| Atley Calvert Scores First Pro Hat Trick; Matt Koopman Nets Game Winner With 1:34 Left |
Saturday night was the only game of the week for the Wheeling Nailers, and they utilized every ounce of energy they had to defeat the Fort Wayne Komets, 6-4 at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
Both teams had two-goal leads evaporate, as Fort Wayne led 2-0 and Wheeling led 4-2, before the Nailers went ahead for good on Matt Koopman’s tally with 1:34 remaining. Atley Calvert was Wheeling’s top offensive performer, as he netted his first career hat trick, while Sergei Murashov racked up 48 saves in the crease.
The Nailers have now won five straight games, have points in eight consecutive contests (7-0-1), and have beaten Fort Wayne five straight times for the first time ever.
The Komets controlled a good portion of the first period, but a late sequence gave Wheeling some energy to carry into the intermission. Fort Wayne lit the lamp twice in a span of 2:26, and both were rebound strikes by Odeen Tufto. The opening tally came off of an offensive zone face-off, as Brannon McManus tossed a puck toward the goal, which got redirected by Ethan Keppen. The deflection caused chaos, and ultimately led to the puck landing in the crease, where it got tapped in by Tufto.
The second marker started with a defensive zone draw for the Komets. Noah Ganske sprung Keppen down the right side of the ice, before he eventually jammed on the brakes and shot from the right dot. Sergei Murashov made the save, but Tufto swatted in the rebound from the slot. Late in the period, the Nailers were forced to kill a four-minute penalty for high sticking. Not only did they succeed in doing that, but also netted a shorthanded goal.
Atley Calvert blocked a shot in his own end, and proceeded to lead David Jankowski in the other direction. Jankowski waited for Calvert to join in the offensive zone with him, then gave him a perfect pass, which Calvert slammed into the open left side of the goal.
Wheeling carried its momentum into the middle frame, and completely turned the match around.
Sam Houde knotted the score at the 11:33 mark, when he received a pass from Jordan Martel, sped down the left side of the ice, and drove in a shot from the circle. The Nailers got their first lead of the night with 4:18 remaining. Louie Roehl made a nifty play off of the right wall, as he spun a backhand pass to Jack Beck, who stepped into the right circle, and roofed a wrist shot into the top-left corner of the cage. With less than one minute to go, Wheeling upped its lead with a successful power play conversion.
Beck slipped a pass to Calvert, who danced off of the goal line and threaded a shot through his former teammate for his second tally of the contest.
The two-goal lead was maintained in the beginning of the third period, but with 8:46 left, Fort Wayne began to battle back. Darren Brady touched in a cross-ice feed from Alex Aleardi to bring the Komets within one. 2:46 later, Keppen tipped in a McManus point shot off of a Nailers icing to knot the score at four. Wheeling followed that by facing one of its most challenging tests of the evening, as a penalty was killed with 4:11 on the clock.
The Nailers got the job done, and used that momentum to grab the lead back. Mats Lindgren let a shot go from the right point, which got redirected home by Matt Koopman for his first marker of the season. The Komets continued to unload a barrage of shots, but Wheeling refused to break, and with 22 seconds to go, Calvert completed his hat trick, as well as the 6-4 victory.
Sergei Murashov had his busiest night in a Nailers uniform, as he blocked away 48 of the 52 shots he faced for the win. Connor Ungar took the loss for Fort Wayne, as he gave up five goals on 23 shots.
The Nailers will return home on Wednesday night at 7:10 for their traditional Thanksgiving Eve game, which will be played against the Toledo Walleye. Fans will have the opportunity to enjoy live IWC wrestling in the main lobby, there will be $2 beers available, and turkey bowling will be played during the first intermission.
Then, Saturday, November 30th is the next Big-6 Promotional Game, which is Hall of Fame Night. Tomas Vokoun and Steve Gibson will be inducted into the Wheeling Hockey Hall of Fame, there will be a full team post game autograph session, and the annual Teddy Bear Toss will take place that night.
Season memberships and other terrific ticket plans for the 2024-25 season are available now by calling (304) 234-GOAL. The Wheeling Nailers, considered one of the top things to do in Wheeling, West Virginia, provide affordable family entertainment for fans throughout the Ohio Valley.
