The Nailers have managed to win two games in a row now, a 5-4 overtime win in Toledo before Christmas followed by a 2-1 win over Reading. Now, with two more games left this weekend (both against Reading) prior to the end of 2022, what does Wheeling need to do to remain relevant in the standings?
Winning both of those games, especially with one of them coming against the team directly ahead of them in the standings in Toledo, was helpful after that four-game losing streak, all against divisional opponents. The toughest part of the losing streak is the fact that it was completely against divisional opponents as well, and it felt like Wheeling had a chance in every game to come back and just couldn’t pull it off.
If the Nailers want the teams ahead of them in the standings to worry about them, they need to work harder and show those teams they can be a tough opponent for them.
That being said, these two wins were huge for the Nailers as we approach the end of the calendar year. It brings their overall record this season back to even, at 13-13-1, and it keeps them only one point behind Toledo in the standings. While Reading isn’t in Wheeling’s division, getting those standings points helps out greatly, and it brings the Royals to town knowing the Nailers can take care of business against them.
After the game on Saturday, the Nailers don’t play another game until next Friday, so going into an almost week-long break off a winning weekend would be a good feeling.
Toledo has a couple tough games this weekend (Fort Wayne at home followed by Cincinnati on the road), so if Wheeling can find a way to earn at least three standings points (an OT/shootout loss and a win), they should be able to keep pace with or surpass the Walleye before the calendar changes.
As we get further into the season, the games will begin to matter more, and it all starts this weekend and staying in a good position as we hit 2023.
Josh Maniscalco was selected to represent the Nailers in the All-Star Game in Norfolk on January 16. What have you seen from him this year that makes him deserving of the honor?
Josh Maniscalco has had a very impressive season so far for the Nailers. He has managed to amass 25 points over 27 games played and, more importantly, played some very strong defensive hockey as well. Coming off a season where he managed 53 points in 64 games last year with the Nailers, along with 7 points in 10 playoff games, there was no reason to think he wouldn’t be just as successful this season.
He currently sits tied for first in the entire ECHL in points by a defenseman, along with Luke Martin of Jacksonville and Patrick Kudla of Idaho.
As I said though, I really like what I’ve seen from him in his own zone as well. Most of the time, when you have a defenseman who is so gifted offensively, you normally need to pair them with someone who’s more defensively focused to offset when the other guy pushes forward. But with Josh, I’ve seen a lot of hard skating to get back into plays, turning odd man breaks into even attempts and getting his stick in the lane quite a bit.
Having a player out there that you know you can trust to play hard over the entire ice surface, while playing big minutes for the team, is definitely something the Nailers and their coaching staff should be thankful for and is something that makes the choice of Maniscalco for the all-star team all the more appropriate.
Do you think any of the other players on the team deserved a selection to the All-Star Game, as well?
The problem is, all-star selection is always done based on statistics, and there’s a number of players on this team that do great work at what they do, but they don’t have the numbers that would cause them to get selected.
Of course, you have some players like Cedric Desruisseaux and Justin Addamo who are currently leading the team in goals and have some good numbers that should have gotten a look, but you also have role players like Carter Johnson that, while his numbers are decent (four goals and 10 assists for 14 points), he does the little things a team needs in order to win games. He’s a strong penalty killer and is sent out to take tough faceoffs quite often.
These are the things that don’t show up on stat lines and don’t generally translate into all-star selections, but those are the things I look for when considering a strong player who deserves that kind of recognition. This team has a number of players that I think should have gotten more consideration, but with how these teams are generally constructed, Maniscalco was the obvious choice from the current lineup.
Looking at the Nailers schedule the rest of the way as we enter into a new calendar year, what do you think is the biggest factor that will help push this team back into the playoffs for the second year in a row?
There are still a number of important dates left on the schedule for this year’s version of the Wheeling Nailers. This team will still face the teams ahead of them in the standings another 13 times (17 if you include the games against Toledo). Getting wins, especially regulation wins, against these teams would be greatly beneficial as we get into the dog days of winter. Just as important is the additional 17 games the Nailers have against the two worst teams in the entire league (Iowa and Norfolk).
Coming out of those games with as many points as possible will also help, as the teams ahead of them will be battling it out amongst themselves and that could help Wheeling when all is said and done.
But for me, the biggest factor is the fact that, including this weekend’s games, the Nailers have 23 of their remaining 45 games at home, including a big five game stretch from January 8-15. The Nailers have been pretty average at home so far, posting a 6-6-1 record at home. But if the fans are able to get into the building and help pump them up, giving them that true home ice advantage, I think this could be a very instrumental part of their schedule in getting them back into postseason contention. But we have to get as many people into the building as we can to really make that advantage known.
With the new year approaching, a lot of people will begin to make resolutions. What is your resolution for this year, and what do you think the Nailers should make as their collective resolution?
I’m personally on a pretty good stretch in terms of resolutions, as I’ve been able to stick to and pretty well achieve my resolutions for each of the last two years. So, in thinking of that, my resolution is to do everything I can this year to make it to more hockey games, both Wheeling and Pittsburgh.
I go when I can, but I know there are times when there are games being played and I decide I’d rather just watch at home than worry about getting to the arena, but it really isn’t the same. The feeling of being in the building for a game is different, getting to eat arena food and feeling the chill from the ice and hearing the chatter between the players. It really is a completely different experience and is something I want to do more of in the coming year.
As for the Nailers, their resolution should be very simple, and it’s something I’ve been talking about recently: Improve your play enough on the ice to make the playoffs and make some noise there. You have the talent on this team to make it, you can work on and improve the power play and penalty kill, and once you’re in, there’s no telling how far you can go.
Start with these last two games before we hit 2023, earn your points now, and get ready to push those teams in your division. It starts now, and hopefully doesn’t end in the middle of April. These guys deserve that much for sure.
