Kalamazoo Wings

The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan. A member of the ECHL's Western Conference, Central Division,[1] they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Event Center. They are the affiliate of the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League and Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League.

For the K-Wings franchise that played in the original IHL, see Kalamazoo Wings (1974–2000).

Kalamazoo Wings
2019–20 ECHL season
City	Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States
League	ECHL
Conference	Western
Division	Central
Founded	1999 (in the UHL)
Home arena	Wings Event Center
Colors	Red, white, blue
Owner(s)	William D. Johnston
Head coach	Nick Bootland
Media	WQLR Kalamazoo Gazette
Affiliates	Vancouver Canucks (NHL) Utica Comets (AHL)
Franchise history
1999–2000	Madison Kodiaks
2000–present	Kalamazoo Wings
Championships
Regular season titles	1 UHL 2005–06
Division Championships	1 UHL 2005–06 4 ECHL 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14
Conference Championships	2 UHL 2005–06, 2006–07 1 ECHL 2010–11
Colonial Cups	1 UHL 2005–06
Kelly Cups	0 ECHL

Kalamazoo is home to the "Green Ice Game". Played since 1982 on St. Patrick's Day, it is one of the most celebrated games in minor league hockey. The team has sought to duplicate the game's success with the Pink Ice Game (Valentine's Day), the Orange Ice Game (Halloween).

History

On road October 2012 vs. Toledo Walleye.

The team began in the 1999–2000 season as the United Hockey League's Madison Kodiaks in Madison, Wisconsin. After one season in Madison, the franchise moved to Kalamazoo, where it renamed itself the Wings in honor of the original Wings that had played in the International Hockey League from 1974 through 2000. The new Wings obtained the right to use the old Wings' name and logo, as well as using the original team's history as its own.[2]

The K-Wings played in the UHL from October 2000 until June 1, 2009, when they withdrew because of concerns that the league, which had renamed itself the International Hockey League in 2007, might go bankrupt. Eight days later, the K-Wings joined the ECHL. From September 13, 2012 until the end of the 2014–15 season, the Wings had an affiliation with the American Hockey League's Chicago Wolves.[3][4] They were also affiliated with the National Hockey League's Columbus Blue Jackets and Vancouver Canucks as well as their AHL affiliates the Springfield Falcons and Utica Comets, respectively.[5]

Prior to the 2015–16 season, the ECHL required teams to only have one official NHL/AHL affiliate, leading to the K-Wings only keeping their Columbus affiliation and the Blue Jackets' new AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. They ended their affiliation with the Blue Jackets after one season and affiliated with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Syracuse Crunch for the 2016–17 season.[2] They changed again for the 2017–18 season to the Canucks and Comets, their previous affiliates for several seasons.[6]

Season records

Season	GP	W	L	T/OTL	Pts	GF	GA	Pct	Regular Season Finish	Playoffs
United Hockey League
2000–01	74	37	31	6	80	220	220	.541	3rd Southwest, 9th of 15	Lost Play-in game vs. Muskegon Fury
2001–02	74	27	37	8	66	213	277	.446	6th Western, 11th of 14	Did not qualify
2002–03	76	29	39	8	66	210	282	.434	5th Western, 10th of 10	Did not qualify
2003–04	76	45	22	9	99	281	207	.651	4th Western, 4th of 12	Lost Quarterfinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 2–3
2004–05	80	50	24	6	100	257	204	.663	2nd Central, 3rd of 14	Lost Semifinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 3–4
2005–06	76	52	17	7	111	332	183	.730	1st Central, 1st of 14	Won Colonial Cup Final series vs. Danbury Trashers, 4–1
2006–07	76	47	23	6	100	251	191	.658	2nd Eastern, 4th of 10	Lost Colonial Cup Final series vs. Rockford IceHogs, 3–4
International Hockey League
2007–08	76	31	34	11	73	242	252	.480	5th of 6 IHL	Did not qualify
2008–09	76	44	29	3	91	274	253	.599	4th of 6 IHL	Lost Semifinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 3–4
ECHL
2009–10	72	42	20	10	94	273	243	.653	1st North, 3rd of 20	Lost Quarterfinal series vs. Reading Royals, 2–3
2010–11	72	40	24	8	88	255	225	.611	1st North, 4th of 19	Lost Kelly Cup Final series vs. Alaska Aces, 1–4
2011–12	72	38	26	8	84	264	237	.583	1st North, 8th of 20	Lost Eastern Conference Final series vs. Florida Everblades, 1–4
2012–13	72	34	30	8	76	205	215	.528	3rd North, 14th of 23	Did not qualify
2013–14	72	42	22	8	92	224	197	.639	1st North, 4th of 21	Lost Quarterfinal series vs. Greenville Road Warriors, 2–4
2014–15	72	36	30	6	78	226	233	.542	3rd North, 16th of 28	Lost Division Semifinal series vs. Fort Wayne Komets, 1–4
2015–16	72	38	28	6	82	233	230	.569	3rd North, 13th of 28	Lost Conference Quarterfinal series vs. South Carolina Stingrays, 1–4
2016–17	72	38	30	4	80	222	237	.556	4th Central, 15th of 27	Lost Division Semifinal series vs. Toledo Walleye, 3–4
2017–18	72	34	31	7	75	251	251	.521	5th Central, 16th of 27	Did not qualify
2018–19	72	36	31	5	77	229	254	.535	4th Central, 15th of 27	Lost Division Semifinal series vs. Cincinnati Cyclones, 2–4
2019–20	61	23	30	8	54	194	241	.443	5th Central, 22nd of 26	Season cancelled

