(3-2 WHL) The Nailers went into game five of the first series in Cranberry with a chance to close out the series and did just that by defeating the Fuel. How did Wheeling clinch the series win?
Boy, that had to feel pretty good for the boys in black and gold, especially considering how things went against Indy during the season. A number of players stepped up over the five games against the Fuel, the biggest of those performances coming from Jaxon Castor. For the series, Castor made 135 saves on 145 shots on goal, a 0.931 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against-average. He was also one of three goalies to earn all four wins for his team in winning their first-round series. Not too bad for a rookie in the league who had to come in and replace the best goaltender in the league (but more on him shortly).
With their backs against the wall, Indy had to come out strong early to try to put Wheeling on their heels. Despite the shot total for the period being relatively close at 11-8 in favor of the Fuel, the only puck that found its way through was scored by the Fuel with just over four minutes left in the frame, and the Nailers found themselves exactly where Indy wanted them. If Wheeling wanted to finish this series off and have some time to rest and prepare for the next round, they were going to have to take advantage of what was their best period all season, the second.
And that’s exactly what they did. Despite being outshot in the period 15-7, the Nailers managed to find the back of the net three times in the frame. The first came just over two minutes into the period off the stick of Matt Koopman while shorthanded, and just four minutes later, Justin Addamo scored a power-play goal to give Wheeling a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the night. Indy continued their push to get back into the game, but with six minutes left in the period, Addamo managed to net his second of the night to make it a 3-1 advantage and, even though the Fuel did manage to earn one more goal before the horn, Wheeling took a 3-2 lead into the final 20 minutes.
The third period was once again owned by the Fuel, with another shooting advantage of 13-5, but Castor played one of his strongest periods of the series and managed to keep the puck out of his net. Wheeling played a good playoff period of hockey, making just enough defensive plays to hold Indy at bay, and when they did get the puck, they would get it deep and go for a change to keep fresh bodies on the ice. Late in the game, the Fuel pulled their goalie to try to push for the tie, but the puck found its way to Koopman again and he was able to find the empty net to clinch the game and the series for the Nailers. With that behind them, it was time to start focusing on their opponent in the next round, which had been decided just the night before.
After the Toledo victory last Friday over Kalamazoo, the matchup was set between the Nailers and the Walleye for Round 2. What does Wheeling need to do to advance past the Division Finals?
Well, there’s nothing quite like getting your biggest rival in the playoffs for the chance to advance to the Conference Finals. Toledo had one of the strongest performances in the ECHL this season, which rolled into the playoffs with a sweep of the Kalamazoo Wings. The only close game they had in the first round was the first one, which went into overtime before the Walleye came away with the 3-2 victory. The other three games were a bit more lopsided, finishing with scores of 5-2, 6-2, and 4-2, respectively. Apparently, breaking the two-goal barrier against this team could go a long way to giving a team a chance.
The Walleye played each of their goaltenders twice in their opening round series, with each keeper having a goals-against-average around 2.00 (obviously) and a save percentage very close to what Jaxon Castor was able to give the Nailers (0.931 for John Lethemon and 0.934 for Jan Bednar). But Kalamazoo’s offense wasn’t exactly world beaters, averaging under 30 shots on goal per game in the series, while Toledo averaged just under 40 shots per game, including 53 shots on goal in game two of their series. You have to believe, with just how well they played against Indy, that the Wheeling offense will have a better showing against the Walleye than the K-Wings did.
Also, despite the Toledo offense averaging five goals per game, their shooting percentage of 12.74% isn’t as over the top as you would expect with their offensive output. By comparison, Wheeling took a total of 117 shots in their five games with Indy, for an average of 23.4 per game, and with 19 goals scored in the series, that gives them a shooting percentage of 16.24%. If they can find ways to outshoot the Walleye in this series, while maintaining a relatively high shooting percentage like that, they are very much alive in this series.
Toledo comes into the series on an 18-game winning streak (now a 19-game streak), tied for the longest winning streak (including playoffs) in ECHL history. How could have the Nailers earn the game-one victory to break the streak?
Well, it did not happen after Wheeling was defeated in OT, but there was belief the team could do it after pulling off their own 12-game winning streak during the regular season.
Wheeling needed to jump on them quickly, especially in their own building, and put them on their heels. The Nailers did take a 1-0 lead and held onto it until late in the third period, but Toledo tied it and won the game by scoring the final two goals of the evening.
Former Nailer Brandon Hawkins of the Walleye took home the Most Valuable Player award this season while Wheeling gets back Taylor Gauthier at a pivotal time. How does the return of “The Goat” change things in this series for the Nailers?
Hawkins was a very good player during his time here in the Friendly City, but he’s taken his game to another level since going to Toledo. And this year is quite obviously one of the best of his professional career, scoring 40 goals to go along with 53 assists for 93 points in 70 games played. His 346 shots on goal was one of the highest totals in the league this year, and he’s continued that in the playoffs, already leading the league in shots on goal with 35 (the next closest is a tie at 29 between two players from Jacksonville and Maine, respectively). In their four games against Kalamazoo, Hawk had two goals and six assists for eight points, good for a tie for fifth in the ECHL, but his shooting percentage in the playoffs of 5.71% is well behind the 11.56% he had during the regular season, so his game was definitely below his season average to start the postseason.
As for Gauthier, what more can be said about the best goaltender in the league this season. Despite missing significant time down the stretch due to injury and callups, Goat still led the league in multiple statistical categories, and now that Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is out of the playoffs in the AHL, he’s back and ready to contribute to the run here in Wheeling. With his return, most (if not all) of the leadership on this team has come back, and they’re ready to put it all on the line against Toledo. If they can find their game and follow the game plan as put forth by Coach Derek Army, the Nailers have a very good chance to be playing for some hardware here in a few weeks’ time.
The Nailers announced that all of their games in this round would be shown on television on WTRF My Ohio Valley. How exciting is it to get to watch this entire series, even the away games?
As a hockey fan, and more specifically a Nailers fan, getting the chance to watch them play is very exciting. And while I really do enjoy listening to my friend DJ Abisalih describe the action on the ice, sometimes being able to see it myself helps me get into the flow of the game a little better. So, when I saw the announcement that all of the games, including the ones played in Toledo, would be broadcast on television, I was ecstatic. I was ready to listen along over the weekend to games one and two to be ready for the series to come to Wheeling next Wednesday, but now we’ll all get to watch it and see what happens ourselves.
Of course, there’s still nothing quite like live hockey rather than trying to follow along on a television screen. Going to Toledo isn’t exactly an option for the games that will be played out there, but I’ll happily enjoy those ones now that I can watch them. But when they come back to the Friendly City, we need to be there in the building to show the Walleye just how “friendly” our building can be. We know how much we hate Toledo, dating back to the days of the Thunderbirds and Storm battling it out just like these guys will. I can’t wait to get back in the building next week to watch some live hockey, and I hope to see all of you there as well.
