The Nailers couldn’t quite get it done last weekend, losing Friday at Cincinnati and Saturday at Fort Wayne before coming home and getting a much-needed win against the Cyclones Sunday. What happened in these three games to cause the results to be what they were?
Another rough weekend for the Nailers, who somehow find themselves sticking around the top of the division despite struggling a bit recently (but more on that a little later). Like I said last week, with Wheeling having the rest of their games this regular season against division opponents, it’s imperative they find ways to earn as many points as possible, while keeping their opponents from gaining what’s known as the “loser point”. Earning only two out of a possible six points makes it rather difficult to stay in the race in such a competitive division.
In the Friday contest against Cincinnati, neither team was able to do much to take control early. Both teams had some good scoring chances, but both goalies stood tall to keep from giving up an early lead, and the two teams left the ice tied at zero. The second period started off as more of the first, as both teams pushed but neither were able to score until, just over seven and a half minutes into the period, Cincy finally got their first past Taylor Gauthier to break the deadlock. The Nailers pushed hard to try to tie the game back up, but couldn’t get one in through Talyn Boyko, the keeper for the Cyclones, until they got a late power play. While Wheeling wasn’t able to net one with the advantage (going 0-for-3 on the night overall), it took just 25 seconds after the Cincinnati player returned for the puck to pop onto the stick of Justin Lee who shoveled it into the goal to tie it back up heading to the final frame.
In that third period, both teams took penalties early on, but neither power play group was able to get the leading goal. Unfortunately, Shaw Boomhower took a slashing penalty just under seven minutes into the period, and the Cyclones did finally solve Gauthier once more to earn the 2-1 lead with only 11 minutes left in regulation. While the Nailers tried hard to get back that goal and at least force overtime, it wasn’t to be and Wheeling left town with the regulation loss and zero points to start the weekend.
The Nailers went into Saturday’s game with a number of issues, between injuries and callups, that caused them to play with two less players than a full roster, meaning everyone would need to step up their game if they wanted to have any hope of winning. Wheeling came out hot, shooting the lights out to the tune of 16 shots on goal in the first, but the defense didn’t do much to keep the puck away from Christian Propp, who was between the pipes for the Nailers, with 17 shots making it on goal. The Nailers were able to get on the board first off the stick of David Jankowski with just over seven minutes left in the period, but the Komets answered exactly two minutes later in the power play and got one more before the end of the period to go to the locker room up 2-1.
The second period started quickly, with Fort Wayne picking up another goal on a 5-on-3 power play to take a two-goal advantage just over three minutes in, but you could tell the Nailers weren’t ready to roll over yet. Approaching the middle of the frame, Peter Laviolette made a good play and got the puck to Tanner Laderoute who found the net to cut the lead in half and, with just over five minutes left in the period, Jarrett Lee pounced on a rebound off a Justin Lee shot to tie the game back up and give some life back to Wheeling. That was short lived however, as the Komets took their lead back just 13 seconds later, and the score remained 4-3 Fort Wayne going into the final period.
As the game entered the third period, you could just tell the lack of bodies on the bench was gassing the Nailers, and it didn’t help when the Komets extended their lead to two once again just under three minutes in, then to three just three and a half minutes later, this time with a shorthanded goal. Wheeling pushed hard and tried to get back into it and did find a way to score with just over six and a half minutes remaining off of the stick of Isaac Belliveau, but when Coach Derek Army pulled the goaltender for the extra skater late in the period, Fort Wayne scored the empty netter with less than a minute left and took home the 7-4 victory.
Coming home for the last game of the weekend against the team that beat them on Friday, the Nailers were able to bolster their lineup and get back to the full complement of skaters thanks to players being sent back down from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Things were pretty even early in the first until a huge two-minute stretch for Wheeling gave them a 3-0 lead just past halfway through the period, thanks to goals by Matthew Quercia, Evan Vierling, and Peter Laviolette. One of the players down from the Baby Penguins, Maxim Cajkovic, earned assists on two of the three goals in the period by the Nailers. Everything was going well until, with just over four minutes remaining in the period, Cincinnati got one in past Taylor Gauthier to make it 3-1, which ended up being the score when the horn sounded.
