The Nailers split their weekend series with Reading, losing 4-1 at home on Friday before going on the road and earning the 3-1 victory on Saturday. What happened in these games that allowed Wheeling to earn the two points?
Not that they have seen much of it this season, but it’s nice to see how Wheeling responds to a little adversity. Losing a game like they did on Friday, where they had 53 shots on goal in the entire game and 25 in the third alone but only one made it into the net, could be a little demoralizing. But the Nailers refocused themselves, went on the road against the same team that beat them the night before, and came away with a very important victory to stay on top of the North Division.
As I said, the Nailers came out hot on Friday, despite taking a penalty just 25 seconds into the contest. The Royals did find a way to crack through Maxim Pavlenko twice towards the middle of the period and managed to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. Wheeling did manage to turn things around a little bit, earning a power play early in the second and cashing in on a goal by Matthew Quercia to cut the lead in half. But another Reading goal with less than six minutes left extended their lead to two again.
The Nailers pushed hard in the third to get back into the contest, beating the Royals in shots by a 25-7 margin. Wheeling even pulled their goalie late in the contest, which allowed Reading to pocket an empty netter right before the final horn, and the visitors left town with the victory.
The next night, in a new venue, the team started off rather similarly with the Nailers getting an early penalty just two minutes into the game. Despite both teams getting an opportunity in the period on the man advantage, neither team managed to cash in, and the game remained tied at zero into the second.
Wheeling finally got their first lead of the weekend with less than eight minutes left in the middle frame after a goal by Jack Works, followed by a Connor Lockhart tally less than five minutes later gave the Nailers a 2-0 lead with only 20 minutes left in the game. Wheeling’s lead got pushed to 3-0 just two minutes into the final period thanks to Tanner Andrew, and things stayed that way until Reading ended the shutout with just over three minutes left in the game, but that would be all the scoring on this night, with the Nailers earning the victory to make up for the night before.
The Nailers earned a victory on Thanksgiving Eve, winning 5-2 over Indy on Wednesday. How did Wheeling earn the win?
What a way to kick off four straight games against three former Central Division rivals. The Fuel came to town with a 7-6-1-1 record, good for fifth place in their division, but a victory in Wheeling could have pushed them up to third place. It wasn’t meant to be though, as Wheeling came on strong in the third to clinch their second win in a row and stay in first place in the ECHL standings.
The Nailers offense started strong, with Brent Johnson scoring his second of the year less than a minute into the game, followed by another goal by Jack Works seven minutes later to give Wheeling the 2-0 lead. A power play in the middle of the period gave Indy a chance to get on the board and cut the lead in half, but the game stayed 2-1 into the second. In the second, another power play late allowed the Fuel to pull even with the Nailers, and the game remained tied going into the third.
Wheeling could only manage to get eight shots on goal in the final frame, but goals by Randy Hernández just two minutes into the frame, Max Graham eight minutes later, and David Breazeale to finish the scoring gave the Nailers an insurmountable lead. Indy worked hard through the period, getting 10 shots on net themselves, but a masterful performance by Maxim Pavlenko allowed the home team to escape with the two points.
The Nailers now play three games this weekend, starting on the road on Friday in Toledo before coming home to face Cincinnati on Saturday and Sunday. What does Wheeling need to do to maximize their point earnings?
Who doesn’t love making new acquaintances with old rivals, especially ones like Toledo, who the Nailers get to face off with first. Despite it being so early in the year, this game could be quite important for both teams, as the Walleye attempt to keep pace with Fort Wayne in the Central Division standings, while Wheeling works to stay ahead of Reading in the North Division, with more games to come soon against them (but more on that shortly).
Toledo has been a very good team at home this season, going 5-1-0-1 in their seven contests on home ice. The Walleye penalty kill group has been perfect so far on the season at home, managing to kill off all 25 power plays against, while managing to score three shorthanded goals of their own. Wheeling’s power play on the road is relatively average by comparison, sitting in 13th in the league with a 19.2% success rate. If the Nailers can break the Walleye penalty kill and finally get the first visitor power play goal in Toledo this season, it could go a long way in helping Wheeling bring home the two points.
Then over the weekend, the Nailers welcome the Cyclones to the Friendly City, a team Wheeling beat 5-3 to start the season back on October 18 out in Cincinnati. The Cyclones find themselves tied with Bloomington for third place in the Central Division and will want to keep pace and not fall below Indy into the bottom half of the standings.
Unlike Toledo from the night prior, the Cincy penalty kill group is the absolute worst on the road, giving up five power play goals on only 15 times shorthanded for a 66.7% success rate at killing the penalty. They aren’t much better at home either, which combined puts them in next to last in the entire league overall (only Rapid City is worse). The Nailer power play unit is very good on home ice, sitting ninth in the ECHL with a 21.1% success rate, so seeing success with the man advantage can once again go a long way in helping Wheeling earn two victories over Cincy.
The Nailers travel to start the month of December, playing a Wednesday night game in Reading against the Royals. With how many times Wheeling plays them this season, how important is this game to begin the new month?
Well, bring on the Royals for the fifth time already this year. The Nailers have split the first four contests with Reading, with another 11 contests scheduled between the two teams (including this game next Wednesday). They say familiarity breeds contempt, so with how familiar these two teams already are and will be by the end of the season, they should downright hate each other sometime soon.
These two teams are battling it out at the top of the North Division standings, and with how well things have gone for both of them this year, I expect it to stay that way all the way until April. Reading has been very strong this season overall, although their record at home of 3-3 isn’t as good as they have been on the road this year. Looking at their stats on the season, the Royals’ weakest period this year is the second, where they have a net zero goal differential (16 goals for to 16 goals against), while that has been Wheeling’s best on the year with a +9-goal differential (18 goals for to 9 goals again). Reading’s strongest period is the third, but they still only have a +7-goal differential, so hopefully if the Nailers can get a lead going into the final period, they can hold on strong and come away with the win.
This will be a dog-friendly weekend at WesBanco Arena, with Bluey night on Saturday followed by pups and pucks night on Sunday. As a dog lover yourself, how much are you looking forward to these events?
As someone who has had dogs my entire life, I really do love my canine companions. As I am currently writing this article, I have my two boys, Nico and Carter, curled up on either side of me fast asleep, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I honestly believe dogs make the best pets, with their fun-loving nature and unending love and devotion to their people, no matter what circumstances they have faced in their life before they joined your family.
Now, I have to admit, I have not seen much of Bluey to this point in my life, as someone who doesn’t have any children of my own nor any younger kids that I would watch it for. However, I do know people that those conditions do apply to that have watched quite a bit of Bluey in their lives, and they say it’s actually a really cute cartoon for children and adults alike. I think this should be a very fun evening for families who have experienced the show and want to see the character in person.
Then on Sunday, one of my favorite promotions of the entire year, with fans encouraged to bring their four-legged friends to the game with them. It’s always fun to see the dogs interact with one another and how they react to the reactions of the crowd to the events in the game. Then to have the puppy parade during the first intermission and watching the dogs walk across the ice is always fun too. I look forward to seeing everyone with their furry loved ones, and I will see you at the rink.
