(MNE 3-2) The Nailers needed a win in Game Six to force a Game Seven and did just that with a 2-1 victory in overtime. How did Wheeling get this series to a winner-take-all conclusion?
When your team’s season is on the line and the game is tied as it gets later and later into regulation and then into overtime, it’s nerve-wracking.
Watching this game, knowing any shot by Maine could end the Nailers’ season, your breath catches every time the opponent breaks into the zone. Luckily, Wheeling held tight, got the right break at the right time, and gave itself another chance to keep things going.
The Nailers came out quick, firing 12 shots on the Mariners’ goal in the opening 20 minutes compared to six for Maine, but nothing got through either netminder and the game was 0-0 heading into the second.
Wheeling continued their barrage in the middle stanza, finally breaking through five and a half minutes into the frame off the stick of Nick Renwick to break the ice. Maine fought back from there, tying the Nailers in shots in the period, but once again Taylor Gauthier played as well as he could and kept the lead going to the third period.
In the third, Maine only managed to fire five shots on net. Unfortunately, one finally got through Gauthier just past eight minutes into the period to tie the game, and none of Wheeling’s 15 shots on net in the period made it into the goal, forcing the game into sudden-death overtime.
During the extra time, action went back and forth, as each team registered 12 shots on goal. With less than five minutes remaining, a penalty was called on Maine for slashing. During the ensuing power play, Emil Pieniniemi fired a shot that found its way into the goal, and Wheeling lived to fight another day.
(Tie 3-3) The Nailers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals thanks to a 4-3 win over Maine in Game Seven. What did Wheeling do to keep their season alive?
In the words of the immortal Mike Lange heading into any game seven the Penguins played, “Meet me in the schoolyard, baby, for all the marbles”. If you thought overtime in a game six with your team facing elimination was nerve-wracking, game sevens are 60 minutes of that feeling, which is what you live for when you’re a fan.
Luckily, it worked out well for the Nailers this time around, and they once again earned the title of Kings of the North and are now four more wins away from playing for the Kelly Cup for the first time in a decade.
Both teams were locked in early in the game, getting chances on each goalie.
Then, seven minutes into the game, a huge leg save by Taylor Gauthier stretching to his right on former Nailer Brooklyn Kalmikov gave Wheeling the momentum for “Mr. Game Seven” himself, Matthew Quercia, to fire a shot that made its way into the net to break the tie. Later in the period, with seven minutes left on the clock, Tanner Andrew doubled the Wheeling lead to 2-0, which stuck to the horn to end the first.
Only one goal was scored in the second period, as Maine finally solved Gauthier to cut the lead in half heading into the final 20 minutes of one team’s season. The Mariners knew they had to press, trying desperately to tie the game and overextended themselves, giving Matty De St. Phalle a chance to tip home the puck and give Wheeling the insurance goal they desperately needed. Maine pulled their goalie with about two minutes left, and the Nailers made them pay, as Zach Urdahl knocked home an empty netter to make the score 4-1.
The Mariners continued to push, causing scrums around Wheeling’s net that resulted in two late goals, the last of which came with 26.5 seconds left on the clock, but they would get no closer, and the Nailers celebrated their victory with the 3,210 fans in attendance.
The Nailers are now preparing to play games one and two this weekend down in Florida against the Everblades. What will it take for Wheeling to continue their playoff journey to the Kelly Cup Finals?
Much like in the opening round, the better seed won every matchup in the divisional finals round, meaning we are left with all four number one seeds remaining in the bracket.
That tells me there are no easy matchups the rest of the way, and the Nailers will need to take every opponent seriously as long as they are still alive in the race for the Kelly Cup.
Florida came into the playoffs as the top overall seed in the Eastern Conference and second in the entire ECHL, trailing behind only Kansas City in the final league standings. The Everblades entered the postseason with no regulation losses in their final 12 games of the regular season (going 10-0-1-1 over that time), and have gone 8-1 thus far in the playoffs, with their only loss coming in game three of the previous round, a 3-1 defeat at the hands of South Carolina.
The last time these two teams met in the postseason was in the 2016 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where Wheeling went on the road to begin the series with a victory in game one, and ended up winning the series in six games.
That year just so happens to be the last time the Nailers made it to the conference finals, where they eventually moved on to play in the Kelly Cup Finals.
