The Nailers earned their eighth series sweep of the season, and second over Trois-Rivières, last weekend. What did Wheeling do to come away with wins in all three games?
As we come down to the end of the regular season, every point matters when you’re in the heart of the race for the top spot in your division. Getting six points over the weekend, while also keeping a divisional opponent from getting any themselves, can go a long way towards keeping you there, while also getting you closer to knowing who you will most likely face once the postseason begins in a few weeks, seeing as how the Lions are currently on the outside looking in.
Friday’s game saw Wheeling get an early power play just over three minutes into the contest and take advantage with a power play goal by Blake Bennett in his first game as a Nailer after being traded to Wheeling from Rapid City the week prior. That score held until Trois-Rivières got on the board themselves with less than six minutes left in the period, and the contest entered the first intermission tied 1-1.
The Nailers got on the board early in the second as well, as Bennett scored a minute and a half into the middle stanza to give the visitors another lead. However, another late tally by the Lions tied the game again heading into the third. The final period of regulation saw Wheeling get another early power play chance and take advantage, as Bennett completed the first hat trick by a Nailer player this season just under five minutes into the period, but yet another goal scored by Trois-Rivières with less than four minutes left in regulation forced the game into overtime.
The two teams got a combined eight shots on goal in the overtime period, but none got through, and the contest went to a shootout. It took five rounds for someone to finally put the puck in the net, which luckily was done by Logan Pietila for Wheeling. The final shooter for the Lions failed to score, and the visitors came away with the extra point.
Saturday’s game turned into a war as the two teams combined for 152 minutes in penalties, including 12 misconduct penalties of the 10-minute variety and a game misconduct in overtime after the winning tally for a player from the Lions for “abuse of officials”. The first period went well for Wheeling, as they had an 11-4 shot advantage in the period, but neither team was able to find the back of the net and the game remained scoreless through one.
The Nailers began the second period on the power play after the first half dozen misconducts were handed out at the end of the first, and they made it count thanks to a Brayden Edwards tally just 25 seconds into the period. Another power play marker by Edwards with less than eight minutes remaining doubled the Wheeling lead, but yet another late goal by Trois-Rivières with less than two minutes left in the period made the score 2-1 heading into the third.
The Nailers held strong to begin the third before former Nailer Cedric Desruisseaux tied the game for the Lions just before the midway point of the third, and the game remained tied through the end of regulation. Wheeling took possession early in overtime and didn’t look back, firing four shots on net, the last of which by Brent Johnson found the net to give the visitors their second win in as many games.
The potential final game of the season between these two teams on Sunday began well for the home team, as they outshot Wheeling 12-7 in the first, but both goalies were up to the task as the game remained scoreless through one. The Nailers finally broke through less than four minutes into the second thanks to Tanner Andrew, with Matthew Quercia getting his 100th career point on an assist. Wheeling’s Raivis Ansons extended the lead to 2-0 less than three minutes later, and the Nailers managed to keep that score into the third period.
Trois-Rivières was given a power play six minutes into the final period and took advantage to cut the Wheeling lead in half with over 12 minutes left to play. The Lions pulled their goaltender for the advantage, but Logan Pietila found the empty net and extended it back to a two-goal advantage at 3-1, which is how the game ended, giving the Nailers the series sweep.
The Nailers will play their final true home series of the season this weekend, welcoming Worcester to town for three games starting Friday. How can Wheeling make sure they extend their winning streak beyond the five it currently sits at?
The Railers come to town in a very similar position as Trois-Rivières was last weekend, sitting one point behind the Lions and eight points behind Reading for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division. At this point, with only a dozen games remaining on their schedule, Worcester is going to need to earn points in a hurry if they wish to play beyond the regular season, and might need some help, as Reading has a four-game set this week with Norfolk.
Things started off slow this season for the Railers, as they managed to lose eight of their first nine contests, but they heated up in the middle of the year, just to have it slow down again in March to the tune of 3-5-0-1 this month (compared to the Nailers, who are 8-1-1-0 thus far this month). However, Worcester did manage to sweep Wheeling in three games the last time these two teams met back on January 30 through February 1, and they hold a record of 4-1-0 against Wheeling this season.
