PORTLAND, ME- The Wheeling Nailers will have their work cut out for them when they return to WesBanco Arena.
They will need to win on Saturday to keep their season alive, then win again on Monday in order to advance to the next round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. For the third night in a row, Wheeling was on the wrong side of the scoreboard at Cross Insurance Arena, as the Maine Mariners turned a 2-0 series deficit into a 3-2 series lead.
On Wednesday night, Brooklyn Kalmikov and Max Andreev both scored twice to lead the way in a five-goal attack, as Maine was victorious, 5-3.
The Nailers got off to a good start by scoring the first goal, but they found themselves trailing, due to a big swing in momentum for Maine. Wheeling got its goal at the 4:51 mark. Brayden Edwards jammed the puck toward the right side of the cage. His attempt wasn’t able to squeeze in, but Ryan McAllister punched in the rebound.
The Mariners built off of a successful penalty kill to turn the 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 advantage. On the tying goal, Linus Hemstrom had his shot from the right side blocked, but the puck kicked back to Ben Allison, who roofed a shot from high in the offensive zone. 41 seconds later, Maine took the lead.
Brooklyn Kalmikov delivered a pass into the left circle for Max Andreev, who wired a shot into the top-right corner of the twine.
The Mariners added to their lead with the lone marker of the middle stanza. For the second time in the contest, the play started with a blocked shot, as a Nailer denied Jacob Perreault’s attempt from the center point. The puck found its way to Owen Gallatin, who swiped a pass through the slot to Andreev for a one-time dart.
Brooklyn Kalmikov put Maine ahead by three at the 4:14 mark of the third, when he finished off a two-on-one break with Andreev. Edwards trimmed Wheeling’s deficit back down to two at the 9:03 mark, when he tipped in McAllister’s shot from the left point on the power play.
The Nailers received another man advantage 54 seconds later, with a chance to pull within one. However, in addition to not succeeding, Wheeling allowed a goal 18 seconds after the penalty expired. Kalmikov, who was serving the too many men on the ice penalty, deposited Xander Lamppa’s feed to make the score 5-2.
It was the third time in three days that the Mariners scored a goal less than 20 seconds after an unsuccessful power play for the Nailers. Matty De St. Phalle was able to pot Wheeling’s third marker with 2:04 to go with a wrist shot from the slot, but that was as close as the game got, as Maine won, 5-3.
Luke Cavallin earned his third victory in as many days for the Mariners, as he made 20 saves on 23 shots. Taylor Gauthier stopped 31 of the 36 shots he faced for the Nailers.
The North Division Final Series shifts back to WesBanco Arena for game six on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. If game seven is necessary, that would be played in Wheeling on Monday at 7:10 p.m. Playoff tickets are available now by calling (304) 234-GOAL or visiting wheelingnailers.com.
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.
