Kalamazoo, MI- Starting the preseason, the Kalamazoo Wings lost 5-0 to the Toledo Walleye Friday night at Wings Stadium.

The first period of the preseason debut for the K-Wings was filled with physical play as the teams combined for 19 hits in the first. Toledo would be the first and only team to strike in the opening period. Bryan Rufenach notched his first tally of the preseason when he jammed the puck past Kalamazoo rookie goaltender, Ryan Carroll. Carroll, a Harvard graduate, was making his first professional start.

Toledo extended their lead in the second period with a tally from Kevin Harvey (1^st). Harvey, who had an assist in the opening period, deflected a Harrison Reed wrist shot past Carroll 2:21 into the period.

Midway into the period, Kalamazoo would do the customary preseason switch of goaltenders bringing in Jared DeMichiel at the 8:11 mark of the stanza. Carroll finished the night allowing 2 goals on 13 shots playing 32:49.

To finish out the period, DeMichiel stopped both shots he faced.

While the transition into the game for DeMichiel went smooth, the start of the third period didn’t go as well. Toledo started the final stanza striking three times in a span of 1:37, including the final two goals in 16 seconds.

Dave Gilbert (1^st) struck 1:44 into the period on a wrister from the slot. Moments later, Andrei Nestrasil pushed in a rebound past DeMichiel for his first and to extend the Walleye lead to 4-0.

Toledo closed out the scoring 16 seconds later with a blue line slap shot from Kyle Page (1^st).

The Walleye had a great opportunity to add a sixth goal on the scoreboard late in the game with a penalty shot from Paul Zanette. Zanette skated in but lost control of the puck before and never got off his shot.

DeMichiel finished the nights stopping nine shots, while Toledo’s Carter Hutton was the star of the game saving all 39 shots he faced.

Kalamazoo couldn’t capitalize on the power-play, going 0-for-10 with the man-advantage, while Toledo was just as ineffective going 0-for-3 on the night.

For Game Stats: http://echl.com/stats/official-game-report.php?game_id=9518

The K-Wings will conclude the preseason tomorrow night with a 5 p.m. encounter at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio against the Walleye.

Kalamazoo will open the regular season at Wings Stadium versus the Cincinnati Cyclones with a 7:30 p.m. face-off on Saturday, October 15^th. 

The K-Wings will host a FREE indoor pregame and postgame tailgate party with live music from Drop 35. Prior to face-off, the K-Wings will also raise their 2010-11 North Division and Eastern Conference Championship banners.

Single-game tickets for the upcoming 2011-2012 season are on sale at the Wings Stadium Ticket Office. Ticket Office hours are Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. For more information, please call Wings Stadium Ticket Office during regular business hours at (269) 345-5101.

Tickets for all K-Wings home games are $12.90 and $16.90 for adults and only $6.90 for kids ages 12 and under. The price for all K-Wings premium night games (all colored ice games and New Year’s Eve game) are just $1 more. Fans can save money by purchasing K-Wings single game tickets in advance because tickets purchased on the day of a game increase by $1. 

For more information about tonight’s game, please contact Mike Modugno, director of public relations and broadcaster at (269) 349-9772, extension 220.

-www.kwings.com-