Heartlanders and K-Wings wrap up exciting season series

Kalamazoo, MI – The Iowa Heartlanders, proud ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild and Iowa Wild, seek their  play the Kalamazoo Wings for the 11th and final time this regular season Saturday at 6:00 p.m. at Wings Event Center. Each team has won five games in the series and Iowa has at least a point in eight of the first ten meetings (5-2-2-1 vs. KAL).The Heartlanders faced off at Toledo Friday and earned a 3-1 win, led by a 32-save effort from Hunter Jones. Tommy Parrottino scored his 20th goal of the season early in the second to tie the game and Marek Korenčik tallied his first pro goal to give Iowa a 2-1 advantage. Jake Durflinger scored halfway through the third to punctuate the effort.Kalamazoo took on Fort Wayne Friday at home and won, 4-3, their third win in the last four games.Saturday is the second game of a five-game road trip for the Heartlanders.The Heartlanders complete the weekend at Fort Wayne Sunday at 4:00 p.m.Broadcast Coverage: Watch online at flohockey.tv. Listen on mixlr.com/goheartlanders.Affiliates: Iowa Heartlanders (Minnesota Wild/Iowa Wild) | Kalamazoo Wings (Columbus Blue Jackets/Cleveland Monsters)Scouting KalamazooThe K-Wings currently sit six points ahead of Iowa in the Central Division, and one behind the Nailers for fifth.Kalamazoo has won three of their last four since dropping to Iowa, 2-0, on Mar. 19. That game against Iowa came last than a week after executing six trades at the ECHL trade deadline in mid-March.Newcomer Kobe Roth is the most-prolific points scorer among the new faces to come at the deadline; he has scored 3 goals and 27 points.Justin Taylor leads active K-Wings with 16 goals. Should he finish as the team’s goals leader, it would be the fourth time he tops Kalamazoo in goals and first time since 2019-20. He’s also aiming to reach the 20-goal mark for the 9th time in his career.Season SeriesThe Heartlanders are 5-2-2-1 in the season series, meaning the club has at least a point in eight of the first ten matchups. Iowa is on a five-game point streak in the series (4-0-1-0). Over those five games, Iowa has outscored Kalamazoo, 16-9.Zach White has a series-best five goals and is tied with Tyler Busch, James Sanchez, Yuki Miura and Nolan Orzeck for a team-high seven points against Kalamazoo.K-Wings forward Brandon Saigeon has scored a quarter of his points this season against Iowa (9 points in 10 series games) and is best among all skaters with seven assists.Hunter Jones is 4-1-1-0 in head-to-head meetings and secured a 31-save shutout on Mar. 11, his first in the ECHL and second in team history. He has allowed 13 goals in six appearances vs. the Wings (2.16 GAA, .926 sv. %). Mitch Benson has not faced Kalamazoo yet.In the other crease, Evan Cormier is 4-3-0-0 with a 2.84 goals against average and .906 save percentage. Hunter Vorva is 1-1-1-0 against Iowa this season (8 GA in 4 games).Making sense of the last two monthsThe Heartlanders completed March with five wins, tied for the team’s second-winningest month of the regular season. Iowa has racked up ten wins combined since the start of February, helping the team stay with other teams in the Western Conference.The positive change has come for a few notable reasons: Zach White is in the league’s top-20 in points (25) since the start of February, which accounts for 75% of his points production. Rookie defenseman Nolan Orzeck has generated 16 helpers and 19 points in the last two months and leads the team in assists (25). Additionally, Hunter Jones has nine of the 11 wins to go along with a 2.78 goals against average and .916 save percentage since the start of February.Even more remarkable, Iowa has made this turnaround without a group of notable contributors in the first half; the team has had eight injuries and five call-ups for most of the last two months.  Upcoming home games and ticket informationView the team’s full promotional schedule at iowaheartlanders.com/promotions. The Heartlanders final three home games of the season take place Wednesday, Apr. 12, Friday, Apr. 14 and Saturday, Apr. 15 vs. the rival Wheeling Nailers. On Apr. 12 at 7:05 p.m., it’s a Wednesday night matchup presented by Mercy Iowa City. On Apr. 14-15, it’s fan appreciation weekend, with puck drops both nights at 7:05 p.m. The game on Apr. 14 is presented by United Iowa Financial. On Apr. 15, we’re extending stick tapes to our fans with a jam-packed final home game of the regular season, including a game-worn jersey auction, player card giveaway presented by Iowa City Area Sports Commission and a fanbango giveaway presented by Steindler Orthopedic Clinic.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.Tickets are available for all Heartlanders home games by visiting iowaheartlanders.com/tickets. Find the full promotional schedule at iowaheartlanders.com/promotions