The Nailers managed to earn three out of a possible four points in their two games last weekend against Trois-Rivières. What went well for Wheeling in those two games?
If this weekend was any indication of what we can expect when the Nailers and Lions face off, I look forward to the other four matchups scheduled between them this season. Both games were strong affairs with Wheeling jumping out quickly (the Nailers led in shots 17-3 after the first period Friday and 10-7 after one on Saturday) and Trois-Rivières staying the course and keeping things competitive. While it would’ve been nice to get all four points, being able to push Friday’s game to overtime despite trailing on three separate occasions and earning the single point is still nice.
Despite the shot disadvantage they found themselves in, the Lions were able to light the lamp first on Friday just over five minutes into the game before Wheeling tied it back up on the power play just four minutes later thanks to Jordan Martel. The second period saw even more back and forth action with each team finding the net twice in the period, and they entered the final frame of regulation still deadlocked.
The third period saw Trois-Rivières get a quick one past Jaxon Castor (who I feel like I jinxed by saying how well I thought he was playing last week) just 12 seconds into the period, and the Lions worked hard to protect that lead until, with just under nine minutes left, Matthew Quercia was able to chip in a loose puck and knot the game again. Even with both teams working hard to end it in regulation, the game went to overtime where Matty De St. Phalle got called for tripping and the Lions finished it off just 40 seconds later.
Saturday’s game started quickly as well, with Wheeling getting the lead just 30 seconds into the game from Kyle Jackson’s third of the season before Trois-Rivières tied it six minutes later. Wheeling once again took the lead with Cole Cameron netting his second of the year just four minutes later, and the Nailers took the lead into the break.
Much like the night before, both teams found the back of the net twice each in the second period, one of each of those being on the power play, and Wheeling continued to hold their one-goal advantage going into the final frame. The Lions were anxious to get the game squared back up and outshot the Nailers in the third period 10-4, but Sergei Murashov stood tall and made saves on every single one of those, and Wheeling held on for the win.
The Nailers played the first of two education day games scheduled for at home this year, beating the Fort Wayne Komets 3-1 on Tuesday. How did Wheeling manage to come away with the victory?
I think it’s a really good idea to have two education day games to get younger fans in the building. While that may tend to be a little more chaotic for everyone involved, if you get even one of those children to sit still long enough to watch the game and fall in love with it, it’s worth it. Now, couple that with a victory for the hometown team, and I think you have a recipe for repeat customers in the future.
The game itself started off like a number of Komets-Nailers games have in recent years, with a lot of back-and-forth action. By the time the horn sounded to end the first, 20 shots had been thrown on net (13 by Fort Wayne and seven by Wheeling), but none had tickled the twine, and the score remained knotted at 0-0. The second period only had a total of 12 shots combined, but one of those did make its way through off the stick of Jack Beck for his first goal as a professional to give the Nailers the lead heading to the final period.
Shortly into that third period, Matthew Quercia jumped on a loose puck near the Komets net and buried it to extend the Wheeling lead to 2-0. Five minutes after that, the Nailers would take their only penalty of the game, and Fort Wayne made them pay to cut the lead in half, but with the Komets net empty, Dustin Manz found himself with the puck on his stick to ice the game in favor of the home team. Murashov was outstanding in the net again, this time making 32 saves on 33 shots.
The Nailers have home games scheduled for this Friday and Saturday against the Indy Fuel. What does Wheeling have to do to try and maximize their points from these games?
Continuing our tour around our old division, the former rival Fuel come to the Friendly City for two big games this weekend. Indy arrives with a record of 4-5 in this early season, but they have won three of their last four, including a 4-1 victory over league-leading Toledo on Wednesday. While that’s a sign that they’ve gotten stronger over the last week or so, there are definitely things I think the Nailers can take advantage of to come away with a couple victories.
Indy has played every game so far this season on the road and won’t even play their first home game this season until December. Eventually, being on the road that much has to weigh on a team and drag them down a bit. Looking over their stats, the Fuel are vastly outplayed in the first period this season, scoring only one first period goal as opposed to six going the other way. If Wheeling can come out firing, they could find a way to build an early lead and work to keep it. Also, their power play is middle of the road in the ECHL, sitting 18th with a 16.7% success rate, but they’ve also allowed two shorthanded goals this year in only nine games. If the Nailers do find themselves in penalty trouble, they should still keep their eyes open for opportunities to put points on the board.
The Nailers have already made it to 10 games played in the 2024-25 season and currently sit in second place in the North Division and in seventh place in the entire league. What have you seen from this team so far that makes you believe they can remain toward the top of the standings as we get further into the season?
While it’s never nice to look up in the standings and see Toledo ahead of us once again, it’s nice knowing they’re not our direct competition anymore. Now, we have to deal with Norfolk sitting as top dog in the North Division, although it’s only by two points and they’ve played one more game than Wheeling has, so that can be made up.
For the team as a whole, I see several good signs that we can continue to play strong. We are actually towards the bottom of the list in terms of average penalty minutes per game at 8.70, which is a far cry from where we’ve been in recent seasons. Playing more at 5-on-5 has been helpful for the Nailers so far this year. Also, Wheeling has managed to score first in six of their games this season, with a record of 5-1 in those games. That puts their win percentage in those games (0.833) ahead of the league average (0.750). If the Nailers can continue to come out strong early in games and put up points quickly, that can lead to a lot of success on the ice.
As for individual players, there isn’t that much that stands out, but I mean that in a good way. They’ve had 14 players compete in all 10 games this season, and every single one of them have at least one point so far this year, led by Jordan Martel with 10 points. That tells me the Nailers are getting contributions from up and down the lineup, meaning their opponents can’t key on just one line to shut down, because Coach Derek Army could deploy one of the other lines and be just as dangerous. If the Nailers can continue to get those contributions from every player in uniform, night in and night out, there’s no reason they can’t be competitive in every game they play the rest of the way.
This Saturday’s game will be Pittsburgh Pirates night at Wesbanco Arena. How excited are you about this fun event?
I always enjoy it when the Nailers do things like this in conjunction with our local major league professional teams. I’m a Pittsburgh sports fan through and through, and while it’s been rough at times to be a Pirates fan in recent years, I still find myself cheering them on every season in hopes that they finally break through. With the starting pitching they’re developing and the roster they’re working to build, I think they’re close to finally getting back to playoff baseball once more.
So, when I see they’re having Pirates night down at Wesbanco Arena, I get excited for it. The Nailers announced that former team superstar and current broadcaster “The Pittsburgh Kid” Neil Walker will be in attendance and greeting fans, which I’m very much looking forward to. I’d love to pick his brain for a minute and see what he makes of next year’s squad. For the kids in attendance, the Pirate Parrot will also be there getting into his normal antics with Spike, so that should be really fun for them. The Nailers will also be giving away baseball caps to the fans in attendance. So, if you want to get in the door and have a chance to say hello to Neil Walker and take in an exciting hockey game, I’d say get your tickets now and I’ll see you at the rink.
