The Nailers entered the All-Star break on the wrong foot, losing their last two games in Norfolk by scores of 2-1 on Friday and 6-3 on Saturday. What went wrong for Wheeling in these two games?
The Nailers don’t travel down to Norfolk very often, but when they do, it has become an absolute house of horror for them over the last two years. Wheeling has a record of 1-5, including last season’s playoffs, where they were outscored 29-12 in those games. Luckily, they don’t have to make another trip to the Norfolk Scope this season unless they meet in the playoffs, so let’s just hope that doesn’t happen.
Friday’s game opened with both teams trying to feel each other out, as they combined for 13 shots on goal, but none of them found the net and the game remained scoreless after 20 minutes. The Admirals worked hard early in the second period, and it paid off as they found the net behind Taylor Gauthier just over three minutes into the middle stanza to take the first lead of the game. Four minutes after the first goal, Norfolk was able to get one through Gauthier again, and the lead doubled to 2-0, which held through the end of the frame.
Wheeling managed to get their feet under them in the third and worked on a comeback, finally scoring a goal of their own thanks to Logan Pietila just under five minutes into the final period. That score remained as the Nailers pulled their goalie for the extra skater late in the period, but it was for naught as the Admirals did not allow the tying tally and earned the 2-1 victory.
The Nailers came back on Saturday looking for redemption and quickly turned that push into a lead thanks to a Bogdans Hodass goal just four minutes into the contest. However, Norfolk would not be denied as they turned one of their 15 shots in the first period into a power play tally halfway through the frame, and the game remained knotted through the end of the period.
The second period only featured one goal, but it was unfortunately scored by the Admirals as they took their first lead of the game just short of four minutes into the period, and the score remained that way into the third. Wheeling managed to tie the game 37 seconds into the final period when Connor Lockhart knocked home a rebound, but the tie only lasted for just over a minute before Norfolk struck again to restore their lead.
Another Nailers goal, this time on the power play, would go in off the stick of Randy Hernández tied the game once again, but just like after the last goal, Norfolk struck again just over a minute later on another power play opportunity to take the lead back. Wheeling couldn’t pull even again, as the Admirals tacked on two more goals the rest of the way to take the commanding 6-3 victory and sweep the two-game series.
The Nailers begin the second half of the season with three home games this weekend, welcoming Reading to town on Friday and Saturday before a Sunday tilt with Fort Wayne. How can Wheeling right the ship and hopefully earn three wins?
After playing the Royals six times in a four-week span between November 16 and December 10, including four times in that first week alone, the Nailers will now face Reading for the first time in 44 days on Friday. Then, after these two contests, Wheeling and Reading are still scheduled to meet another seven times before the end of the regular season.
That familiarity from seeing each other already as many times as they have this year should feed into the vitriol of this abbreviated series. Also, if you need another reason to watch these two teams duke it out, the Royals sit in second place in the North Division, just nine points behind the Nailers, although Wheeling does have three games in hand over Reading. Despite that, these four-point games matter greatly in keeping some space between these two clubs as we approach the end of January.
Despite playing a division-leading 38 games already this year, Reading has only played 17 of their games thus far on the road, with a record of 6-8-3 away from home. While the Royals’ penalty kill has been good on the road, sitting in seventh place in the league, their power play has been quite poor, sitting in 26th in the ECHL with a 12.7% success rate. If the Nailers special teams can play well and swing things in their direction, I think Wheeling can earn a couple big victories.
Then on Sunday, assuming the Komets are able to make it to town through the snow, Wheeling will play their first game against their former Central Division rivals since March 15, 2025. This will be Coach Ryan Papaouannou’s introduction to one of the Nailers’ most common opponents in recent years, as these two teams have locked horns 92 times over the last 14 seasons, and this also marks the first of five games between these two squads in the 2025-26 season.
The Komets enter the weekend in second place in the Central, with a record of 19-10-6 overall, but a 12-3-4 record on the road. However, they have gone 4-4-4 in their last 12 contests, so they haven’t been especially strong in recent games. One thing that stands out about Fort Wayne this year is that they have scored first in 22 of their 35 contests thus far (63% of their games), with a record of 14-4-4 in those games. That means, in the 13 games they have trailed off the bat, they have a record of 5-6-2. If the Nailers hope to beat the Komets in this game, it would be very beneficial to get the first tally of the game.
