The Nailers kept the winning streak alive by beating Cincinnati in both matchups last weekend. How did Wheeling manage to win both ends of the home and home?
I have to say, I don’t think there’s a much better time to run into the worst team in the entire league than when you’re trying to extend a long winning streak.
Between that and finally seeing the power play get going again after having a lack of opportunities lately, you have to think this might start shaping up as more than just a special month of November for the Nailers. I’m not saying I expect Wheeling to manage to go 10-1-1 every month, but if they can continue to hold their own the rest of the way and be in a strong position come April.
Friday’s game in Cincy didn’t start that strong for the Nailers, as they only managed to record five shots on goal through the first 20 minutes of action. The Cyclones were able to find the net behind Luke Richardson (making his first appearance as a Nailer after spending the last two years with Greenville) and the period ended 1-0. The second period went much better for Wheeling, as they managed to score three goals on only nine shots, with the first two coming on the power play by Gabe Klassen and Matthew Quercia (who ended up one assist shy of a Gordie Howe hat trick), followed by a goal from Chris Ortiz and suddenly Wheeling was up 3-1 going into the third period.
That final frame went much like the second did for Wheeling, with two more goals on just six shots including yet another power play marker. Klassen was able to net his second of the game just before the halfway point of the period before Kyle Jackson got the third tally on the man advantage and extended the score to the 5-1 that the game ended at. Richardson managed to make 19 saves on 20 shots to earn the victory in his first game as a Nailer.
Then on Saturday, the home fans were treated to the return of Taylor Gauthier on home ice, and what a performance it was as he made 31 saves on 32 Cincinnati shots. The first period started very well as Kyle Jackson got his second goal of the weekend to cause teddy bears to rain down out of the stands, followed just over a minute later by Bennett MacArthur giving the home team a two-goal lead that they held onto through the end of the period.
Cincy was able to get on the board early in the second as Jacob Frasca (brother of former Nailer Jordan Frasca) was able to hit the net behind Gauthier on the power play to cut the Wheeling lead in half. But Wheeling turned up the pressure after that and got two more in the second with Jackson netting his second of the game before Atley Calvert netted one before the horn sounded, and the Nailers took a 4-1 lead into the final period.
The third period started strong for Wheeling as Sam Houde got a power play tally just two minutes into the period to extend the lead. The Nailers went on to score two more in the frame, thanks to Louie Roehl and Matty De St. Phalle, and Wheeling came away with the big 7-1 victory to sweep the Cyclones for the weekend.
The Nailers now face Cincinnati again on the road on Saturday this week, sandwiched in between home matchups with Kalamazoo and Reading. What does Wheeling need to do to keep the streak alive again?
The three opponents Wheeling will face this weekend are all in the bottom third of the overall league standings, so hopefully everything stays true to form, and the Nailers are able to continue their hot play against the lower teams, but never take anything for granted. Kalamazoo has been a pretty bad team on the road this year, amassing a 2-6-1 record away from home with a -9 goal differential.
Their power play has been middle of the pack on the road, but their penalty kill is next to last in the league at only 66.7% success, but they are one of the least penalized teams in the ECHL, so if the Nailers are able to get a power play and take advantage, it could go a long way towards success in the game.
After the success Wheeling had against them last weekend, I’m sure Cincinnati has revenge on their mind, so the Nailers have to find a way to stick to their game. The Cyclones remain one of the most penalized teams in the league, averaging 16.33 minutes of penalties per game, so just like with the K-Wings, if the Nailer man advantage group can continue to click like last weekend, it could contribute to yet another victory.
Then we finish the weekend by finally playing a divisional game against a Reading team that started hot but has cooled considerably since. The Royals managed to go 4-2 in the month of October, including splitting a pair of games with the Nailers, but went 3-9-3 in the month of November to end up towards the bottom of the standings in the North Division. Reading has been pretty bad away from home, accumulating a 5-8-1 record on the road. One thing I noted from their stats is that they have only scored first in eight of their 21 contests this season, but they sport a 5-1-2 record in those contests. If Wheeling can jump on them early and keep the pressure, I feel like they have a good chance in this game as well.
