The Nailers swept their three-game series last weekend with Trois-Rivières, winning by scores of 4-3, 5-0, and 4-2, respectively. What went well for Wheeling in their first games of the season against the Lions?
Getting three wins against the defending league champions and keeping them on the outside looking in for a playoff spot in your first three games against them this season is a nice feeling. Getting to 14 wins at home (through 17 games here) is even better, considering there could be a lot of games played here come April and beyond, assuming the Nailers can keep their positioning in the standings.
Friday’s game started very well for the visitors, as they managed to turn an early power play into a lead less than five minutes into the game, followed by a second goal just 50 seconds later. Wheeling only managed to get five shots on goal in the period, but one did find the net thanks to Tommy Budnick to cut the lead in half at 2-1 after the first.
The Nailers came out hard in the second to try to tie the score, which they eventually managed to do just after the halfway point after a Tanner Andrew shot got through the goalie, but a late goal by Trois-Rivières gave them the lead again heading into the third.
Wheeling tied the score once again just over five minutes into the final period with a goal by Craig Armstrong and took their first lead of the game shortly before the halfway point of the period after Brent Johnson tickled the twine. The Lions pulled their goalie with more than three minutes left on the clock, but nothing came of it and the Nailers came away with the victory.
Saturday’s game went Wheeling’s way almost from puck drop, as the Nailers took control with two first period goals by Connor Lockhart and Brent Johnson getting his second in as many games for an early lead. The Lions pushed hard in the second period, outshooting Wheeling 12-4, but Maxim Pavlenko stood tall to keep it a 2-0 game going into the third.
The Nailers doubled their lead to 4-0 within the first three minutes of the third, with Cole Tymkin and Logan Pietila scoring the goals. For the first time this season, a penalty shot was awarded in a Nailers game, with this one going to Trois-Rivières, but Pavlenko was up to the challenge. A fifth team goal, and first professional goal in North America, by Emil Pieniniemi finished the scoring, and Wheeling earned the shutout victory.
Sunday’s game was another quick start for the Nailers, as they managed to score just 12 seconds into the contest by Craig Armstrong. Another goal late in the period by Randy Hernández doubled the Wheeling lead to 2-0 before the end of the first. The Nailers kept things going in the second, with another goal by Emil Pieniniemi with just over five minutes left in the second made it 3-0 before the Lions finally got their first goal since the second period on Friday to make it a two-goal game again going into the third.
Wheeling’s defense shined bright in the third, only allowing the Lions to get one shot on goal in the first 15 minutes of the period. The Nailers got called for a late penalty and Trois-Rivières pulled their goalie to get a two-man advantage, but Wheeling managed to score into the empty net thanks to the second goal of the game by Armstrong. A last-second goal by the Lions led to the 4-2 final score and the weekend sweep.
The Nailers wrap up the unofficial first half of the season before the All-Star game with two games this Friday and Saturday in Norfolk. How can Wheeling make sure they enter the break continuing to ride high?
Both teams enter this series on extended winning streaks, with the Nailers having won their last five games while the Admirals have now won four in row (two against Reading followed by a two-game series sweep over Adirondack). Wheeling enters this series with an 11-5-0 record away from WesBanco Arena and a +11-goal differential, while Norfolk has a 6-8-1 record on home ice and a -8-goal differential at the Norfolk Scope.
One big thing I noticed when looking at the stats for Norfolk this season is the discrepancy of how the team is doing when scoring first as opposed to giving up the first goal. The Admirals have managed to score first in 14 of their 32 games thus far this year, earning a record of 8-4-2 when they do. But in the 18 games they were scored on first, they have a record of 3-15-0. Getting the first goal in these two games might prove to be decisive in this short series.
The big thing for the Nailers in this series will be to remain focused on the opponent and not take anything for granted. Norfolk sits in seventh place in the eight-team North Division, which could lead to Wheeling looking past them and at a nice break for the All-Star game and the second half. But if Coach Ryan Papaioannou can keep the team working together and focused in these last two games, they should be able to come out on top and keep things rolling.
The Nailers have pushed their division lead back up to 12 points over Adirondack. What does Wheeling need to do to hopefully keep their lead in the division insurmountable as we enter the second half?