In the second, Cincinnati upped the pressure a bit, but couldn’t do anything to solve Gauthier and the score remained a two-goal advantage for Wheeling until, just before the halfway mark of the period, Vierling scored his second goal of the game, this time on the power play, to give the Nailers another three-goal advantage. Despite their repeated efforts to get back into the game, the Wheeling defense did a good job of keeping the space in front of the goal clear and forcing the Cyclone offense to come from a distance, which helped keep the score where it was leading to the third and final period of the weekend.
The third period was a bit less gentlemanly, with both teams combining for eight penalties in the period, including four penalties being called at the same time (delay of game on the Nailers, one on the Cyclones, and two penalties at the same time on Cajkovic), which is something you don’t see very often. Earlier in the period, on another penalty against Cincinnati, Wheeling was able to score another power play goal, this time by David Jankowski (with another assist going to Cajkovic for his third point of the game), and the Nailers had a 5-1 advantage before things got out of hand. When the final horn sounded, the two teams combined for a total of 36 minutes in penalties for the game, but Wheeling came away with the big two points after getting their first win of the weekend.
It’s a short weekend for the Nailers this week, with games on Friday and Saturday back in Fort Wayne. What does Wheeling need to do to come home with (hopefully) four points?
I can only imagine that one of the worst things about playing in the ECHL is having to play three games in three days and having that third game start earlier in the evening than the other two did. For example, if the Nailers did have a Sunday game this weekend in Fort Wayne, I’m certain it would start at 4:00 pm local time. And that’s after playing a game the night before at 6:30 pm, and the night before that at 7:00 pm. By the time that last game came around, my legs would probably feel like jelly and, depending on the type of game you play, your body could be quite sore. So, when a weekend like this comes along where you only have two games, you have to take advantage of it and play your heart out for those two games and use the free day on Sunday to get your rest and recuperate.
As for the opponents for these games, the Nailers have now faced the Komets four times this season after last Saturday’s game, and they own a record of 0-4-0 against them, which makes these two games even more important. Fort Wayne barely sits in a playoff spot, tied with Kalamazoo in points to be in fourth place in the division (although the Wings have three games in hand over the Komets), but they’re only three points behind the Nailers and the Fuel to move up in the standings. That means if Fort Wayne finds a way to win both games in regulation, Wheeling will fall down the standings and possibly be out of a playoff spot, so this proves just how important every game will be from here to the end of the season.
On the season, the Komets haven’t been that great of a team at home, holding a record of 12-12-1-2 in their barn, although they did just pick up a win over Wheeling in that building. Fort Wayne has the second-best attendance in the entire league so far this year, averaging over 8,000 fans per game, so the Nailers will be going into a very hostile environment for these two games. I think a big thing to watch for is who can score first in each contest, as both teams have good records in games where they earn the first goal (Wheeling has done so in 31 of their 56 games this season, whereas Fort Wayne has done it in 26 of 56 contests). If the Nailers can go in and get the first one on the board quickly and quiet the crowd, there’s no question they can find a way to come out with four very important points.
Despite their recent record of 3-7 in their last 10 games, the Nailers still sit in second place in the Central Division, tied in points with Indy, but the Fuel have a game in hand. What is the path for Wheeling to assure a spot in the playoffs with 16 games left to go?