The Nailers enter December sitting in first place in their division, and second place in the entire ECHL (by points percentage). What has contributed to this point, and do you think they can keep it up?
The old adage in hockey is that the standings don’t really matter until after American Thanksgiving (in November, as opposed to Canadian Thanksgiving in October). Now that we’re past that and into December, it’s nice to see just where Wheeling stacks up with the big boys of the league, even if there’s still four full months to go in the season. The Nailers have earned 25 standings points in 16 games played (32 possible standings points), giving them a points percentage of 0.781. Only Florida is higher, with a points percentage of 0.806. That means, over a 72-game season, Wheeling is on pace to earn 112 points, if they’re able to maintain that percentage.
For comparison, the only team with more points last year was the Kansas City Mavericks, who had 114 standings points at the end of the season and went on to lose in the finals to the Florida Everblades. Adirondack won the North Division (Wheeling’s current division) with 97 points, and the Nailers finished the year with 81 points, which would’ve slotted them in third in the division, the same place they sat in the Central Division when the season ended last year.
While it would be nice to think that Wheeling could keep it up and stick with that, every hockey season has high points and low points. Right now, the Nailers are riding a high, going 10-0-1 since their last regulation loss over a month ago. But looking ahead, there are tough portions of the schedule still ahead, such as the weekend of December 20-22, with a home-and-home with Toledo followed by a road game in Kalamazoo. If the Nailers can continue to play well at home (where they have a 7-0-1 record currently) and hold steady near .500 on the road (currently 5-3-0), I have no question they can remain a force in the division and find themselves in the playoffs come April.
Two Nailers players received honors this week, as Mats Lindgren was named the ECHL Plus Performer of the Month and Sergei Murashov was named ECHL Rookie of the Month for the month of November. How did they earn these honors, and do you see them continuing to see this success moving forward?
It’s always nice to see players from the Nailers receive recognition from the league for playing well. To have it happen in the first full month of the season gives me hope that they can continue their strong play and rack up those awards as the year progresses. Last year, Taylor Gauthier was the guy who garnered awards from the league multiple times, so I’d love to see these guys pick up where he left off and continue to bring home the awards.
Lindgren had a very strong November from his defensive position. He tallied three goals and five assists for eight points in 11 games and earned an even or better rating in every game in the month. Twice during the month (Nov. 16 against Indy and Nov. 30 against Cincy), he was a +3, and he finished at a +12 for the month. Just behind him was forward Atley Calvert, who ended the month of November at a +11.
Murashov appeared in seven games in the month of November, going 6-1-0 with a 2.12 goals-against average and 0.935 save percentage. He allowed two goals or less in four of his outings and made 32 or more saves in three of his last four games in the month, including a 48-save performance against Toledo on Nov. 27. Posting numbers like these as a rookie to the North American game (he played the last four years in Russia) is quite impressive.
I believe that, as long as he’s here in Wheeling (he has appeared in two games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton already this year) he has a chance to continue to post impressive numbers and lead the Nailers to victory on most nights that he’s between the pipes.
Sunday’s home matchup with Reading will be the first time the Nailers have held a Sensory Day game. What does that mean and how important do you think something like this is in the game of hockey?
As someone who has family friends who have children with autism, I’ve seen firsthand just how difficult it can be. Loud sounds, flashing lights, and too much activity can overstimulate them easily, and they’re on the higher functioning end of the spectrum. So, I can only imagine how difficult it must be to take family members to something as fun as a hockey game when things like that can be overwhelming even for those of us who don’t suffer from things like that.
And that’s why I think the Nailers having a game like they are on Sunday is such a fantastic idea. If you attend the game, don’t expect all the sensory overload things you’ve become accustomed to. No goal horn. No light show or strobe lights. Just a nice, calm atmosphere for an exciting afternoon/evening of hockey.
This allows those individuals who might not have been able to enjoy the game in person as much to get to the rink and see what it’s like to be there in person, which to me is the best way to fall in love with the game. Just for good measure, the team is also giving away stress balls in the shape of pucks to fans as they enter. I hope everyone who’s looking for an event like this for a person in their life who can’t normally enjoy the sport has a chance to get there and watch them fall for the game just like the rest of us have.
