The Nailers earned victories Friday and Saturday over Maine by scores of 5-1 and 4-1, respectively, but had their winning streak snapped at eight on Sunday in Reading. How did Wheeling manage to go 2-1 over these three games?
Despite the loss, I would still characterize last weekend as a successful three games for the Nailers, even with that loss coming against the team directly behind them in the standings. Wheeling was able to control both home games, then went on the road with less than 24 hours to recuperate and prepare, and they still had a chance to earn the win on the road against the Royals, but just came up a little short.
Friday’s game started relatively slowly, with neither team being able to find the back of the net through the first 20 minutes. The second went much better for the home team, with Mike Posma scoring just over three minutes into the frame, followed by Max Graham scoring with eight minutes left in the period, and Wheeling enjoyed a 2-0 lead heading into the third.
The third went just as well for the home team, with Posma scoring just over three minutes in while shorthanded, Jack Works getting his first professional goal less than three minutes later, and finally Matthew Quercia with just over three minutes left in the game to make it 5-0. Maine ended the shutout with just over a minute left in the contest, but it was too little too late as the Nailers came away with the victory.
Saturday’s game followed Friday’s blueprint very closely, with neither team managing to score in the first 20 minutes. Wheeling again broke the deadlock in the second thanks to Max Graham. Mike Posma also tickled the twine with just 30 seconds left, and Wheeling headed to the locker room with another 2-0 lead after two periods of play.
Unlike Friday, Maine managed to score the next goal with under eight minutes left in the third to cut Wheeling’s lead in half, but the Nailers wouldn’t be denied as Zach Urdahl scored just four minutes later to extend the lead to two again. The Mariners pulled their goalie late, and Posma made them pay with his fourth goal in the two games against them, and Wheeling managed to come away with the 4-1 win.
After a bus trip directly following the game resulted in the Nailers pulling into Reading at 4 am Sunday, the team had to turn around and gear up to play a game at 3 pm on Sunday against the Royals for their third in three days. Wheeling worked hard early, but Reading managed to score first with seven minutes left in the first and finished the period with a 1-0 lead.
The Nailers came back out and would not be denied, managing to score halfway through the period off the stick of Jack Works to tie the game. The Royals scored again with three minutes left in the frame but took a penalty late in the period and Wheeling capitalized thanks to Brayden Edwards and the game was tied going into the third. The game remained tied through the final period until, with less than a minute left in regulation, Reading managed to get one past Maxim Pavlenko and into the Wheeling net, giving the home team a 3-2 victory in regulation.
The Nailers avenged their Sunday loss by beating Reading on Tuesday, 2-0. What did Wheeling do well in that game to earn the victory?
Tuesday’s game between the two teams currently sitting at the top of the North Division got chippy early and remained that way throughout, with the two teams earning 27 minutes in penalties each during the contest, including three fights. With this being an education day game and the crowd being full of school-age children, this is a terrible way to teach them that violence is never the answer. Luckily, Maxim Pavlenko and the Nailers managed to turn things around from less than 48 hours prior to earn the victory this time around.
Both teams received early power plays within the first seven minutes of the game, but neither team was able to capitalize on their chance. Wheeling managed to get another chance on the man advantage late in the period and managed to cash in this time thanks to Ryan Mahshie with less than two minutes left in the first, and the Nailers went into the intermission with the 1-0 lead.
Wheeling was able to double their lead just over four minutes into the second period off the stick of David Breazeale, but despite continuing to push hard to try to extend their lead more, the Nailers couldn’t grow it any further. Luckily, Pavlenko settled down after two early penalties against him and shut the door as well to keep the game 2-0 heading to the third. In the final period, Reading pushed hard to get back into the game, taking 12 shots in the period, but Pavlenko managed to turn all of them away, and Wheeling managed to earn the shutout and come home with the split of the two games in Reading.
The Nailers now finish their five games in a row against the Royals, first at WesBanco Arena on Friday before heading back into Pennsylvania on Saturday. What does Wheeling need to do to clinch the wins?
Boy, after a somewhat slow start to the season, the schedule maker didn’t take it easy on the Nailers here at the end of November. Playing two home games, then having to turn around quickly and go to Reading for a game the next afternoon, playing a morning game that week, then having to play a home-and-home with the same team you just played those two games against on back-to-back days is a lot of hockey in just over a week.
These two teams will get to know each other very well this season, playing one another a total of 15 times this season (seven times in Wheeling and eight times in Reading). Considering how the first two games have gone, I expect fireworks between them every game the rest of the way. Developing a rivalry with the team closest to you geographically that you play this many times in a season is bound to happen.
As for these games, the key will most likely turn out to be specialty teams again; more specifically, if the Wheeling power play can continue playing as well as they have. The Nailer power play unit is eighth overall in the ECHL with a 22.9% success rate, going up to sixth best in the league at home with a 27.3% success rate. Conversely, the Reading penalty kill unit sits tied for 12th in the league overall with an 86.4% success rate, but that jumps up to 89.7% success rate at killing off penalties when on the road. For Wheeling to come away with two wins, they will need to continue playing well when on the man advantage.
The Nailers will also play their annual Thanksgiving Eve game next Wednesday against Indy at home. What can Wheeling do to defeat their former Central Division rival?
It’s rather nice to renew an old rivalry right after playing four games against your new division rival. Prior to the games of this weekend, Indy finds themselves treading water a little bit, sitting in fifth place in the Central Division with a 6-6-1 record and a goal differential of -5 on the season. However, that goal differential is a little misleading, as of their six regulation losses on the year, five of them have been lost by two or more goals, while of their wins, only three have been by multiple goals.
Something else to watch for on the Wheeling side is if they are able to score first. The Nailers have managed to score first in seven of their 12 games to this point in the season, and in those games, they have a perfect 7-0-0 record. On the other side, Indy has also scored first in seven of their 13 games so far, but their record is only 5-2-0 in those games. That tells me that getting out to an early lead is very important to the Fuel, as their record is 1-4-1 when they fail to, so if the Nailers can jump on them early and get a lead, they put Indy behind the eight ball and they struggle to come back.
As we approach the end of the first full month of the season, the Nailers find themselves in first place in the entire ECHL with a 10-2-0 record. Can Wheeling keep it going all season and stay towards the top of the league leaderboard as the calendar prepares to flip to December?
Boy, it feels nice watching this team give themselves an early step up on not just the rest of the division, but the rest of the league. However, that lead in the division is tenuous at best, sitting only two points ahead of Reading and four points ahead of Maine this early in the year, although the Nailers do enjoy a game in hand on both of them.
Wheeling has now completed a sixth of their season (12 games down, 60 more to go), which should give you an idea for how much hockey they still have to play between now and next April. As my good friend DJ Abisalih pointed out in his news and notes feature, this is the end of 13 straight games against North Division foes for Wheeling, with their record sitting at 9-2-0 in the first 11 of those games. If the Nailers are able to put away these two games, that would be one of the best stretches of hockey in recent memory against divisional foes for Wheeling and should give them a real leg up heading into the harsh winter months. I look forward to heading to the rink on Friday and cheering them on to hopefully continue the trend of keeping the division in the rearview mirror, and I hope to see you all at the rink.
