The Nailers had their first winning weekend in the month of December last weekend, scoring a 4-1 victory over Indy followed by a 3-0 shutout of Cincinnati. What worked out so well for Wheeling that they can bring with them into the rest of the season?
Well, apparently finally finding a way to open the floodgates against Indy is exactly what the doctor ordered, with the Nailers beating the Fuel for a second straight time, this one finally in regulation. Even with Indy completely possessing every major statistic in the first period, including the only goal of the period as well as a 9-2 advantage in shots, it really felt like something Wheeling could overcome. The Fuel couldn’t find a way to pull further away from the Nailers as the period went on, and they struggled considerably with finding a way to get past Taylor Gauthier in net.
In the second period, the Nailers found a way to tie it up quickly, with Owen Headrick scoring his first as a Nailer only 2:28 into the period. From there, within the next five minutes, it became the Jordan Frasca show, with the forward scoring his sixth and seventh goals of the season to give Wheeling a 3-1 advantage going into the third period. The Nailers would find the back of the net one more time in the third, this time on the power play off the stick of Jordan Martel on the power play, to extend the lead to the eventual final score of 4-1. Just as importantly as getting the goal with the man advantage, the Nailers also managed to kill off all three power plays the Fuel had on the night, giving the Nailers 10 consecutive shorthanded kills, which is impressive considering where their penalty kill was just a few short weeks ago.
After that, you might be concerned the Nailers would take their foot off the gas even though they were playing a Cincinnati team that they’re currently fighting to stay in playoff contention, especially with Gauthier being given the nod for the second night in a row. Wheeling came out and played fast, just like the Cyclones like to play, and exited the ice for the first intermission still scoreless despite both teams registering 12 shots on goal apiece. It wouldn’t take that long once the teams returned to the ice for Wheeling to break that deadlock, with Davis Bunz scoring only 1:46 into the second period. The Nailers would get a second goal from Justin Lee, leading to a 2-0 advantage heading into the final frame.
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In that third period, the Cyclones peppered Gauthier with shots, registering 10 total for the period to only two for the Nailers, but the Wheeling goalie was up to the task, turning aside every attempt. Wheeling did manage to pot one of their two shots on goal in the period, this one coming from Dillon Hamaliuk for his team-leading 10th goal of the season, and Wheeling found themselves with a 3-0 victory when the final horn sounded. Although the man advantage failed to record a goal on their two chances, the penalty kill held Cincy off the board in their two opportunities as well.
I feel like the most important thing we’re seeing from the Nailers right now is the consistency the penalty kill showed earlier in the season. Despite high shot totals from their opponents, to have 12 consecutive kills is rather impressive, and is something Wheeling will need to continue to get moving forward. I’m also happy the power play has found a way to score a few goals over the last couple weekends as well. Despite their success rate still being just 17% for the season, there’s signs of life from that group, and if they can get it back up over 20%, or closer to 25% hopefully, that should go a long way in helping the Nailers earn more victories as we continue through the season.
With the upcoming holiday break, the Nailers only have one game this weekend, a Friday showdown with the Cyclones in Cincinnati. What do the Nailers need to do to bring home the two points for a victory?
Having their final game before the holiday break against the team they just defeated here at home in a shutout, this time on the road, seems to be a particularly cruel twist of fate for this Wheeling team. Cincy will come out with the fire they showed in the third period last weekend, trying to prove that they can score against Gauthier, assuming he is in net again, which would make the most sense. The most important thing for the Nailers will be to withstand the assault early on, as I’m sure the Cyclones will want to get a quick lead, just like Wheeling likes to do. If an opportunity presents itself, don’t be afraid to take it, but don’t do it at the expense of the defense if you’re not able to get back and prevent odd man advantages.
If Wheeling is able to stand against the storm the Cyclones are sure to bring, there will no doubt be opportunities to turn it into offense the other way. If Cincy finds themselves out of position, take advantage of potential odd man breaks and force their goaltender to make a play. Of the four goalies Cincinnati currently has on their roster, Olof Lindbom (the goaltender Wheeling just defeated last weekend) has decent enough stats, with a 2.81 goals against average. But his save percentage of 0.901% is quite low for a good starter, and that tells me he struggles to make saves when shots actually make it through to him. The Nailers need to take enough shots so that he can’t make the saves and earn a lead they can make stand.
And I’m sure this goes without saying, but with this being their only game of the weekend before the holiday break, there’s no reason not to leave everything on the ice. If it’s going to take a little extra push to get to that loose puck, don’t hold back. If there’s a chance to deliver some punishment that might give you a little shock yourself, take that chance. I’m not suggesting putting yourself into dangerous situations or potentially causing an injury, but you will have time to rest and heal, so make this one count, because you won’t have another chance on the ice until next Wednesday in Indy. Go all out and head into your break off a big division victory and stay ahead of Cincinnati in the standings.
With 24 games played, the Nailers have officially made it a third of the way through their season with a record of 12-10-1-1, good for third place in the division. What has surprised you the most with how things have gone for Wheeling thus far, and who has impressed you so far?
