KALAMAZOO, MI-- Led by a career night from Ludwig Blomstrand and a three-point performance from Curtis Valk, the Kalamazoo Wings defeated the Elmira Jackals, 5-3, at Wings Event Center on Thursday night.

Opening the scoring for the Wings 3:11 into the contest, Blomstrand let loose a wrister from the top of the left faceoff circle, which found the top corner, over

the blocker of Jackals' net minder, Niklas Lundstrom.

Elmira found the answering goal just over one minute later. Taylor Stefishen stole a soft pass from a Kalamazoo defender, just inside the right faceoff dot, and lifted a rising shot over the glove of Martin.

Continuing the seesaw battle through the early stages of the first period, Kalamazoo regained a one goal lead. Lane Scheidl streaked into the offensive zone, toe-dragged around the Elmira defender, and popped a shot in on Lundstrom, who couldn't control the puck. The generous rebound allowed Justin Taylor to poke the puck into the back of the net.

Kalamazoo pushed their lead to 3-1 late in the first, courtesy of Dane Fox's 10th marker of the season. Stemming from a faceoff win by Valk, Fox picked up a pass from Blomstrand, and wristed home a laser from the right side. That goal ended the night of the Jackals' goalie, Lundstrom, who stopped 7/10 shots he faced.

Capitalizing on another Kalamazoo turnover, Elmira cut their deficit to just one. Allan McPherson took the puck from just inside the blue line and ripped home a rocket from the high slot.

Early in the middle frame, Elmira successfully erased a two-goal deficit, tying the game up at three. Working on a four-on-four situation, Jacob MacDonald lifted an innocent wrister on Martin, but the rebound landed on the tape of Mike Seidel, who knocked in his 11th of the season.

Regaining their one goal lead, the Wings struck on their second power play opportunity of the night. Creating pressure along the boards, Alex Mallet tipped the puck to Valk at the blue line, who found Blomstrand standing at the right circle, where Blomstrand snapped a wrist shot off the cross bar and into the goal for his second tally of the night.

Kalamazoo put the game away late in the third period by extending their lead to 5-3, courtesy of Valk. The centerman carried in from the top of the left circle, froze the Jackals' defender with a toe-drag, and picked the top corner on the far side for his third point of the night.

Notes: Valk played in his first game since suffering an injury on January 25, 2015. Blomstrand recorded a career-high four point night (2G, 2A). Valk earned a three point night (1G, 2A). Martin stopped 32 of the 35 shots he faced. Taylor has scored in three straight games. Kalamazoo outshot an opponent for the seventh time this season.

Stats: http://echl.com/stats/game-summary.php?game_id=13057

The Wings and Jackals square off again on Saturday, January 2 at Wings Event Center with a 7:00 p.m. start time.

Single-game tickets are now on sale! Tickets can be purchased at kwings.com or at the Wings Event Center box office. Box office hours are Monday-Friday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. A $2 discount is applied on all tickets purchased before the date of the game.