew Fournier (38). Forward Francis Lemieux, called up to the AHL in February, led the way for Florida against the K-Wings. His nine points (4g, 5a) will be hard to replace in the line-up. Forward Matt Beca leads all active players against Kalamazoo this season with four points (2g, 2a) The Everblades have never failed to make the playoffs in their 13-year history in the ECHL. Overall, the team is 55-51 in the ECHL playoffs. Kalamazoo made the playoffs their first year in the league last season, after winning the North Division crown for the first time. The K-Wings were ousted in the first round, going 2-3 against the Reading Royals.This will be Florida Head Coach Greg Poss’s first trip to the Kelly Cup playoffs and Kalamazoo Head Coach Nick Bootland’s second turn. Both hope to add another bullet point to their impressive coaching resumes. The first game of the series is Tuesday night in Florida. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. The second game will be in Florida on Wednesday night at the same time. The series then moves to Kalamazoo on Friday, for game three and, if needed, games four and five on Saturday and Monday, respectively. Contact the writer at Ryan.Loren@prohockeynews.com All photos by Larry Burdick (Larry.Burdick@prohockeynews.com)