The Kalamazoo Wings, nicknamed the K-Wings, are a mid-level professional ice hockey team in Kalamazoo, Michigan

Kalamazoo, Michigan

The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...

. A member of the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

's Eastern Conference, North Division, they play in the 5,113-seat Wings Stadium

Wings Stadium

Wings Stadium is a 5,113-seat multi-purpose arena, in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The arena opened in 1974 and is home to the Kalamazoo Wings, an ice hockey team in the ECHL....

.

Kalamazoo is home to the "Green Ice Game". Played since 1982 on St. Patrick's Day, it is one of the most celebrated games in minor league hockey. The team has sought to duplicate the game's success with the Pink Ice Game (Valentine's Day), the Orange Ice Game (Halloween) and a new creation the Golden Ice Game (sponsored by McDonalds).

History

The team began in the 1999–2000 season as the United Hockey League

United Hockey League

The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...

's Madison Kodiaks

Madison Kodiaks

The Madison Kodiaks were a minor league ice hockey team based in Madison, Wisconsin, during the 1999-2000 UHL season. Affiliated with the AHL Milwaukee Admirals, the Kodiaks were an expansion team that filled the void left by the recently departed Madison Monsters.After one season, the team moved...

 in Madison, Wisconsin

Madison, Wisconsin

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....

. After one season in Madison, the franchise moved to Kalamazoo, where it obtained the right to use the name and logo of an earlier team that had played in the original International Hockey League from 1973 through 2000.

That team, which had named itself for its affiliation with the NHL Detroit Red Wings

Detroit Red Wings

The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

, changed its name during the 1995 playoffs to the Michigan K-Wings because the league wanted to raise its franchises' appeal to larger market. The team's owner, the late R.T. Parfet, was the only small-market owner to oblige, but later concerns about larger-market teams entering the league, and the league's stability led to the Wings owners requesting inactive status and dissolving the team.

The new K-Wings played in the UHL from October 2000 until June 1, 2009, when they withdrew because of concerns that the league, which had renamed itself the International Hockey League in 2007, might go bankrupt. Eight days later, the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

 accepted the K-Wings into their league. On September 22, 2011 it was announced that the Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...

 signed an ECHL affiliation agreement with the Wings. The Wings announced an ECHL affiliation agreement with the New Jersey Devils

New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey, United States. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 on October 4th, 2011.

Championships

Year	League	Trophy
1978–1979	International Hockey League	Turner Cup Turner Cup The Turner Cup is the championship trophy of the International Hockey League. The Cup is named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professional with the Detroit Red Wings organization, and played one season with the Indianapolis Capitals in the American Hockey League...
1979–1980	International Hockey League	Turner Cup Turner Cup The Turner Cup is the championship trophy of the International Hockey League. The Cup is named for Joe Turner, a goaltender from Windsor, Ontario. Turner became professional with the Detroit Red Wings organization, and played one season with the Indianapolis Capitals in the American Hockey League...
2005–2006	United Hockey League United Hockey League The United Hockey League was a low-level professional ice hockey league , with teams in the United States...	Colonial Cup

Captains

Captain

Captain (ice hockey)

In ice hockey, each team can designate an official captain for each game. The player serving as captain during the game wears a "C" on his or her jersey...

 - Wes O'Neill

Alternate - Sam Ftorek

Alternate - Kory Karlander

Single season

Goals: 66   Dave Michayluk

Dave Michayluk

David Michayluk is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 21 games in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins...

 (1984–85)

Assists: 113   Rob Brown (1993–94)

Points: 155   Rob Brown (1993–94)

Penalty minutes: 648   Kevin Evans

Kevin Evans

Kevin Robert Evans was a professional ice hockey player who played briefly for the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks of the NHL...

 (1986–87)

GAA: 2.02   Ryan Nie

Ryan Nie

Ryan Nie is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for Lillehammer IK of the GET-ligaen.-Career:...

 (2006–07)

SV%: .929   Ryan Nie

Ryan Nie

Ryan Nie is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for Lillehammer IK of the GET-ligaen.-Career:...