The Nailers will go back on the road after that, playing a Wednesday night game up in Maine. How important is this game for Wheeling and how can they come away with the win?
These two teams have already met four times this season, with the Nailers accumulating a 3-1-0 record against the Mariners. But they haven’t faced one another since November 15, a 4-1 victory for the homestanding Nailers. Maine’s record fell to 7-3-1-1 after that loss, but since then, the Mariners have been a middling squad, earning a record of 9-7-4-1 and sitting in fourth place in the North Division, just four points clear of Worcester.
These two teams have the 11th and 12th highest average number of penalty minutes per game in the ECHL, with Wheeling averaging 13.14 minutes per game and Maine directly behind them at 12.70 minutes per game. For the Mariners, that’s not good news, as their power play sits in 20th place in the league on home ice at a 16.7% success rate, while their penalty kill is just slightly better than that, earning an 80.4% success rate, good for 19th place in the ECHL. Just like with Reading this weekend, if Wheeling can work hard with the specialty teams on the ice, they should be able to leave town with another two points.
With all of the rosters now being announced for next month’s winter Olympiad, four former Nailers appear on rosters for different countries. How cool is it to see players you watched play at WesBanco Arena make it on the world’s biggest stage?
As someone who has been attending hockey games in Wheeling since the original Thunderbirds came to town in the 1992-93 season, finding out players that I have seen in person in my hometown will be representing their countries in the Olympics is really amazing. While none of their teams are necessarily considered favorites to medal in Milan-Cortina, this tournament provides them with a chance to show what they can do, possibly helping them continue their hockey dreams for years to come.
Renars Krastenbergs, who played in Wheeling from 2018-2020, tallied 74 points during his 114 games in a Nailer jersey and will now represent Latvia as a teammate of current Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs. Nick Saracino, who was also in Wheeling during the same timeframe as Krastenbergs, earned 60 points in 58 games while with the Nailers. He will be donning a uniform for the homestanding Italian team in Milan-Cortina.
Justin Addamo, the most recent Nailer on this list, played in Wheeling from 2022-24 and earned 67 points in 77 regular season games and added another 11 points in nine playoff games before going back to Europe to play. He will be representing his home country of France in February. Finally, Frederik Tiffels only played 44 games in a Nailer jersey during the 2017-18 season, accumulating 33 points, but has played back in his home country of Germany every year since then, and will be playing on behalf of Deutschland when the Olympics get rolling.
This Saturday’s game against Reading is “Nail Down Cancer” night for the Nailers. What does an event like this mean to you?
There have been a lot of people in my life who have been or are currently affected by cancer. My maternal grandfather, Alfonso Rocini Jr., from whom I derive my middle name, had multiple bouts with the disease in his lifetime, and it eventually took his life much too early at 72 years of age back in 2001. In addition to him, my maternal aunt, Roxane Rhodes, has also encountered cancer multiple times in her life; my father, Jeffery Yost Sr., is currently battling stage 4 kidney cancer; my mother, Ruth Ann Yost, suffered soft tissue cancer in her leg that we thought might have required amputation, but she luckily was able to keep her leg, back in 2021; and my wife, Jessica Yost, faced uterine cancer herself 11 years ago this March. Also, lest I forget, I am a cancer survivor myself, having dealt with stage 3 colon cancer at 29 years of age, diagnosed 12 years ago this month.
This horrendous disease has caused a lot of pain and strife to a lot of people I love, and I have seen firsthand what it means to fight like hell against it. I had to undergo four rounds of chemotherapy and 25 rounds of radiation after my surgical procedure to remove almost a foot of my colon, and it was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life to this point. My dad has to undergo immunotherapy treatments every three weeks in the hope that it keeps the cancer from spreading further than it already has, knowing that someday it might no longer do what he needs it to do.
The Nailers really work hard with cancer charities and survivors to try and make this a special night for everyone involved. Having everyone in the arena who has been affected by this disease stand together and show their “I Fight For…” signs is a reminder of just how prevalent this disease really is, and why we have to work together to try to find a cure. I look forward to being there for this game again this year, and I hope to see all of you at the rink that night too.