The real problem for Worcester this season has been their special teams, where their power play is 25th overall in the ECHL with a 15.7% success rate (although slightly better at 18th on the road, but still with just a 16.7% success rate), and their penalty kill sits 26th in the 30-team league with a successful kill rate of just 77.9%. It gets even worse on the road, where they have a kill rate of 74.4%, good for 28th in the league. If Wheeling’s power play, which is third best in the league overall as well as on home ice, can find a way to get on the ice and put up a few tallies, it could go a long way to helping the Nailers have a successful homestand this weekend.
The Nailers sit four points ahead of Maine and eight ahead of Adirondack for first place in the North Division. What will it take for Wheeling to ensure they stay there with just 11 games remaining in the regular season?
The good news is, with their own sweep last weekend, the Nailers were able to keep the Mariners from gaining any ground, as they also completed a three-game sweep last weekend at the expense of Worcester twice and Reading once. Adirondack was able to squeeze out two wins last weekend over the Royals (in addition to their midweek win over Maine last Wednesday) before losing to the Railers on the road on Sunday. The Thunder host Kalamazoo, who sit in fifth in the Central Division, for a three-game set this weekend, while the Mariners host Greensboro, who sit in last place in the North and have already been eliminated from playoff contention), on Saturday and Sunday before a Wednesday home game next week against Trois-Rivières.
Heading into the weekend, the magic number for the Nailers to begin the playoffs at home is 17, while their magic number to clinch the division is 21. With 11 games remaining in their regular season schedule, that means the only way Wheeling can guarantee that North Division crown at this point is to win out the rest of their games (not taking into account any potential Maine/Adirondack losses). While that is a tall task, I still think the Nailers get there in the end.
Despite a somewhat easier schedule down the stretch for both of those teams, I don’t believe either of them will win every game they have remaining. While 17 points right now can only guarantee starting at home, I feel like that could be what is needed to come away with the North Division crown when all is said and done in a few weeks. And with 22 points still available on the schedule, I think that’s a realistic target for this team with how well things have been going this month, and I look forward to a lot of hockey still to be played in the Friendly City this year.
As the Nailers approach the end of the regular season and it looks increasingly likely they will be in the postseason, which potential opponent do you think Wheeling would prefer to get in the first round?
While you never really want to put the cart before the horse, the Nailers’ magic number just to make the playoffs (as of the time of this writing) is three, so there’s no reason to think it couldn’t happen after this weekend. Assuming they at least have that locked up, we as fans can at least think about what the best possible outcome for our team in terms of potential matchups would be.
At this point, based on remaining schedule, I find it hard to believe the roster of teams to make the playoffs out of the North Division will change. Trois-Rivières is out west this week to face Tulsa and Wichita, but when they come back, all of their remaining games are against either Maine or Adirondack. The numbers of victories they would need in those games to earn the needed points to get back over Reading just isn’t going to be there, considering they’re currently seven points away from a playoff spot.
Obviously, the team Wheeling will be most familiar with by the time it rolls around is Reading, with whom they still have three games coming up in April on the road. That will bring their season total up to 15 games played between them. The Nailers at this point are 5-6-0-1 against them with those three games remaining, and every game has been very close. I honestly think that it would be a very interesting series if they do run into one another.
Of the other options, I would prefer to meet up with Maine than Adirondack, personally. Wheeling has a record of 3-1-0-1 this season against the Mariners, while they are 1-3-1-0 against the Thunder coming into these last three games against them this weekend. The only thing that might give me pause is just how good Maine has been on the road this season, with a record of 19-9-4 away from home compared to 15-10-5 for Adirondack. For the team guaranteed more home games, you might want to face the opponent who is worse on the road. But with a home record of 21-6-2-2 thus far for the Nailers, I believe in their ability to hold serve in their own building against anyone who comes into town.
This weekend, the Nailers will celebrate Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday against Worcester. How much are you looking forward to this promotion?
Fan Appreciation Night is always a special one every year for every team. It’s the night the team thanks the loyal fans who have been coming night in and night out to bring the energy and cheer the team on to the excellent home record I spoke about above. And as one of those fans, it’s a pretty great feeling to see exactly what my support has meant to this team this year as they prepare for the hardest (hopefully) two plus months of their year.
This season, the Nailers will be having special vacation giveaway to one lucky fan, while the first 2,500 fans through the doors will receive a free cowbell they can use to make lots of noise during the game to cheer the team on to victory. The team will also be auctioning off their jerseys they’re wearing and will be giving those jerseys away at the end of the night in a “shirts off our backs” ceremony in addition to other giveaways throughout the evening. It really is one of my favorite nights of the entire season, and I look forward to being there for it. I hope to see you at the rink that night too.
