The Nailers won both games last weekend against Norfolk by matching 3-2 scores. What did Wheeling do in those games to earn the victories?
Talk about a tale of two different games that somehow came to the same decision. Wheeling was able to stake themselves to an early lead on Saturday then had to work hard to maintain that lead, whereas Sunday’s game saw the Admirals start hot before the home team managed to come back and earn four points, while managing to only give a division rival a single point in the two games.
As I said, Saturday’s game started very well for the Nailers, as they got a power play just 33 seconds into the contest and managed to cash in on Brent Johnson’s first of the season to take a lead that they managed to hold through the rest of the period. The second period started just as well for Wheeling where, despite not getting a power play, the team managed to double their lead just under two minutes into the period off of the stick of Bogdans Hodass, and the Nailers were able to maintain the two-goal advantage into the final frame.
Norfolk managed to get back into the game early in the third (with each period seeing a score less than two minutes into it), and the Admirals continued the push until a tripping penalty against the visitors halfway through the frame gave Wheeling the chance to cash in on the man advantage once more thanks to Max Graham. The Admirals managed to score once more late but couldn’t complete the comeback and the Nailers took the win.
On Sunday, Norfolk came out hot early, scoring twice in the first seven minutes and change of the game to stake themselves out to a lead this time. Wheeling was able to cut the lead in half just before the midpoint of the first, with Ryan Mahshie netting his first in a Nailers uniform, and the game went to the first intermission with the Admirals holding a one-goal advantage.
Wheeling came out buzzing in the second period, trying to tie the game, when Norfolk took a penalty and the Nailer power play unit took advantage for the third time on the weekend thanks to Connor Lockhart to pull the two teams even on the scoreboard. In the third period, despite the Admirals getting a 15-4 shot advantage in the period, neither team was able to score, and the game went to extra time where Max Graham was able to score on the first Wheeling shot of the overtime to send the fans at Wesbanco Arena home happy.
The Nailers played a game Thursday night on the road against the expansion Greensboro Gargoyles, coming away with a 4-2 victory. How did Wheeling earn their fourth victory in a row?
The Nailers took their first trip of the season down to Greensboro and played possibly a perfect road game. Wheeling was able to stake themselves out to a lead, allowed the Gargoyles to get back into it, but weathered the storm and held tough until an empty net goal towards the end gave them the two-goal victory.
Wheeling pushed hard early and it worked out well for them, giving them the first goal of the game courtesy of Jordan Kaplan less than seven minutes into the contest. Greensboro pushed hard to get back into the game, but the first period ended with just the one goal scored. The second period also went well for the visitors early, with the Nailers getting two more goals from Connor Lockhart and Zach Urdahl before the midpoint of the frame. The Gargoyles did manage to finally get on the board with just over a minute left in the period, and Wheeling enjoyed a two-goal advantage heading into the third.
The Nailers played a very defensive third period, doing what they could to limit Greensboro’s chances, although that caused Wheeling to only have one regular shot on goal for the period. The Gargoyles did manage to score again with less than four minutes left on the clock, and a late penalty to Matthew Quercia gave them hope. But Wheeling successfully killed the penalty, and shortly after getting out of the box, Quercia pocketed an empty netter to clinch the victory for the Nailers.
The Nailers continue their series with two more games on Friday and Saturday down in Greensboro. What does Wheeling need to do to keep up their winning ways?
There’s an old saying in hockey that your team can’t clinch the playoffs in November, but they can certainly lose them. What the Nailers are doing right now is stacking wins and earning points so that, when those tough times come and they may have a few losses in a row, they have that cushion to hopefully keep them from falling off too far. Banking points early helps your team stay in the game for longer and gives you a chance to see some extended success.
Having an expansion team in your division is normally beneficial. They’re trying to build everything (roster, coaching staff, chemistry) from the ground up, which generally allows teams who have been around to take advantage of those games. The Gargoyles have struggled a little early this season, going 2-4-2 thus far and sitting just ahead of Worcester in the standings, although the Railers have played two less games. If Greensboro continues to struggle this year, Wheeling needs to use those games to their advantage and work hard to continue to win those games, keep on stacking, and set themselves up for the rest of the year.
With the amount of success the Nailers have seen this season, combined with the health issues happening to the teams above them in the organization, how long do you think it will be before more players start making their way up the ranks?
There’s always the threat when you’re a developmental team that you could lose your best players at a moment’s notice. Injuries anywhere above you could cause players to be on the move, and you’re stuck trying to figure out how to field a full lineup for your next series of games. The injury bug recently bit in Pittsburgh, with the Penguins losing Tristan Jarry, Noel Acciari, and Justin Brazeau for extended periods of time, after already being without Caleb Jones and Rickard Rakell.
The Nailers have already lost a little bit off the roster, with Zach Gallant and Maxim Pavlenko moving up to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier this week, but they have managed to stay mostly intact to this point. That won’t be the case as we get further into the year and more games get played. But the hope is that the injuries now will mean that the teams can stay healthy later, and Wheeling can find a way to get into a groove with a regular lineup of guys to keep the hot start going throughout the season.
The Nailers find themselves having 15 games in the 30 days of the month of November. Do you think there’s a benefit to playing so many games in the first full month of the season?
Looking back over the last six full seasons the Nailers have played before this one (not counting the COVID shortened season in 2020-21), Wheeling has not played this many games in November in a season (12 in 2024-25, 13 in 2023-24, 11 in 2022-23, 10 in 2021-22, 13 in 2019-20, and 13 in 2018-19). Of course, in each of those years, they played more than three games in October to begin the year, so I guess it’s a bit of a tradeoff.
Personally, I think it’s a good thing to get into it quickly like this. If your team plays less games early, when it gets to the point in the year where they find themselves facing three weeks with three games in each, the conditioning may not quite be there. Playing a lot of games early, especially when things are going well, allows your team to settle into a routine, get used to a practice schedule that fits into the calendar, and keep things hot. I really believe this has a good chance to be something good for this year’s version of the Wheeling Nailers, and trust that they can keep it going throughout the season
