Kalamazoo, MI – The Iowa Heartlanders (9-19-2-0, 20 pts.) oppose the Kalamazoo Wings (10-14-2-2, 24 pts.) for the first time in two months Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Saturday’s game will be broadcasted on 1630 AM KCJJ, available on the KCJJ mobile app and on 1630kcjj.com. The Heartlanders are 1-1-1-0 in the season series vs. Kalamazoo. 

The Heartlanders are coming off a 2-1 win at Toledo Friday. William Rousseau made 29 saves and stopped 24 straight to end the game after Toledo scored first. Keltie Jeri-Leon scored the game-winning goal with 11 minutes to go and Jaxon Nelson tied the game in the first period.    

The K-Wings have been off since Wednesday, a 4-3 come-from-behind win for Bloomington. Andre Ghantous, Derek Daschke and Ryan Cox scored in the defeat. 

The Heartlanders and Wings play back-to-back afternoons at Wings Event Center, then a third consecutive game at Xtream Arena Wed., Jan. 14 at 7:00 p.m.

Iowa is next at home for three home games Jan. 14, Jan. 16 and Jan. 17, their first home games in a month. Tickets start at $10. Fri., Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m. is Education Appreciation Day pres. by MidWestOne Bank vs. Toledo. Sat., Jan. 17 is Dash’s Birthday Party pres. by Firehouse Subs against Toledo. 

Tickets to Heartlanders Home Games

Know Before You Go Guide For Home Games

Broadcast Information

Audio Broadcast: Mixlr.com/GoHeartlanders

FloHockey Video Broadcast (Subscription Service): https://flosports.link/3AZr3GZ

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

Need To Know:
- Keltie Jeri-Leon scored his second game-winning goal of the season Friday at Toledo.

- Jaxon Nelson scored his first goal since returning from AHL call up Friday to tie the game.

- Iowa ended Toledo’s ten-game winning streak Friday. 

Season Series

The Heartlanders are 1-1-1-0 in the season series and 1-0-1-0 at the Wings Event Center this season. Iowa hasn’t played Kalamazoo since Nov. 19, a 5-1 Wings win. 

Saturday is the first of three straight between Iowa and Kalamazoo. 

There are six games left in the nine game season series. 

Following this three-game stretch against Kalamazoo, the Heartlanders host the Wings Feb. 11, Feb. 13 and Feb. 14 to end the series. 

Jaxon Nelson tops all Iowa players with three goals and is tied with Keltie Jeri-Leon with four points in the series. 

Nolan Walker leads all players with six series points. Ryan Cox is best on the Wings with three goals vs. Iowa.

Contracted Contributions

The Heartlanders have been aided by the additions of NHL-contracted forwards Cameron Butler and Rasmus Kumpulainen since returning from the ECHL holiday break.

Kumpulainen scored in his first ECHL game on New Year’s Eve vs. Kansas City, then assisted Iowa’s tying goal Friday.

Butler registered goals in back-to-back games against Tulsa Jan. 2-3, the first time in his career that he’s scored goals in consecutive contests. 

Kumpulainen is 20 years old, the first Heartlanders player ever born in 2005 (August) and was selected in the second round by Minnesota in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. This is his first season playing North American pro hockey. 

Butler, 23, is a third-year professional and spent the first two seasons of his career with the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. He made his NHL debut vs. Pittsburgh on Mar. 30, 2024.

Make sure you’re here: Call 319-569-4625 or visit iowaheartlanders.com/tickets/ticket-plans to learn more about ticket package options or group ticket pricing for company outings, birthday parties or community groups of 10 or more.

For Corporate Partnerships call 319-855-1775 or info@iowaheartlanders.com. Align your business with the excitement of the Heartlanders coming off their best season yet. Partnerships can range from in-arena signage, such as dasherboards and video board advertisements, to digital and social media collaborations, reaching over 20,000 followers. Our team is eager to work with businesses to create tailored corporate partnership packages that meet specific marketing and business objectives.

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