Heartlanders in midst of back-to-back with Wings

Kalamazoo, MI – The Iowa Heartlanders, proud ECHL affiliate of the Minnesota Wild and Iowa Wild, play their second straight game at the Kalamazoo Wings Saturday at 6:00 p.m.

This is the second time this season Iowa and Kalamazoo are facing off multiple times in a week; the Heartlanders and Wings played three straight at Xtream Arena in November. 

Iowa is 4-1-0-0 in the season series vs. Kalamazoo and 1-1-0-0 at Wings Event Center. 

Friday, Ty Glover and Tanner Sorenson scored three goals each and the K-Wings rattled off three goals in a :27 span early in the second to beat Iowa, 10-3.

Kyle Masters and Chris Lipe scored their first professional goals in the defeat Friday.

The Heartlanders are tied for second in the Central Division with a 9-8-2-1 record (21 points). Kalamazoo is tied for sixth in the Central Division with 18 points (9-11-0-0 record).

Iowa is next at home for six straight games starting Friday, Dec. 15 against Toledo at 6:35 p.m. On Sat., Dec. 16 at 6:05 p.m., Iowa hosts Toledo for Teddy Bear Toss Night, pres. by DASH Auctions. The Heartlanders will wear specialty holiday jerseys available for auction on the DASH Auctions app. Fans are encouraged to bring Teddy Bears to throw on the ice after Iowa’s first goal, which will be donated to local charitable organizations helping those in need this holiday season. 

On Sun., Dec. 17 at 2:05 p.m., the Heartlanders take on Toledo for Elementary School Day, pres. by MidWestOne Bank. The day also features a postgame skate pres. by The Family Dental Center.

Get tickets for Heartlanders Home games: Iowaheartlanders.com/tickets

Game Day Guide: 
5:45 PM: FloHockey broadcast and audio broadcast starts.
6:00 PM: Puck Drop 
Watch on FloHockey https://flosports.link/3tVsLmd

Listen on Mixlr mixlr.com/goheartlanders

Need to know
- The Heartlanders are playing their ninth straight road game

- The Heartlanders and Wings match up 11 times this season and are already halfway through the series. Saturday is the 6^th game of the season series. 

- Iowa has scored at least three goals in three straight games.

Affiliates: Iowa Heartlanders (Minnesota Wild/Iowa Wild) | Kalamazoo Wings (Vancouver Canucks/Abbotsford Canucks)

Scouting the Wings

Erik Bradford (21), Ty Glover (19) and Brad Morrison (15) lead the Wings in points this season. Since losing to Iowa on Nov. 22, the K-Wings have won five games (5-3-0-0 record). Over that span, the team has scored at least three goals in a game six times. When scoring at least three in a contest, the Wings are 8-1-0-0 this season, with their only loss at Reading Nov. 30.

Jonathan Lemieux has won seven times this season (7-7-0-0 record, 2.74 GAA, .918 sv. %). Hunter Vorva has won the other two games for Kalamazoo.

All time series

The Heartlanders have racked up 14 wins ever vs. the Wings. In games at the Wings Events Center, Iowa is 5-3-3-0 all time.

The all-time series has often been defined by close decisions and come-from-behind wins; Iowa has five come-from-behind wins ever vs. Kalamazoo and the Wings have done it four times.

Iowa has more wins against Kalamazoo than any opponent ever; Iowa has also played Kalamazoo more than any opponent in franchise history. 

Road trip mileage update

The Heartlanders are in the final weekend of the team’s franchise record ten-game road trip. So far, the club is about 2900 miles through an expected 3400-mile journey. After taking on Kalamazoo in the second game of a back-to-back Saturday, the Heartlanders journey take a quick 120-mile sprint south on I-69 for a Sunday showdown at Fort Wayne to complete the road trip.

Next up
The Heartlanders finish the road trip Sun., Dec. 10 at 4:00 p.m. at Fort Wayne. The Heartlanders are home Dec. 15-17 vs. Toledo and Dec. 21-23 vs. Fort Wayne.

Rose Club Memberships & Tickets Now Available For 2023-24 Season
Rose Club Season Ticket Memberships, Partial Plans, Mini-Plans, Flex Tickets and Single-Game Tickets are now available for the 2023-24 season, the Heartlanders’ third in the ECHL. Call 319-569-GOAL or visit iowaheartlanders.com/tickets for more information.