In a season filled with unexpected scheduling twists and turns, the Wheeling Nailers only had to take the ice twice last weekend. Wheeling split a two-game series against the Reading Royals at WesBanco Arena, then had their Sunday match with the Fort Wayne Komets postponed due to Winter Storm Fern. The Nailers will experience more cold weather this week, as they travel to New England for four road games in five days against the Maine Mariners and Worcester Railers. Because of the split with Reading, Wheeling’s lead in the North Division remains at nine points.
STUDYING THE SPLIT
The Nailers and Reading Royals continue to match each other win for win in their season series, as last weekend’s split gave both sides four victories with seven clashes remaining. The Nailers won Friday’s opening game by scoring three times in the final 21 minutes for a 3-1 comeback win. Connor Lockhart and Logan Pietila both had a goal and an assist, Matty De St. Phalle netted the winning marker, and Taylor Gauthier made 31 saves. Saturday’s rematch saw Wheeling battle back from a couple of one-goal deficits, but the home team was unable to answer Liam Devlin’s goal late in the second period, and the Royals tacked on two more in the third for a 5-2 final. The Nailers have a slight edge in goals (19-17) during the season set, as the division rivals will see each other for three more games during Valentine’s weekend.
AND THEN THERE WERE TWO
The Nailers have had 33 players appear in at least one game this season, and three of those players made it through the entire first half of the season without missing a single contest. Unfortunately, Connor Lockhart missed Saturday’s game, meaning that the list of players in the running for iron man is now down to two – Brent Johnson and Logan Pietila. In addition to being the three most reliable players this season, Pietila, Lockhart, and Johnson have also been the most productive, as they have the top three point totals on the squad. Pietila was in the running for iron man last year as well, as he played in each of the team’s first 69 games, prior to being called up to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the final weekend of the regular season. In addition to his 37 games thus far with Wheeling, Johnson also has an AHL contest and the ECHL All-Star Classic under his belt in 2025-26.
GETTING OUR FILL OF THE NORTH
Wheeling has had four games postponed over the course of the last month, and all four were scheduled to be played against Central Division opponents – Toledo, Indy, Cincinnati, and Fort Wayne. All four of those games will be made up later in the season, but those postponements have created a sizeable stretch of North Division games for the Nailers. Once the four tilts this week have concluded, Wheeling will have played 22 of 23 games against North Division clubs, with the lone outlier being a 4-1 win over Bloomington on January 3rd. The Nailers have gone 11-7-0 against the North since December 3rd, and their divisional record this season sits at 21-10-0. Once this weekend wraps up, Wheeling will have more games remaining against non-division foes (16) than divisional squads (15).
A PERFECT PENALTY KILL IS A RECIPE FOR SUCCESS
The Nailers have been a tough team to score against this season, as their 2.32 team goals against average ranks third in the ECHL. While exceptional goaltending has certainly played a major role in that number, the penalty kill also deserves a lot of recognition. Wheeling’s penalty kill has held the opposition scoreless in 21 of 37 games this season (56.8%). The Nailers have gone 17-4-0 in those contests for an .810 points percentage. On the other side of the equation, Wheeling is 9-6-1 in the 16 games when the opponent does score on the man advantage. The success on special teams supports the spectacular work the Nailers have done at even strength, as they have a +30 goal differential (90-60) when there is no advantage in man power.
MOTORING THROUGH MAINE & MASSACHUSETTS
This week’s trip features a pair of stops. The Nailers will start by playing one game in Portland, Maine against the Maine Mariners on Wednesday night. Then, they will use Thursday’s off day to drive two hours south for a three-game set against the Worcester Railers on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Wednesday’s match will conclude a five-game season series between Wheeling and Maine. The Nailers have already secured their first ever season series victory over the Mariners by winning each of the last three contests. The two clubs split a pair of games in Portland in October, then Wheeling won both tilts at WesBanco Arena in November by a combined score of 9-2. Maine has earned points in nine of its last ten games (7-1-2) to leap into a tie for third place in the North Division, one point back of Reading for second with four games in hand. Former Nailer and 2026 ECHL All-Star Brooklyn Kalmikov has six points in his last four games, and leads the Mariners with 31 points on the year. Kalmikov also leads all players with seven points in the season set. Matthew Quercia and Brent Johnson both have five points for Wheeling against Maine.
The Nailers and Railers are playing the second of their three mini-series this season, after the two clubs split a pair of matches at WesBanco Arena on New Year’s weekend. Worcester snapped Wheeling’s seven-game New Year’s Eve winning streak in the opening clash, before the Nailers exacted their revenge two days later. The Railers ended another streak last weekend, as they put Norfolk’s seven-game winning streak to bed. Worcester ended up taking two of three from the Admirals to climb back over the .500 mark at 18-17-3. That record gives the Railers 39 points, which is four points back of the final playoff spot in the North Division. Anthony Callin has been a thorn in Wheeling’s side with six goals, five assists, and 11 points in six games over two seasons. This time around, the Nailers will also have to keep an eye on his brother Drew, who is tied for second on the team with Anthony, as the two each have 27 points.
Buy Tickets for Upcoming Games
Wed. Feb. 4
Fri. Feb. 6 – Frosty Friday
Sat. Feb. 7 – Pittsburgh Penguins Night, Starring Phil Bourque
Sat. Feb. 14 – Country Night, Featuring Loop Rawlins
