The Nailers took care of business in their only game last weekend, beating Indy at home. How did Wheeling get the victory?
Well, talk about just what the doctor ordered. The Nailers took care of business against a team they have struggled with to that point this season, going just 2-6-2 against the Fuel coming into the game. They not only earned the points for themselves, but by winning in regulation, it essentially became a four-point game (by keeping any points from going Indy’s way). It allowed Wheeling to get that much closer to the team directly ahead of them in the standings, and they did it in ways that haven’t been very common for them this year.
Right from the opening faceoff, the game had a playoff-type atmosphere, as the Nailers knew their performance in this game and the one rescheduled for Wednesday (that we’ll talk about shortly) could make or break their chances of getting in. Unfortunately for Wheeling, Indy found a way to hit the net first just four and a half minutes in, putting the Nailers in an early hole. In their 68 games heading into this one, Wheeling scored first in the game 37 times. So, 55% of the time, the Nailers would get the lead, and quite often it would happen within the first five minutes of the game, so to face a deficit that early was a real change of pace.
From there, Wheeling was able to turn up the pressure and earned a power play just before the midpoint of the period and were able to cash in, something that would become the theme of the night, this time off the stick of Isaac Belliveau. Just over three minutes after the goal, Indy would take another penalty, and yet again the Nailers took advantage thanks to the team-leading 32nd goal of the season from Jordan Martel to give Wheeling the 2-1 lead, which held to the horn.
The second period was a little more back and forth, with both teams getting 10 shots on goal each in the frame. The score held steady until, with less than five minutes remaining, the Fuel were able to deposit a shot behind Jaxon Castor to pull even with the Nailers. Wheeling came out after the goal and tried to get their advantage back before the end of the period, but to no avail, and the game was tied heading to the final period. On the season, the Nailers were 6-9-2 when tied after two periods coming in, while the Fuel were 5-3-2 in the same situation, so there was a chance this could go either way.
Luckily for the Nailers, Jared Westcott, one of the players who joined the team over the last couple weeks, came out ready for the third period. About seven minutes into the period, Westcott scored his second of the season as a member of the Nailers to give Wheeling their lead again, then after another penalty call on Indy, Westcott found the back of the net to give Wheeling their third power play goal of the game (on exactly three chances) and gave the team their first two-goal advantage of the evening. The Fuel did manage to get one goal back with just over two minutes to play, but with their goaltender pulled, they couldn’t manage to keep Wheeling from getting one more, as Tanner Laderoute restored the two-goal advantage with under a minute to go, and the Nailers held on for a huge 5-3 victory.
The Nailers made up their game against the Komets on Wednesday, beating the division rivals and staying ahead of them in the standings. What did they do to come away with the crucial two points?
If Sunday’s game was important, Wednesday’s game against Fort Wayne was quite possibly the most necessary win the Nailers could have this season. And just like on Sunday, by winning in regulation, they not only assured themselves two points and the opportunity to stay in third place in the division, but the Nailers also managed to keep the Komets from getting any points, which knocked them out of the playoff picture for the time being. When you’re in a division that’s as close as the Central Division is this year, every point can make or break your chances of making the playoffs.
Unlike on Sunday, it was the Nailers who were able to jump out early and give themselves the advantage. Isaac Belliveau delivered a strong pass to David Jankowski, who was able to find the net behind the Fort Wayne goalie just six minutes into the contest to give Wheeling the lead. After that, both teams clamped down a little and played a tight checking period. Each team had a couple chances, but neither was able to take advantage, and the 1-0 Wheeling lead held until the horn sounded.
The second period was much more lopsided in favor of the visitors, as Fort Wayne outshot Wheeling in the period 19-8. But out of those eight shots on goal in the frame, two were able to find the net. Jordan Martel was able to earn yet another goal just over three minutes into the period to double the Nailers advantage. Then, 22 seconds after a penalty call against the Komets, Tanner Laderoute scored yet another power play marker, and when the period ended, the Nailers looked up to see a 3-0 advantage heading into the third.
The third period started quickly, with Fort Wayne finally managing to get a puck in behind Jaxon Castor to cut it back to a two-goal lead just over a minute into the period. However, four minutes after that goal, Jordan Frasca netted another power play marker for Wheeling, and neither team really managed to get much offense after that, with the two teams only combining for nine shots on goal in the entire period. When the final horn sounded, the Nailers skated away with the all-important points and sent the Komets home to lick their wounds.
The Nailers are down to their last two games in the regular season, with Toledo and Cincinnati visiting this weekend. What do they need to do to maximize their points to hopefully make it to the postseason?
Two games. That’s all that sits between this Nailers team and either another trip to the postseason or another early trip home. If these boys aren’t excited for these games and ready to put everything on the line to stay in the position they’re in (or possibly move up), then they’re in the wrong line of business. It’s games like these that every athlete dreams of being the hero of, and this is the chance for these guys to do just that and propel the Nailers into the postseason next week.
First up on Friday – AT 6 P.M. INSTEAD OF 7 P.M. – is the hated Toledo Walleye, who have already clinched the Central Division championship but won’t be backing down against a rival. Toledo comes to town on a 12-game winning streak, and they have one of the most potent offenses in the league, having scored the third most goals in the ECHL this season (behind only Kansas City and Idaho). Their offense is led by former Nailer Brandon Hawkins, who leads the league in goals with 40, points with 92, and shots on goal with 335. Finding a way to shut him down will go a long way towards helping the Nailers slow down the Walleye attack.
