For the third season in a row and the 18th time in club history, the Wheeling Nailers have punched their ticket to the Kelly Cup Playoffs. A total of 8,001 fans came out to WesBanco Arena last weekend to watch the Nailers sweep the Worcester Railers and maintain their six-point lead for first place in the North Division.
All three games were decided in regulation, as Wheeling was victorious, 4-0, 2-1, and 4-1. Surprisingly, the schedule slows down a tad this week, as the Nailers will play their next three games over the course of seven days, with two days off separating each of them. Wheeling will travel to Fort Wayne and Toledo on Wednesday and Saturday, before returning to Nail City for a Tuesday make-up game against Cincinnati.
PLAYOFFS ARE #FORTHEWHEEL
WesBanco Arena was rocking on Saturday night, as the Nailers hosted their annual Fan Appreciation Night game. This year, the fans got an extra treat, as that was the night Wheeling clinched its spot in the playoffs. The Nailers won all three of their home games against the Worcester Railers to improve to 42-16-6, which is good for 90 points. Wheeling is now 24-6-4 on home ice, and is in the midst of its second eight-game winning streak this season. The series sweep was the ninth of the season for the Nailers, who have earned at least one series sweep against six of seven North Division opponents. Taylor Gauthier played eight of nine periods in goal over the weekend, and denied 115 of the 117 shots he faced, while recording his team-record tenth career shutout on Friday. Offensively, Matthew Quercia scored three goals, while Connor Lockhart tallied five points.
STEP TWO: HOME ICE
Now that Wheeling has clinched the playoffs, it’s time to look at the next item on the list. The Nailers’ magic number to clinch home ice advantage in the first round is four points. That number is currently based off of the Adirondack Thunder, who have a maximum point total of 94. A lot of fans have their eyes on step three, as Wheeling is attempting to win its first division title in 22 years. The Nailers have a six-point lead over the Maine Mariners for first place. Maine has two games in hand, while Wheeling holds the tiebreaker with a 34-29 lead in regulation wins. The Mariners will play both of their games in hand this week, as they will face the Trois-Rivières Lions four times in five days. Maine will play at home on Wednesday, before heading north of the border for matches on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Nailers and Mariners are two of the hottest teams in the ECHL, as Wheeling is 11-1 in its last 12 games, while Maine is 17-1-1 in its last 19 tilts.
A MAGNIFICENT MONTH OF MARCH
This week, the Nailers will begin the final month of the regular season, but before they attack April, the month of March deserves some extra recognition. After dropping the first game of the month 3-2 in overtime to Fort Wayne, Wheeling went on to win 11 of its next 12 games to finish March with an 11-1-1 record. That is good for an .885 points percentage, which is the best points percentage for a month with at least ten games played in team history. It is also the second year in a row that the Nailers have reached double-digit wins in two months during the same season, as they won 12 matches in November. During March, Wheeling had the lead for 431:40 and trailed for only 31:51. Goaltenders Taylor Gauthier and Maxim Pavlenko produced save percentages of .900 or better in all 13 games. The Nailers outscored their opponents, 41-21.
BACK-TO-BACK YEARS OF 90
For the second year in a row and fifth time in 34 seasons, the Nailers have reached the 90-point plateau, and there are still eight games left in the regular season. Wheeling can match last year’s win total of 43 with one more victory, which would be tied for the fourth most wins in a season in team history. While the Nailers would need to run the table (8-0-0) to match the 2003-04 team’s 106-point campaign, the second best regular season in club history is within reach. That mark currently belongs to the 1994-95 squad, which went 46-17-5 for 97 points. Wheeling has a chance to finish with fewer than 20 regulation losses for the fourth time ever, and would need to earn ten points in the final eight games in order to reach 100 points for the second time. This is the first time the Nailers have earned at least 90 points in consecutive seasons, and the team’s all-time record of most points in a two-year span is 187, which was achieved by the 2003-04 and 2004-05 clubs.
SCOUTING THE CENTRAL RACE
While the Nailers have their own business to take care of, their next three opponents also have a lot on the line, as the Central Division has a pair of tight races.
First up, Wheeling will visit the Fort Wayne Komets on Wednesday night. Fort Wayne is one of the few teams that has given the Nailers issues this season, as the Komets defeated Wheeling three times in a row in late February to take a 3-1 advantage in the season series. Fort Wayne is 15-2-2 in its last 19 games, and is currently tied with Toledo for first place in the Central Division. The Komets made two of the louder moves at the trade deadline, as they acquired 12-year veteran forward Logan Nelson from Greensboro, and defenseman Josh Atkinson, who led Greenville blueliners with 35 points at the time of the deal. Fort Wayne also temporarily got help from an NHL trade, as Edmonton acquired forward Josh Bloom from Vancouver. Bloom has 29 points in 22 ECHL games this season, but is currently with the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors.
It doesn’t feel normal, but Saturday will be just the second head-to-head meeting between the Nailers and Toledo Walleye in 378 days. The two long-time rivals will end up facing off twice in April. Wheeling won the opening game of the season series, 5-2, all the way back on November 28th, which was the day after Thanksgiving. Similar to the Komets, losses have been few and far between for Toledo, which has gone 10-2-3 in its last 15 games to cling to that first place tie with Fort Wayne. The Walleye made three significant acquisitions at the trade deadline, as they brought in former Nailer Cam Hausinger from Greenville, in addition to forward Garrett Van Wyhe from Jacksonville. Van Wyhe has ten points in his first 15 games in a Toledo uniform. The third player added was former Nailer Christopher Brown from Jacksonville, but he is currently playing for the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Toledo will play two road games this week (at Indy on Wednesday, at Kalamazoo on Friday) before the showdown with Wheeling.
Four teams are separated by five points for the final two playoff spots in the Central Division, and one of those clubs is the Cincinnati Cyclones, who will visit WesBanco Arena on Tuesday. The Nailers have earned seven of eight possible points in the season series against the Cyclones, and have outscored them 20-8 in the four clashes. Cincinnati will be coming to Wheeling following a three-game road series in Tahoe this week. With 66 points, the Cyclones sit two points back of Kalamazoo for the fourth and final playoff spot, but Cincinnati and Kalamazoo still have three head-to-head battles remaining. This is the rescheduled game that was originally slated for December 28th.
Buy Tickets for Upcoming Games
Tue. Apr. 7 Cincy Cyclones at home.
Sat. Apr. 18 – 80’s Night
Date TBA – Home Playoff Game 1
Date TBA – Home Playoff Game 2