I will note, the Thunder have two games in hand on the Nailers, so technically it could be an eight-point edge, but still. Watching Adirondack lose those two games last weekend to Norfolk (even though one was in overtime, so they still got a point), while we completed the sweep on Trois-Rivières is a good feeling.
The other thing to keep in mind is that, while we’re competing to win the division and get more games at home in the playoffs (where we are currently 14-2-1 for the season), the big difference is between us and the fifth-place team, just to make sure we’re still in the bracket. Fifth place is currently occupied by Worcester, who has 32 points for the season. With the 51 points that Wheeling has accumulated, they are 20 points clear of a playoff spot (technically 19, but it would depend on tiebreakers and such, so I’m going to say the Nailers would get in if they were tied).
I still think Wheeling is good enough to stay at or near the top of the standings the rest of the way, assuming no major roster changes come their way. They play a very good team-based offense, where 26 different players have found a way to light the lamp for them this year, a tight checking defense, as evidenced by only four players being a negative in the plus/minus category, and some exemplary goaltending, between Jake Smith earlier to Maxim Pavlenko and Taylor Gauthier now. This team has the ability to get it done, and they have half of a regular season plus the postseason to prove it.
Looking back at the first half of the season, what has impressed you the most about this Nailers team, whether a specific game performance or season to date statistically?
This may seem like something silly to be impressed by, but the thing that really sticks out to me is, aside from a small period when they lost three out of four games from December 10 to December 19, there hasn’t been a period of prolonged struggle for this edition of the Nailers. Hockey is very much a game of ebbs and flows, ups and downs, times where you are pushing the play and times when the play is being pushed on you. And yet, this team has found a way to move with it each time and consistently come out on top.
I mean, I guess it shouldn’t be that surprising, considering how much success Coach Papaioannou saw in his previous position in Brooks. But that was still at the junior level. This is a professional league, with professional level problems, combined with the fact that it’s a developmental league, which means your roster could change at a moment’s notice. Add to that the amount of roster turnover from last year to this, and the fact that they’ve brought it all together as well as they have and are still sitting at the top of the ECHL league standings just shows me that everyone in a position to make decisions for this club did a great job in making those decisions.
As for any specific games that stick out, that’s the other interesting thing. There really isn’t one. Don’t get me wrong, there have been games where final scores have been impressive (like an 8-3 beatdown of Cincy back on November 28 or the 5-0 drubbing they just laid on Trois-Rivières last weekend), but every game has a workmanlike feel to it. It doesn’t matter whether they’re up by one or six, they take it shift by shift, play by play, and don’t allow it to stop them from playing their game. Consistency feels like the name of the game for this season’s edition of the Nailers, and I really hope they can keep that up for another 30+ games in the regular season and into the playoffs.
Looking forward to the rest of the season, are there any specific matchups or games you are looking forward to seeing the Nailers play the rest of the way?
There are definitely some individual games and series that I am interested in, but what really draws my eye coming into the back half of the season is how many games we still have against North Division opponents, as those matchups are really four-point matchups (two points for you if you win, but also keeping a divisional rival from getting two points of their own). And starting with these games in Norfolk, eight out of our next nine games are with divisional opponents, so getting wins here can really be helpful as we get closer to the end than the beginning.
If you want to put an asterisk next to one specific series left on the schedule, the games on March 13 and 14 against Adirondack at WesBanco Arena could be very important by that point. Those are the only two games remaining on the schedule between these two teams, and if the Thunder still find themselves in second place in the division by then, they might need those points to go their way to have a chance to catch the Nailers in the standings. And having them here on home ice could prove to be the most important point for Wheeling.
As for other games, the Nailers will have a road series in early March in Rapid City, SD to take on the Rush that I think is really cool, as that’s an opponent you don’t see very often if you’re Wheeling. I also like the fact that, aside from those three contests, every game Wheeling has left that isn’t against a team from the North is against a team from the Central Division (our former division), because we currently have a record of 5-0-1 against Central Division teams. I hope the Nailers are able to keep that streak going, continue to play well against North Division teams (currently 20-7-0 against them), and play well the rest of the way. I look forward to watching them in person at the arena as much as possible between now and then, and I hope you do too.
