Are you ready Ohio Valley? In a few hours, those magical words will be uttered inside WesBanco Arena for the first time since March.
“It’s a hockey night in Wheeling.”
Yes folks, the ECHL began its 33rd season of hockey Friday night as five games lined the schedule. Your Wheeling Nailers kick things off Saturday tonight at 7:10 p.m. when the Indy Fuel comes to town.
The Fuel actually opened the season Friday, hosting the Kansas City Mavericks. Indy won that game via shootout, 4-3.
Fuel goaltender Dan Bakala allowed three goals during the first two periods, but buckled down to the start the third. He shut out the Mavs in the final period, plus the overtime session. Then, he stoned Kansas City shooters on three successive attempts in the shootout, including denying Giorgio Estephan his second goal of the night.
Peter Krieger notched the lone goal in the shootout for Indy, which also received a second-period score from former Wheeling Nailer Alex Rauter.
Rauter, who last played in Wheeling during the 18-19 season, is joined on the Fuel roster by another former Nailers’ winger in Patrick McGrath.
Rauter scored, scored 10 goals for Wheeling 18-19 season. McGrath was in Wheeling for three seasons, the last in 15-16
In other opening night action: Greenville best South Carolina 3-2 in overtime, Wichita beat Tulsa 3-2 in a shootout, and Rapid City outdueled Utah 6-4 in an offensive barrage. Only Florida’s 6-1 victory against Jacksonville didn’t come down until the final period.
New Era in Wheeling
Indy may have a slight edge in that it’s already played a game prior to coming to Wheeling. But Wheeling has a new lineup with a new head coach behind the bench who’s no stranger to success.
The Mark French era in Wheeling begins tonight.
French is no stranger to the ECHL, either, or hockey in general. His most notable coaching job came during the 2010 AHL season when he led Hershey to a Calder Cup championship season.
Can French’s magic work to put the Nailers over the top? Only twice has the Wheeling franchise reached the Kelly Cup finals. The first time came during the 1993 season when the then-Wheeling Thunderbirds fell to Toledo 4-2. The Nailers reached the finale again in 2016, falling again 4-2 to the Allen Americans.
That 2016 appearance is also the last time the Nailers reached the ECHL postseason, falling short the last three season—four if you count the 2020 playoffs. While canceled, Wheeling was not going to have the necessary number of points required to crack the postseason.
A Different Look
This ECHL season will certainly look, and feel, different than any other in years’ past.
For one, only 13 teams are participating in the official start of the season, of which technically there are two.
Some teams, like Wheeling, Indy, Rapid City, and Florida, for example, opted to start the season in December. Others are waiting for the unofficial “second start” later in January.
Thirteen teams will take the ice at some point by January, with Central-division rivals Fort Wayne and Toledo opting to delay further and start in February.
Fellow Central franchise Kalamazoo and Cincinnati opted out of the season entirely and will rejoin in 2021-22. Idaho from the Mountain Division, as well as the entire North Division (Adirondack, Brampton, Maine, Newfoundland, Reading and Worcester) also opted out.
Nearly half of the league is sitting out the season entirely. Toledo and Fort Wayne’s delayed starts give the league 15 total teams participating by February.
Temporary Modified Attendance
The Nailers will play in front of fans this season, including tonight’s game. But the first three games of the season (tonight, along with Dec. 18 and 19) will be attended by only season ticket holders.
Fans will also need to wear their masks, remain socially distanced, and stay in their assigned seats. The Nailers’ released a detailed plan discussing the safety precautions in place for this season.
COVID-19 levels will be monitored throughout the first month of the season with the potential for more fans able to attend, depending on positivity figures and other factors.
Fans wanting to keep up with the Nailers until tickets are available to the general public can do so by tuning into 97.3 FM or visit mix973Wheeling.com to stream the audio.
Those wanting to watch the game either live or via on-demand broadcast afterward can join the FloSports network, which is airing all ECHL games this season. Original content can be found in addition to live-game action.