I have to say, the thing that has impressed me the most about the Nailers this year is their resilience. There have been times this season where they struggled for stretches in a game and gave up a goal or two. Last year, the guys on the ice would’ve allowed it to get to them and wouldn’t have gotten back into the game. This year, however, I see a spark, I see a fight and a desire to work harder to get back into games. I see a team that understands that trailing in a game doesn’t mean they’re going to lose. There have been maybe two games this year where their effort still wasn’t enough, but other than that, the score at any given moment in a game didn’t create a sense of apathy in the team, which is what they’ll need to continue climbing in such a tough division (more on that in a moment).
On the other hand, I’m most surprised in a negative way by how poorly the specialty teams have been overall this season. They started off very hot, with the power play humming with a 40% success rate earlier in the year, but they’ve cooled considerably and had numerous games with no goals on the advantage. Their current success rate of 17% is good for 21st overall in the 28-team league. They will need to turn that around considerably to have a chance later in the year. As for the penalty kill group, their recent play has helped them get back to a 79.4% success rate, tied for 12th best leaguewide, which is must better than they were. They will need to continue that streak to stay on pace to continue playing come April.
As for specific players, there are a number of guys who have really shown up well for this team to get them to where they are now. Justin Addamo means a lot to these guys, with Wheeling having a 7-3-0 record with him in the lineup, as opposed to a 5-7-2 record without him. Jordan Frasca has 21 points in 17 games this season after only earning 12 points last season in 36 games played. For rookies on the team, Thimo Nickl and Isaac Beliveau lead the league amongst rookies in plus/minus at +14 and +13, respectively, all while being towards the top of the team defensemen in points as well.
However, the player who has really shown up the best for the Nailers this season thus far has to be Gauthier. He currently ranks second in the entire ECHL in goals against average at 2.14 and second in save percentage with a 0.928%. Taylor has allowed three goals or less in 11 straight games, and 13 of his last 14. He also makes the team around him better, with the penalty kill having an 86.2% success rate with him backstopping them, whereas they are 69.2% with any other goalie. That shows me just how much he has meant to the team this year, and just how much their success will revolve around his performance. If he continues playing like he is, there’s no reason to think he couldn’t help but to propel this team to the postseason and beyond, unless he gets the call to the AHL.
To this point in the season, the Nailers have an 8-5-0-1 record at home, including being 5-2-0 against divisional opponents. On the other hand, they are 4-5-1-0 on the road, all against division rivals. Why do you think home ice has been so important for the Nailers, and what do they need to do to ensure they can earn home ice when the playoffs come around?
Home ice can make a difference for a lot of teams, as exhibited by the Nailers this season. Having a better record in front of home fans is what I expect most of the time, especially amongst teams who should qualify for the playoffs. I’ve long thought that having close to a .500 record on the road combined with around a .600 or more record at home is what should be needed to hold a playoff spot, and the Nailers are the perfect example of that right now. They’re slightly below that mark on both sides, but there’s no reason to believe they can’t finish around that and hopefully secure that spot to continue to play when the regular season ends.
What surprises me the most is the difference in the performance of the power play and penalty kill between home and away for the Nailers this season. On the man advantage, Wheeling is next to last at home, with only five goals on 48 tries at Wesbanco Arena for a 10.4% success rate. When away from home, the Nailers power play has 12 goals on 52 total chances, a 23.1% success rate which is 11th in the league. The gap isn’t quite as severe on the penalty kill, but at home, they have (somewhat ironically) given up 12 goals on 52 attempts for a 76.9% success rate, good for 19th in the league. When out of town, Wheeling has only given up eight power play goals against in 45 total chances, an 82.2% success rate, which is 14th in the league. If the Nailers can focus on continuing to improve their performance at home on both sides of the advantage, I truly believe there’s no question they can find a way to be towards the top of the division as the season moves along.
With New Year’s Eve on a Sunday this year, the Nailers are hosting a kid’s New Year’s Eve evening with their game at 6:10 against Norfolk. With all of the available activities that night around the valley, why should people choose the Nailers game for their entertainment to close out the calendar year?
I’m generally not one to do much on New Year’s Eve, preferring to stay at home and allow the wife to fall asleep on the couch before the ball drops. For people like me who don’t want to go out until all hours of the night just to say they were somewhere as the number at the end of the year changed, this is the perfect activity. And it works out even better for those with kids who most likely won’t be able to make it to midnight either, allowing them to feel the excitement of the party without having to wait.
They will be giving away party hats and noisemakers to fans as they enter the arena, along with free sparkling grape juice for kids (and champagne available for sale for adults) to help celebrate the coming year. There will also be a post-game light show held by CueLive for those who wish to stick around after the game is over. My wife wants to attend the game this year instead of just sitting at home, so I hope you all come out and celebrate with us and still make it home at a sensible time.
I’d also like to dedicate my column this week to my pup, my best friend, Tanger, whom we had to have put down this week at the age of 11. He really was the best boy in the world, and I miss having him lying on the couch watching hockey with me dearly. I really look forward to the day that I get to see him again.
