The Kalamazoo Jr. K-Wings beat the Springfield Jr. Blues, 2-1, in a contest where the winning goal was scored in the first period but the game remained close throughout.

A goal 5:22 into the the first period by Robbie Payne proved to be the game winner, and powered Kalamazoo to the victory Mark Esshaki picked up the assist.

Springfield was stymied by the Jr. K-Wings netminder Alex Okicki, who stopped 49 shots during the victory. The solid play of Okicki will be reflected in his goals against average, which pre-game was 3.12.

Kalamazoo was led by Trevor Boyd, who tallied one goal. Boyd scored 7:51 into the first period to make the score 2-0 Kalamazoo. Davis Dekorte assisted on the tally.

The Jr. K-Wings put 28 shots on net during the contest, more than the 25.0 they average per game.

In addition, Kalamazoo received assists from Brennan Sanford and Cole Pierce, who contributed one a piece.

The Jr. Blues managed to stay out of the box better than usual, racking up one minor for two minutes in penalty time. Springfield ended up below its season average of 12.0 penalty minutes per game. The Jr. Blues forced Kalamazoo goalie Okicki to work between the pipes, taking 50 shots.

Springfield was led by Brett Skibba, who scored the team's only goal. Skibba scored 2:11 into the second period to make the score 2-1 Kalamazoo. Alex Baskakov picked up the assist.

The Jr. K-Wings incurred four minutes in penalty time with two minors. Matt Leon recorded 26 saves for the Jr. Blues. Springfield registered zero goals on two power play opportunities.