For Wheeling to have something similar happen this year, they’re going to have to find a way to beat Florida’s Cam Johnson in net. He’s currently 8-1 in the postseason with a 1.34 goals-against average and 0.945 save percentage, which is good for second and third in the league, respectively, in each of those stats.
Of course, that’s going against the best goaltender to ever wear a Nailers sweater in Taylor Gauthier, who has a 1.86 goals-against average and 0.934 save percentage, which are fifth and sixth, respectively, but all while facing the most shots against (366) and making the most saves (342) in these playoffs by a wide margin.
One thing the Nailers will have to watch is how many times they get sent to the box in this series. Wheeling is averaging 16.75 minutes in penalties per game (compared to Florida at 9.22), while the Everblades power play unit has been deadly on home ice during the playoffs, scoring five goals on 14 chances for a 35.7% success rate.
The Wheeling penalty kill unit has been no slouch on the road itself, allowing only five power play goals on 30 chances for an 83.3% kill rate, good for fifth in the league away from home.
On the flip side, Florida’s penalty kill unit has been perfect on home ice, going 9-for-9 at Hertz Arena in the postseason. The Nailers’ man advantage group has not been great in the postseason so far, getting five goals on 42 total chances, but on the road, they have three of those goals on 26 opportunities, good for an 11.5% success rate.
If Wheeling can find a way to improve on that percentage while limiting Florida’s chances with the extra skater, they should have a chance to come home with at least one victory and holding home ice advantage.
On the other side of the bracket, Kansas City and Fort Wayne battle it out in the Western Conference Finals. What are you looking forward to in that matchup?
Boy, while it would be nice to see Fort Wayne make this one a series and give themselves a chance to sneak through this round, it’s hard to see a world where Kansas City allows that to happen.
The Mavericks are undefeated in the playoffs to this point, and they also swept the three games they played against the Komets this season, although two of those wins were in overtime on January 2 and 3 in Kansas City.
The one thing Fort Wayne has going for them is that they are 6-0 on home ice in the playoffs so far, matching the Nailers for the best record in the league on home ice during the postseason.
In order to make that count though, they will have to find a way to go into Cable Dahmer Arena in Kansas City and steal one there, where the Mavericks have gone 4-0 so far this postseason, outscoring their opponents 9-3 in those games on home ice.
Kansas City has a real one-two punch in net, playing both Dylan Wells and Jack LaFontaine equally, although Wells has the better stats of the two by far.
While LaFontaine has played well enough to go 4-0 himself in the playoffs, Wells has been the best goalie in the ECHL in both goals-against average (1.18) and save percentage (0.957), only allowing five goals total on 110 shots against in the four games he has played.
I’m looking forward to seeing if Fort Wayne’s rookie goalie, Samuel Jonsson, is up to the challenge himself. While the Mavericks’ offense has been moderately successful in the postseason so far, averaging 4.00 goals scored per game, their defense and goaltending is really what has gotten them this far, as they are only allowing 1.63 goals against per game in their eight postseason games.
The Komets will really need to play strong offensive hockey and get excellent performances out of Jonsson to put Kansas City on their heels and have a chance to advance.
The Nailers will return home next Wednesday for game three of the Eastern Conference Finals. How excited are you to see more playoff hockey at WesBanco Arena?
If you thought the building was rocking for game seven against Maine (and make no mistake, that’s quite possibly the loudest I’ve heard the barn in a long while), imagine how crazy it will be when the Nailers return home next week.
Especially if they can find a way to come home having earned at least one win (and hopefully two) down in Estero, FL.
The Everblades enter this round as the favorite, and they’ve probably earned that with how well they’ve played this year.
Their team website proudly announces at the top that they’re playing in the “2026 Kelly Cup Playoffs presented by Lexus,” if that tells you anything about where they’re at and where they’re coming from.
But the Nailers come into it with the heart and soul. They come in having been to this point (and beyond) and have never come home with the trophy. They come in with one of the best fan bases in the entire league.
When that building gets packed with people and we’re feeding into the action, it can mess with an opponent’s head.
I really look forward to getting back into that building when the team comes back home on Wednesday and pouring my own heart and soul into the game, pushing the Nailers on to victory, and I hope to see you all at the rink.