It’s a little funny that, despite their somewhat pedestrian record as of late, the Nailers still find themselves up so high in the standings, although that position is rather precarious. I feel like that’s a testament to just how good their division has been this year top to bottom, where the gap between first and fourth place is only 12 points, the closest out of all the divisions in the ECHL currently. In fact, in the North Division, Adirondack sits 22 points clear of the last team in the playoffs in their division, and in the Mountain Division, Kansas City (who has already clinched a playoff spot with 17 games remaining in their season) enjoys a 33-point lead over the team in fourth place. The only other division that’s rather close is the South Division, where Greenville has a 13-point advantage over the fourth-place team, and 16-point gap over the first team out. The Central Division, from top to bottom, only has a gap of 22 points total, which seems like quite a bit this late in the year but is surprisingly close with only a few weeks remaining.
As for Wheeling’s path to return to postseason play, the obvious answer would be to win. The more wins they get down the stretch, especially if they can pick them up in regulation, the better their chances of keeping the teams below them where they need to be. But I think just as important is who they pick up those wins against. With how close they are in the standings, having four games remaining against Fort Wayne (including the two this weekend) really stands out. I think the Nailers need to win three out of the four, and hopefully keep the Komets from getting points in at least two of those contests, to think they can keep them in the rearview mirror. In addition to that, Wheeling also has three games next week against the last place team, the Iowa Heartlanders, and those are games they have to take advantage of as well. If the Nailers can find ways to earn wins against the teams they should beat that are behind them in the standings right now, there’s no reason we can’t see the return of Wheeling to playoff action next month.
The Nailers made some roster moves this week, trading “future considerations” to both Maine and Idaho to bring in for forward William Provost and defenseman Colin Van Der Hurk. What do these guys bring to Wheeling to help this team get into the playoffs?
Well, as Derek Army told me during the Coaches Show this week when I asked him about these moves and what qualities these guys have that made him want to bring them to Wheeling, he said they have “a pulse”. Obviously, he said that tongue-in-cheek, in reference to the game they had to play last weekend shorthanded, but from what I’ve seen about these guys, I think there’s a lot to look forward to with them coming to the Friendly City.
Provost is in his second season in the ECHL after playing six games last season for Fort Wayne, but he’ll be suiting up for his fourth team this season when he joins the Nailers on the ice. He played three games for the Komets this year, followed by 15 for the Allen Americans and 26 for the Mariners, combining for eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points. His primary position is center, which is an area Wheeling could use some help at and, despite not scoring a power play goal yet this year, he does have four assists with the man advantage, which tells me he’s able to set up teammates in those situations. I look forward to seeing what he can do with some of the skillful players already on the Nailers roster.
As for Van Den Hurk, adding a right shot defenseman is always helpful, as they’re not as common as you might expect. He has only played six games in the ECHL this season, his first as a professional, after playing 28 games for Lakehead University this year before turning pro. In those six games with the Steelheads, Colin has two assists from the blueline and, even more importantly, has a plus/minus of +3. For a guy getting his first taste of professional hockey, that’s very impressive that he’s been able to make his mark on the offensive end, while helping to keep points off the board for the opponents. I hope he comes into Wheeling and finds his way into the lineup and plays just as well for the Nailers.
Two weeks from this Saturday, during their only homestand of March, the Nailers will be holding Wizards and Wands night for the second year in a row. What are your thoughts on this exciting promotion?
Last year’s Wizards and Wands night was such a huge hit, the Nailers couldn’t help but bring it back again for another go. I usually don’t look too closely at promotions when deciding on going to a game or not, instead choosing to focus on who the opponent is and how important of a game it is. But when it’s something that was as fun as this one was last year, I can’t help but be excited for it. It also helps that this game will be against the team that is becoming our new biggest rival in Fort Wayne, but the promotion in and of itself is enough to be a big draw.
The first 1,700 people through the door will get their own magic wand, and trust me, these things are industrial strength to say the least. I’m pretty sure mine from last year weighed approximately 37 pounds. In addition to that, there will be a sorting hat station on hand to see what house you should be sorted into, butter beer available for sale, a game of quidditch during the intermission, and many other fun things around the arena. I highly encourage everyone looking to make it out to this game to pick up your tickets now, seeing as they sold out quickly last season, and I look forward to seeing you all there for the game.
