WesBanco Arena has treated the Wheeling Nailers extremely well this season, and last week’s three-game homestand proved to be exactly what the team needed in order to return to its winning ways. Wheeling earned five out of six possible points against three Central Division opponents to maintain a seven-point lead atop the ECHL’s North Division. The Nailers will depart the Friendly City for a Wednesday night tussle against the Indy Fuel, before returning for three more home games this weekend against the Reading Royals.
TRADING ICE SKATES FOR COWBOY BOOTS
This weekend, fans will be invited to saddle up and make their way down to WesBanco Arena for Country Night on Saturday at 7:10. Loop Rawlins, who starred on season nine of America’s Got Talent, will be performing his One Man Wild West Show during both intermissions, then he will sign autographs. There will also be a mechanical bull in the main lobby, and there will be country music played throughout the night. Wheeling and Reading will go head-to-head all weekend long. Friday’s 7:10 tilt is a Frosty Friday with select $2 beers. After Sunday’s 4:10 battle, fans will be able to skate with the odd-numbered players.
KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY
Pittsburgh native and veteran defenseman Alexander Kuqali made his Wheeling debut on Wednesday night, and in doing so, he became the second member of his family to suit up for the club. Alexander’s older brother Nicholas appeared in 25 games for the Nailers during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons. The Kuqalis are the 14th family to have two siblings appear in at least one game each for Wheeling. They are the fifth pair of brothers who were not teammates during their respective tenures with the team. Of those five, their 11-year gap between games is the longest in team history, beating out the Hunt family, who saw Trevor play for the Nailers in 2010-11, followed by his younger brother Garet one decade later in 2020-21. Thanks to Alexander’s assist in Saturday’s game, he and Nicholas both got on the scoresheet for Wheeling, making them the ninth pair of brothers to each have at least one point with the team.
A NOD TO THE NETMINDERS
The Nailers earned two victories last week, and both games saw their starting goaltender earn the number one star for shining brightly between the pipes. On Wednesday night, Taylor Gauthier faced the largest workload for a Wheeling netminder in over 17 years, as the Fort Wayne Komets poured 55 shots on goal. Gauthier denied 53 of those attempts to tie for the third most saves in a game by a Nailers goalie all-time. Although he came up short in his bid for a win on Friday night, Gauthier found a different page in the history book, as he stopped a penalty shot by Indy’s Jadon Joseph in overtime. It was Gauthier’s third career save on a penalty shot, and the first ever faced by a Wheeling goaltender in overtime. Saturday was Maxim Pavlenko’s night in the spotlight, as he blocked away all 31 shots sent his way by the Cincinnati Cyclones. The shutout was Pavlenko’s fourth with the Nailers this season (also has one with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), which ties him with Fort Wayne’s Samuel Jonsson for the most in the ECHL. The four shutouts are also tied for the third most by a rookie in club history.
NOT GOING AWAY EASILY
The Nailers have shown lots of resiliency over the course of the 2025-26 season, and some of that was on display last week. On Wednesday night, Wheeling earned its eighth comeback win of the campaign, as Connor Lockhart forced overtime with 4:31 remaining, which set the stage for Brent Johnson’s heroics in the extra session. The goal by Lockhart came 21 seconds after Fort Wayne had taken the lead. On Friday night, Indy took a 2-1 lead in the early stages of the third period, but the Nailers once again had a quick answer, as Logan Pietila needed 20 seconds to square the score at two. Although Cincinnati was held off of the scoreboard on Sunday, Wheeling kept its run of quick goals alive, as the team scored twice in a span of 26 seconds to punctuate its five-goal second period. Another area of resiliency for the Nailers comes from their ability to battle back for points. Wheeling has had nine games go past regulation this season, and the Nailers have scored the tying goal in six of those, including all four in the last two weeks.
FRESH IN THE MEMORY BANKS
The Nailers won’t have to go too far back in the season archives to see how they’ve fared against their two opponents this week.
First up is a Wednesday night road game against the Indy Fuel. Last year, Wheeling and Indy split four games in the inaugural season of Fishers Event Center, and this will be the lone visit there for the Nailers in 2025-26. The Nailers and Fuel have both picked up one victory in this year’s season series, which will conclude on the final day of the regular season (April 18th) at WesBanco Arena. After winning in a shootout at Wheeling on Friday, Indy saw its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 3-1 setback against Iowa on Saturday. The Fuel are in fourth place in the Central Division – five points ahead of Cincinnati and two points behind Bloomington.
The weekend will be all about the Nailers and Reading Royals, who will play for the ninth, tenth, and 11th times this season. These two rivals split a pair of games on January 23rd and 24th at WesBanco Arena, bringing the season set to a 4-4 deadlock. The series has been extremely tight, with Wheeling holding a slim 19-17 advantage in goals. One area where the Nailers have had a significant upper hand is special teams, as Wheeling has converted on seven of 25 power plays (28.0%), while limiting the Royals to just two goals on 28 chances (7.1%). This weekend is a huge opportunity for the Nailers to increase their lead at the top of the North Division, as they begin the week with a seven-point lead over Reading, plus Wheeling has two games in hand (one of those will be Wednesday at Indy). Adirondack will be keeping an eye on this series from afar, as the Thunder are tied with the Royals and have played in two fewer games than the Nailers. Adirondack plays three games this weekend at South Division leading Atlanta.
Buy Tickets for Upcoming Games
Fri. Feb. 13 – Frosty Friday
Sat. Feb. 14 – Country Night, Featuring Loop Rawlins
Sun. Feb. 15 – Post Game Skate (Odd-Numbered Players)