Players

Current roster

Updated January 24, 2020.[7]

\

#	Nat	Player	Pos	S/G	Age	Acquired	Birthplace	Contract
10		Mathias Ahman	D	R	26	2019	Harnosand, Sweden	Wings
12		Matt Berry	RW	R	27	2020	Canton, Michigan	Wings
18		Kyle Blaney	F	R	28	2016	Burlington, Ontario	Wings
38		Cory Dunn	D	L	26	2019	Trenton, Michigan	Wings
9		Zach Diamantoni	F	R	25	2018	Belle Mead, New Jersey	Wings
8		Ian Edmondson	D	L	25	2019	Toronto, Ontario	Wings
11		Austin Farley	LW	L	26	2020	Park Ridge, Illinois	Wings
28		Tyler Ganly	D	R	25	2018	Mississauga, Ontario	Wings
29		Jake Hildebrand	G	L	27	2018	Butler, Pennsylvania	Wings
44		Matheson Iacopelli	F	L	26	2019	Brownstown, Michigan	Wings
15		Eric Kattelus	D	L	33	2011	Houghton, Michigan	Wings
27		Justin Kovacs	LW	L	28	2019	Grosse Pointe Woods, Michigan	Wings
20		Boston Leier (A)	F	L	27	2019	Saskatoon, Saskatchewan	Wings
5		Chad McDonald	F	L	27	2019	Battle Creek, Michigan	Wings
8		Spencer Naas	F	L	25	2020	St. Louis Park, Minnesota	Wings
65		Will Petschenig	D	L	25	2020	Manotick, Ontario	Wings
23		Garret Ross	LW	L	28	2019	Dearborn Heights, Michigan	Wings
21		Zach Saar	F	R	27	2018	Richland, Michigan	Wings
17		Luke Sandler	F	L	27	2018	Chicago, Illinois	Wings
13		Brennan Sanford	F	L	25	2019	Holt, Michigan	Wings
74		Tanner Sorenson	F	R	25	2018	Anchorage, Alaska	Wings
93		Justin Taylor (A)	F	L	31	2013	Mindemoya, Ontario	Wings
6		Matt VanVoorhis	D	L	27	2019	Edina, Minnesota	Wings
14		Ben Wilson (C)	D	R	29	2013	Calgary, Alberta	Wings

Retired numbers

• #1 Georges Gagnon[8]
• #22 Mike Wanchuk
• #26 Kevin Schamehorn[8]

Team records

Kalamazoo Wings playing against the Chicago Express in 2011

Single season

Goals: 46 Nick Bootland (2007–08)

Assists: 70 Daniel Carriere (2005–06)

Points: 94 Kory Karlander (2007–08)

Penalty minutes: 344 Tyler Willis (2003–04)

GAA: 2.02 Ryan Nie (2006–07)

SV%: .929 Ryan Nie (2006–07)

Career

Career goals: 183 Kory Karlander (2004–13)

Career assists: 269 Kory Karlander (2004–13)

Career points: 452 Kory Karlander (2004–13)

Career penalty minutes: 1,463 Tyler Willis (2003–10)

Career goaltending wins: 152 Joel Martin (2004–15)

Career shutouts: 18 Joel Martin (2004–15)

Career games played: 468 Kory Karlander (2004–13)

References

1. "ECHL Announces Revisions to Divisional Alignment and Playoff Format". ECHL. October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 17, 2015.
2. "K-Wings Strike Deal to Become Tampa Bay Lightning Affiliate". OurSports Central. May 25, 2016.
3. "Wolves Enter Affiliation Agreement with Kalamazoo". Chicago Wolves. September 13, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2012.
4. "Wolves Extend Affiliation with Kalamazoo". Chicago Wolves. August 19, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
5. "Kalamazoo renews affiliation with Vancouver and signs new agreement with Columbus". Kalamazoo Wings. August 20, 2014. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
6. "Kalamazoo Wings enter affiliation agreement with Vancouver Canucks". MLive. July 12, 2017.
7. ":: Kalamazoo Wings playing Roster". Kalamazoo Wings. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
8. "WINGS TO RETIRE PAIR OF NUMBERS". Kalamazoo Wings. September 24, 2018. Retrieved January 22, 2019.

External links

Media related to Kalamazoo Wings at Wikimedia Commons

• Kalamazoo Wings Official Website