KALAMAZOO, MI— The Kalamazoo Wings, led by five players with multi-point nights, raced past the Utah Grizzlies, 5-3, on Tuesday at Wings Event Center.
Getting the Wings on the board first, Charlie Vasaturo connected for his fourth tally of the season, early in the opening frame. Creating time and space, Vasaturo found himself alone near the left circle and received a tape-to-tape pass from Alex Mallet, 
allowing Vasaturo to lift the puck to the far post, over the glove of Mark Owuya.
Brett Ponich extended Kalamazoo’s lead to 2-0 at the 11:49 mark of the first period, giving the Wings their first two-goal lead of the three-game series. Cory Pritz saucered a pass to the stick of Ponich, who waited until traffic developed in front of Owuya, and picked the top corner, over the glove of the screened netminder.
Cutting their deficit in half, the Grizzlies responded with a power play strike in the closing stages of the first period. Charles Sarault found Bryan Moore at the right circle, where he walked in on Joel Martin, and lifted the puck over the blocker of the Wings’ goaltender.
With just 2:14 left to play in the middle frame, the Wings extended their lead to 3-1. Operating on their fifth power play of the night, Evan McEneny put the puck in the wheelhouse of Tyler Shattock, who one-timed a shot past Owuya.
Energized from the previous tally, Kalamazoo continued to push the play through the early portion of the third period. Ludwig Blomstrand camped out at the far circle, found the loose puck and slid an innocent wrister through the pads of Owuya, giving the Wings a game-high three goal lead.
Not willing to go away quietly, the Grizzlies cut the Wings’ lead to 4-2 later in the frame. Mike Ratchuk let loose a rocket that hit the crossbar, landed down behind Martin, and squeaked out to Ryan Hayes who potted the easy rebound chance.
Kalamazoo once again extended their lead to three goals, courtesy of their eighth shorthanded tally of the season. Blomstrand took advantage of an errant pass from the Grizzlies, creating a two-on-one opportunity with Shattock. Blomstrand rifled a wrist shot on Owuya that was kicked directly to the tape of Shattock, who buried his second of the night.
Utah continued to push the play and clawed their way back to within two with six minutes left to play in the game. Jon Puskar took a shot from below the goal line and found just enough space between the shoulder of Martin and the goalpost. The tally would be as close as the Grizzlies would get, giving the Wings a 5-3 victory.
Next: Kalamazoo vs. Norfolk- Friday, March 11, 7 p.m., Wings Event Center.
Notes: Lane Scheidl had his point streak stopped at four games. Shattock has netted two shorthanded markers this season. The Wings finished the season series with the Grizzlies by posting a 2-1-0 mark. Kalamazoo are 8-2-0 in their last ten games.
With K-Wings game report
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