After nine days off since their last game, the Nailers came out on Wednesday and lost 6-3 to Fort Wayne. What went wrong in this game for Wheeling?
Sometimes, having that much time off between games can be a bad thing. While the Nailers didn’t come out very flat in this game, which can tend to happen, it felt like it affected them as it got later in the game. Feet started getting heavier, the ice began to tilt in one certain direction, and when all was said and done, the boys in black and gold just couldn’t overcome the rust from the extended break.
The game began well for the Nailers, as they fired 12 shots on the Komets’ goal in the period to just six for Fort Wayne. With just under five minutes left in the period, Wheeling finally managed to get one through, as Logan Pietila hit an open net on the power play to get the lead. Just under three minutes later, Connor Lockhart fired one in on another power play to double the Wheeling lead. Unfortunately, Fort Wayne got one back a minute after that, and the game went to intermission 2-1.
The second period went very much in the favor of the Komets, as they outshot the Nailers 11-5 in the period while also outscoring them 3-0 in the frame to take a 4-2 lead into the third. In the third, Pietila managed to cut the Fort Wayne lead in half with more than 14 minutes remaining in regulation. However, two more goals for the Komets, both scored on the power play (one on a 5-on-3 advantage) put the game out of reach, and Wheeling came away with the loss, their first this season when leading by double digits at any point during the game (now 23-1-0 in those situations).
The Nailers will play three games in three days starting Friday at home against Kalamazoo before a Saturday/Sunday home-and-home starting at Fort Wayne then home against the Komets. What does Wheeling need to do to come away with some much-needed points?
Boy, with how things have gone recently, this weekend may turn out to be must win for the Nailers. Wheeling enters this weekend going 4-3-1-2 in their last ten games, so coming out of these games without earning points could be very harmful to their plans for the postseason, but we’ll discuss that more a little later.
The weekend begins with a Friday tilt with the K-Wings, the first time these two teams will meet this season. Kalamazoo comes into the game trailing Bloomington by four points for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division, but they do have two games in hand on them. The Wings actually have a winning record on the road this year at 12-10-1 (as opposed to 10-11-2-3 on home ice), but their goal differential away from the Wings Event Center is -3. Their big issue this season has been the first period, where they have a -17-goal differential on the season, while the Nailers have a +5-goal differential in the same period. If Wheeling can jump on them early and put them in a hole quickly, they should be able to come away with a big win.
Then the Nailers make the five-hour trip out to Fort Wayne, IN for a Saturday night game against the Komets before turning right back around for a Sunday afternoon tilt against the same team. This is a tough spot for Wheeling with the amount of travel they have to do around these three games, followed by another big trip coming up next week, so the boys will have to find a way to stay fresh. After losing to the Komets on Wednesday, revenge has to be on their mind against the team currently leading the Central Division by four points over Toledo.
Fort Wayne has been a very average team at home this year, going 10-10-2 on home ice as opposed to 20-3-6 on the road. The big issue for them has been their defense at home, where they have given up 68 goals in 22 games played, an average of 3.09 goals against per game, whereas on the road, they have given up 67 goals against in 29 games played for 2.31 goals against per game. Their offense has been relatively consistent, averaging 3.41 goals per game at home against 3.62 goals per game on the road. If the Nailers can manage to get a lead and actually keep it this time, as opposed to Wednesday’s game, they can hopefully at least earn a split of these two games.
The Nailers will then travel to South Dakota to begin a three-game series with Rapid City, with the first game scheduled for next Wednesday. How can Wheeling overcome the long travel and come out victorious?
After playing those three games on consecutive days, the Nailers will have a much-needed day off before jumping on a plane and heading two time zones away to play the Rush. This might be a good time to catch Rapid City, as they enter this weekend in sixth place in the Mountain Division with a sub-.500 record of 22-23-4. The Rush will play three games this weekend themselves, although all of them in the same city (Tulsa) before welcoming the Nailers to The Monument (the name of their home arena, since they are located about a half hour car ride from Mt. Rushmore).
This will be the Nailers’ first trip to South Dakota to take on the Rush since December 2019, when they went out and swept the three-game series. While it would be nice to see a repeat of that next week, it depends on which Rapid City team Wheeling gets on the ice. In their 22 wins this season, the Rush average 4.64 while allowing 2.41 goals against, while in their 23 regulation losses, they have averaged 1.70 goals per game to 4.09 goals against (ironically enough, all four of their overtime losses have come to a 5-4 score).
Something that can help Wheeling in that arena is how bad the Rapid City penalty kill has been this season. They sit next to last in the league in that regard, both in home ice percentage (72.4%) as well as overall (75.4%). While the Nailer power play has fallen off a bit since their success earlier in the year, they still sit in sixth overall in the league with a 21.7% success rate, although they fall to 17th in the ECHL on the road at 17.2% success. If they can use that to their advantage and score some goals when on the advantage, it should help them come away with some much-needed points.
The Nailers have now slipped from the division lead, trailing Adirondack by two points for first place. What can Wheeling do to get back into the pole position they’ve enjoyed for most of the year thus far?
Goodness, it feels like ages ago that the Nailers had such a sizeable lead in the division that one wondered if they could be caught. Unfortunately, it has come to be that they have been caught and passed by at least one division opponent, while another one (Maine) sits just six points behind Wheeling in the standings, although the Nailers do have a game in hand on them. Of course, it helps the Thunder that they are on a 10-game winning streak (the Mariners are on a five-game winning streak of their own), while Wheeling has had quite a few struggles in recent weeks.
The important thing is, after these next few games outside of the division, the rest of their games in the month of March will be against divisional opponents, including the last two games between them and Adirondack early in the month. Getting wins in those games, especially against the teams currently outside of playoff standing, can go a long way to helping Wheeling stay in playoff seeding.
While it would be nice to get back into the division lead and get that fourth place team in the first round (currently Reading, whom the Nailers have already faced 11 times this season), just getting into the dance is really the most important thing. I’ve said before, the boys just have to make sure to stay ahead of the team in fifth, currently Worcester. The Railers have 52 points on the season, giving Wheeling a 13-point cushion on them, with three games scheduled between them in the Friendly City later in March. If the Nailers can stay within playoff position and make the second season, anything can happen, so that needs to be the goal.
This Sunday’s game against Fort Wayne is Faith and Family Night at WesBanco Arena. What does this promotion mean to you?
There are a couple things I normally refuse to discuss in my personal life: politics and religion. Mainly because I’m sure my thoughts and opinions may not be conventional and could lead to disagreements. But when the team is having a game dedicated to such a thing, I feel like I can share some of my thoughts and hopefully you guys will be accepting.
I was brought up Catholic throughout my life, but as I’ve gotten older and actually taken a look at what I think religion and faith is, I find myself not subscribing to that anymore. I won’t say anyone is right or wrong for whatever they choose to believe in, but for me, it’s just not something I find myself believing in, and I know there are a number of people out there who feel the same way. If you do, don’t feel bad, you’re not alone.
That’s essentially the opposite of my father who, as he’s gotten older, and especially since his stage 4 cancer diagnosis, has found himself turning more towards what his thought of God is. If that’s what he wants to do, I have zero issues with it, and I hope he has a good relationship with whomever it is he believes is out there.
As for this event, the Nailers will be having a postgame celebration of faith, featuring player and staff testimonials, live music, and other activities centered around these ideas. If this sounds like something you would be interested in taking part in, I encourage you to get tickets and be there for it, and for the game itself, I will see you at the rink.
