Dispatches from the Kalamazoo Wings: November 8

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – In an important weekend against two rivals, the Toledo Walleye and the Fort Wayne Komets, the Kalamazoo Wings split the series, tightening up on the second half of their back-to-back games.

Both games followed the loss of Peter Schneider, who has chosen to return to play in Austria. The 26-year-old winger has been consistent on offence since he was acquired via trade from the Florida Everblades last year. He was on an active point streak of 19 games, dating back to March 5^th. Throughout March, he tallied 22 points in 14 games to earn the title of ECHL Player of the Month. In five games so far this season, he already totalled seven points.

Losing Schneider was a huge loss, but it’s not the only roster change dealt to the Wings this week. When Thatcher Demko was called up to the Vancouver Canucks, the Utica Comets needed another goaltender, pulling Michael Garteig to the AHL. The Wings added Dave Desander as an emergency back up goalie. Kyle Bushee also made his return to the lineup, after missing one game due to a minor leg injury.

Joel Martin was between the pipes as the Wings faced the Walleye in Toledo on Saturday. Lane Scheidl opened scoring just nineteen seconds in, off a rebound from Danny Moynihan. It would be the only lead for the Wings, as Tyler Barnes tied it up six minutes later. Before the end of the first, Toledo struck again, as A.J. Jenks put the Walleye up 2-1 on the power play.

Christian Hilbrich made good on a breakaway opportunity in the second, extending the Walleye’s lead. Just a few minutes later, Jenks banked his second goal of the night for Toledo. In a late power play, Tyler Biggs was able to get a one-timer past, Pat Nagle, cutting the Walleye’s lead to 4-2 going into the third period.

The third period between these rivals was heated, with five minor penalties between the two teams. Just over halfway through the third, Tyler Barnes was assessed a five minute major and a game misconduct for slashing. It was a huge chance for the Wings to come back, but they couldn’t convert. Colin Martin sealed it for Toledo, tipping in a shot from Ryan Obuchowski.

This was the first time the Wings have lost on the road this season, but it was a fairly evenly matched game, with the Wings out-shooting Toledo 35-31.

Back on home ice the very next afternoon against the Fort Wayne Komets, the Wings set the tone early again. This time just 21 seconds in, when Josh Pitt buried a rebounded from Kyle Bushee. Late in the period, Aaron Irving was given a game misconduct for leaving the bench to fight Daniel Maggio. The one-two punch of Tyler Biggs to Danny Moynihan then put the Wings up by two. Biggs and Moynihan, along with Justin Taylor, are all scoring over a point-per-game rate, with Moynihan leading at 11 points in seven games since being sent down from Utica.

Garrett Thompson got Fort Wayne on the board with a power play goal in the second period, but Danny Moynihan answered back with a wrister less than two minutes later. Midway through the period, Artur Tyanulin kept the Komets in the game, scoring off his own rebound. Bobby Shea then gave the Wings an extended 5-on-3 power play, taking a double minor and misconduct for roughing while Jason Binkley was already in the box for slashing. Justin Taylor kept the wings’ two-point lead intact to close out the period.

The third third period didn’t start out great for the Wings; Justin Taylor broke up a play, but scored an own goal in the process, crediting Tyanulin with his second of the night. They refused to sit on their heels, though. Scott Henegar put in a slapshot to maintain the Wings’ lead, and Kyle Bushee tidied it up with an empty-netter from his own zone, the Wings winning it 6-3.

A rivalry weekend with that tight turn-around and travel expected to see the Wings struggle on the back end of the weekend. But getting handed the first road loss can’t have been easy on a team that knows they have to bring their best against every team every night. That put the pressure on them to beat out long-time rival, Fort Wayne.

Rivalries can bring out the best, and the worst and the Wings saw both of that this past weekend. With plenty of power play opportunities (five against Toledo and seven against Fort Wayne), but only one power play goal in each game, special teams are going to be a focus going forward.

As the season goes on, the loss of Schneider may become more of a detriment, but the Wings’ offence set a season-high against Fort Wayne for goals scored. There’s plenty of talent in Kalamazoo to offset the loss for now. The Wings will also see defenseman Ben Wilson return to the line up in three weeks, once he’s done serving his suspension for an incident in last year’s playoffs. It’s still early in the season, but the Wings are looking good for the long haul so far.