One thing the Nailers might need to take advantage of is the Walleye penalty kill. Their shorthanded group has a success rate on the road this season of 79.2%, good for 16th in the league. Add in how well the Wheeling power play has been performing recently, going 5-for-6 in their last two games combined, and maybe the Nailers can use those chances to get on top of Toledo. Another note of interest is just how poorly the Walleye have played early in games this season, with only a +4 goal differential in the first period (69 goals for, 65 goals against). If Wheeling can do what they’ve done a number of times this year and score early, they can put Toledo’s backs against the wall and keep the pressure on the visitors.
Then on Sunday – INSTEAD OF SATURDAY AT 7 P.M. – at a time not yet determined, WEheeling will end its regular season by welcoming a Cincinnati Cyclones team to town that they’ve had a good amount of success against this season to the tune of a 5-3-1 record. Cincinnati has already been eliminated from playoff contention, but that doesn’t mean they won’t want to come out and potentially play spoiler for a Wheeling team hoping to make the postseason themselves. The Cyclones have a record on the road this season of 13-19-3, with just the game this weekend left to play in their season.
When looking at their season to figure out what went wrong for Cincy and see where Wheeling might be able to take advantage, a few things stand out. Their penalty kill on the road is abysmal, sitting 26th in the 27-team league with a 73.4% success rate (only Utah is worse, with a 67.6% success rate). Just like with Toledo the night before, if the Nailers man advantage group (which is 13th in the league at home with a 19.8% success rate, and 10th overall in the league) can play as well as they did against Indy and Fort Wayne, they can definitely use that against the Cyclones. Another area Wheeling can work with is the fact that the second period has been Cincy’s worst period all season, with a -14 goal differential (85 goals for, 99 goals against), whereas the second period has been Wheeling’s strongest all year, where they enjoy a +26 goal differential (90 goals for, 64 goals against). If the Nailers can continue that trend, they should be able to earn enough points this weekend to continue playing beyond these last two games.
When this weekend ends, the Nailers could be anywhere between second in the division to out of the playoffs. What will it take to make sure Wheeling is a part of the second season?
As it currently stands, Indy, Wheeling, and Kalamazoo all have two games remaining in their season, while Fort Wayne has an additional game to play beyond that. The Fuel currently sit in second place with 82 standings points, while the Nailers occupy third place with 79 points, the Wings are holding on to fourth place with 77 points, and the Komets are on the outside looking in with 76 points. At this point, the most points Wheeling could end the season with, if they should win both of their last two games, is 83 points, which would be enough to guarantee themselves a spot in the Kelly Cup playoffs.
If that does happen, and Indy manages to lose their last two contests (at Fort Wayne Friday followed by home against Kalamazoo on Saturday), the Nailers would leapfrog the Fuel into second place and start the playoffs at home. Should Indy win either of the last two, they would be guaranteed second place, and the Nailers will start on the road in the playoffs, should they qualify.
Of course, Wheeling can still find their way into the postseason even if they should lose one (or both) of the games this weekend, but they would need some help. The real kicker is the fact that the Komets have an extra game still left to play. In addition to their game against the Fuel, Fort Wayne has a home and home left with Toledo, who don’t really have much left to play for at this point. With three wins, the Komets would end the season with 82 points, while the K-Wings can only achieve 81 points with their remaining games, so Fort Wayne would make the postseason if both teams won out, and Kalamazoo would need help from Wheeling to make it.
At this point, the Nailers really do control their own destiny. It’s a situation where you win out and you’re in, most likely as the three seed and going on the road to begin the postseason against Indy. If they trip up, it’s not the end of the world, but they will definitely need at least one of Kalamazoo or Fort Wayne to have some struggles as well (or both hopefully). I really do feel, based on what I’ve seen out of this team recently, they have the inside track to getting into the playoffs, and once you get in, everyone’s records reset to 0-0 and anything can happen at that point.
After having over 75,000 fans in attendance in Wheeling last season, the Nailers will go over 80,000 for the 2023-24 season. What does that attendance number tell you about community interest in this hockey team?
Last season showed that the Ohio Valley was still invested in Wheeling Nailers hockey after they only had 60,000 fans in the building the season before that. By having the attendance number continue to climb, it shows that last year wasn’t a fluke and people still want to come be a part of what this franchise is building. Obviously, it helps that they have been putting a winning product on the ice, but even when things got rough a few times this year, the fans still continued to come to the arena and try to will the team to perform and get those wins. It also helps that the Nailers have put on a number of fun promotions again this year to engage the crowd, but the fans have been there even without those events.
But now isn’t the time to sit back and be happy with what has already happened. With only two games left in the building for sure, now is the time for even more fans to show up in droves. Now is the time to be there for these young men who have been out there trying to get this team to this point. According to the reports from the ECHL, the Nailers have welcomed 79,579 fans into the arena already to this point, and they still have two more chances to get that number to balloon. I’d love to see us surpass last year’s number by 10,000. In order to do that, we need about 3,000 fans at each of these remaining contests. If you want to be there for them and give them that energy to feed off of to lay the smack down on Toledo and Cincinnati and prepare for the postseason, get your tickets now and get to the arena. I really hope to see you there for these games.
