RAPID CITY, SD- History was made on Wednesday night at The Monument in Rapid City, South Dakota.
Goaltender Taylor Gauthier earned his 61st career win in a Wheeling Nailers uniform, making him the winningest netminder in Wheeling hockey history. Gauthier’s final save of the night secured the historic achievement, as he blocked a shootout attempt by Rapid City Rush leading scorer Ryan Wagner for the 4-3 triumph.
To make the win even more special, the deciding goal of the shootout was scored by Gauthier’s longest active Wheeling teammate, Matthew Quercia, who was celebrating his 200th professional game.
The first period was played to a scoreless draw, as there was a lot of feeling out between two teams who were meeting up for the first time since 2019. The Nailers finally got on the board first at the 7:20 mark of the middle frame, as they cashed in on a power play. Connor Lockhart tossed a shot toward the net from the right point, and got a tip in the slot from Emil Pieniniemi, which knocked the puck down and in for the tally.
Rapid City temporarily tied the score with a shorthanded strike. Cameron Buhl led the way on a two-on-one break, and elected to keep the puck to himself, as he eluded a sprawling defender, then whipped his shot inside of the left post. Wheeling regained the less than three minutes later. Tommy Budnick drove in on the left side of the offensive zone, then handed the puck off to Matty De St. Phalle. De St.
Phalle got a backhand shot off, which floated past Connor Murphy and into the left side of the cage.
The Nailers came out firing in the third period, as they took seven straight shots, which included one that went in to expand their lead to two. Tommy Budnick let a shot go from the blueline, which got tipped in by Brayden Edwards. The Rush called their timeout a few minutes later, and started to make a comeback. Quinn Olson closed the gap to one, when he roofed a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle at the 5:35 mark. Then, with 7:28 remaining, Simon Mack evened the score, as he fired home a one-timer from the center point on the power play.
Mack’s equalizer sent the game into overtime, and eventually a shootout, as the two netminders kept the tilt tied despite 74 combined shots on goal. Both shooters came up empty in the first round.
In round two, Blake Bennett led off for Rapid City and was denied by Taylor Gauthier. That put Matthew Quercia on the big stage, and he delivered, as he roofed a wrist shot into the top-right corner of the net. All eyes then turned to Gauthier, who stoned Ryan Wagner to clinch his historic win with a 4-3 final score.
Taylor Gauthier earned the victory for Wheeling, as he made 30 saves on 33 shots in the game, then went 3-for-3 in the shootout. Connor Murphy stopped 38 of the 41 shots he faced during the game for the Rush, then was 1-of-2 in the shootout.
The Nailers will play two more games against the Rush in Rapid City on Friday and Saturday, with both matches starting at 9:05 p.m. Eastern.
Wheeling’s next home game is the annual Education Day Game on Wednesday, March 11th at 10:45 a.m. against the Reading Royals. That game is sold out. The Nailers will then play two huge home games against the Adirondack Thunder on Friday, March 13th and Saturday, March 14th.
The Saturday game is Margaritaville Night, which will have a post game tropical tribute concert, specialty jerseys, and more. Individual tickets, group tickets, and more are available now by calling (304) 234-GOAL.
The Wheeling Nailers, considered one of the top things to do in Wheeling, West Virginia, provide affordable family entertainment for fans throughout the Ohio Valley.