 (2006–07)

Career

Career goals: 239   Mike Wanchuk and   Kevin Schamehorn

Kevin Schamehorn

Kevin Dean Schamehorn is a retired NHL player. He played in 10 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings.-External links:...

Career assists: 308   Brent Jarrett

Career points: 475   Kevin Schamehorn

Kevin Schamehorn

Kevin Dean Schamehorn is a retired NHL player. He played in 10 NHL games with the Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings.-External links:...

Career penalty minutes: 2,776   Kevin Evans

Kevin Evans

Kevin Robert Evans was a professional ice hockey player who played briefly for the Minnesota North Stars and San Jose Sharks of the NHL...

Career goaltending wins: 196   Georges Gagnon

Career shutouts: 13   Manny Fernandez

Career games: 392   Georges Gagnon

Standings

Year	GP	W	L	T/OTL	PTS	GF	GA	Pct	Standings
1974–1975	75	17	53	5	39	203	318	.260	10 of 11
1975–1976	78	27	41	10	6	273	318	.410	8 of 9
1976–1977	78	38	27	13	89	325	290	.571	2 of 9
1977–1978	80	35	31	14	84	315	288	.525	4 of 9
1978–1979	80	40	28	12	92	368	327	.575	4 of 9
1979–1980	80	45	26	9	99	366	274	.619	1 of 10
1980–1981	82	52	20	10	114	369	244	.704	1 of 8
1981–1982	82	41	36	5	89	355	333	.543	3 of 7
1982–1983	82	32	44	6	76	311	341	.463	5 of 8
1983–1984	82	37	38	7	83	333	316	.506	5 of 7
1984–1985	82	40	35	7	89	323	297	.543	5 of 9
1985–1986	82	47	35	0	100	345	314	.610	4 of 10
1986–1987	82	36	46	0	80	331	353	.479	8 of 9
1987–1988	82	37	33	12	86	328	360	.524	7 of 9
1988–1989	82	39	36	7	85	345	350	.518	6 of 10
1989–1990	82	53	23	6	112	389	311	.682	3 of 9
1990–1991	82	52	29	1	105	354	302	.640	2 of 11
1991–1992	82	37	35	10	84	292	312	.512	7 of 10
1992–1993	82	29	42	11	69	291	367	.421	10 of 12
1993–1994	81	48	26	7	103	337	297	.636	5 of 13
1994–1995	81	43	24	14	100	288	249	.617	5 of 17
1995–1996	82	40	24	18	98	290	272	.598	7 of 19
1996–1997	82	31	44	7	69	208	272	.421	17 of 19
1997–1998	82	39	36	7	79	223	261	.518	15 of 18
1998–1999	82	35	34	13	83	232	253	.506	11 of 16
1999–2000	82	33	37	12	78	178	223	.476	12 of 13
1999–2000	74	35	33	6	76	254	376	.514	8 of 14
**2000–2001	74	37	31	6	80	220	220	.541	9 of 15
2001–2002	74	27	37	8	66	213	277	.446	11 of 14
2002–2003	76	29	39	8	66	210	282	.434	10 of 10
2003–2004	76	45	22	9	99	281	207	.651	4 of 12
2004–2005	80	50	24	6	100	257	204	.663	3 of 14
2005–2006	76	52	17	7	111	332	183	.730	1 of 14
2006–2007	76	47	23	6	100	251	191	.658	4 of 10
2007–2008	76	31	34	11	73	242	252	.480	5 of 6
2008–2009	76	44	29	3	91	274	253	.599	4 of 6
**2009–2010	72	42	20	10	94	273	243	.653	3 of 20
2010–2011	72	40	24	8	88	255	225	.611	4 of 19

(**) – From 1974 to 2000 competed in the International Hockey League. From 2000 to 2009 competed in the United Hockey League and International Hockey League. From 2009 to present, competes in the ECHL

ECHL

The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...

External links

• Kalamazoo Wings Official Website