Iowa readies for pre-Thanksgiving showdown against Wings

Kalamazoo, MI – The Iowa Heartlanders and Kalamazoo Wings rematch Wednesday at 6:00 p.m. at Wings Event Center, kicking off back-to-back road games in a busy week for Iowa. The Heartlanders play four games over the next five days in three cities, culminating with two straight at home Saturday and Sunday at Xtream Arena against Cincinnati.Iowa (1-7-1-1) visits Kalamazoo (4-5-1-0) Wednesday, Indy Friday and hosts the Cyclones twice to finish up the weekend.The teams played each other Sunday at Xtream Arena and Iowa forced overtime with goals on consecutive shifts 38 seconds apart from Matt Murphy and Yuki Miura in the game’s final five minutes. Kalamazoo then won in the shootout, 4-3. That two-goal comeback marked the first time this season Iowa got at least a point when trailing by two or more in a game.The Heartlanders have points in three of four games (1-1-1-1), while Kalamazoo has alternated wins and losses in their last four (2-2-0-0).Broadcast Coverage: Watch on flohockey.tv. Listen on mixlr.com/goheartlanders  Affiliates: Iowa Heartlanders (Minnesota Wild/Iowa Wild) | Kalamazoo Wings (Columbus Blue Jackets/Cleveland Monsters)Signs of a turnaroundThe Heartlanders and opponents have each scored 17 goals over Iowa’s last four games, allowing the Landers to earn a point in three of the four contests. In each of the last two games, Iowa has scored at least a goal in the third period to secure a point. Sunday against Kalamazoo, Matt Murphy and Yuki Miura notched goals 38 seconds apart to force OT after Iowa fell behind, 3-1, in the final half of the period.Kozlowski & Kaczperski back as a tandemIowa’s acquisition of Trevin Kozlowski last week allowed the team to reunite “Koz & Kaz,” last season’s goaltending tandem of Kozlowski and Corbin Kaczperski. Trevin won the 2022 ECHL Community Service award with the Heartlanders for his work in the eastern Iowa community, including volunteering his time to Salute to Fallen and the VA Hospital in Iowa City. On the ice, Kozlowski and Kaczperski combined for 19 of the team’s 27 wins in the club’s inaugural season.Point streaks still goingBoth Michael Pastujov (assist) and Matt Murphy (goal) got points Sunday vs. Kalamazoo, meaning each has registered a point in each of their first five Heartlanders games. The point streaks are the longest by any Heartlanders player this season.Pastujov generated four straight multi-point games to start his professional career, then jumpstarted the team’s come-from-behind effort in the third period Sunday vs. Kalamazoo, taking the secondary assist on Murphy’s goal.Murphy is rapidly approaching his career-best for points in an ECHL season. Last year he had 14 (5g) in 21 games as a second-year pro with Fort Wayne.Upcoming home games and ticket information.The Heartlanders are set to begin a three-game home stand with Military Appreciation Night, presented by GreenState Credit Union vs. Cincinnati on Sat., Nov. 26 at 7:05 p.m. The Heartlanders host Cincinnati again on Sun., Nov. 27 at 2:05 p.m., with a special postgame skate presented by The Family Dental Center. On Wed., Nov. 30 at 7:05 p.m., Iowa hosts Kansas City in a game presented by Mercy Iowa City. View the team’s full promotional schedule at iowaheartlanders.com/promotions. Single-game tickets, group ticket options, partial plans and season ticket memberships are available for Heartlanders home games at Xtream Arena.  Call 319-569-GOAL or visit iowaheartlanders.com/tickets for more information.