The holidays are almost here, but there is still work to be done for the Wheeling Nailers, who will play their final two games before the break this weekend on the road against the Greensboro Gargoyles on Friday and Saturday nights at 7:00. The Nailers are coming off of a weekend split against the Adirondack Thunder, and still own the ECHL’s best record at 19-5-1 through 25 games. That mark also matches last season’s team for the best 25-game start in club history.
THE FIRST LEGS
Last week, the Nailers began a stretch of six straight road games with stops in Reading and Glens Falls. Wheeling dropped a 3-2 decision to the Royals on Wednesday night, and won’t have to visit Santander Arena again until April, after playing there five times in a span of 25 days. The Nailers then split a pair of contests with the Adirondack Thunder, with Wheeling winning the first game 3-0 and Adirondack coming out on top 3-1 the following night. Three has been the magic number in games involving the Nailers this season. Not only has the winning team scored exactly three goals in five of the last six games, but the losing team has failed to reach three goals in each of the last eight games and 21 of the last 22, dating back to the start of November. Wheeling is one of three teams with double-digit road wins, as Florida also has ten, while Fort Wayne earned its league-leading 11th on Wednesday.
GOAT’S GOOSE EGG
Taylor Gauthier denied all 29 Adirondack shots that he faced on Friday night, as he has now earned at least one shutout in four consecutive seasons with the Nailers. The blanking was Gauthier’s eighth in a Wheeling uniform, which ties him with Andy Franck for second on the club’s all-time list (record is nine by Peter Delmas). Taylor achieved this feat in his 90th career game with the Nailers, which tied him with Joel Laing for third all-time (next up is Delmas at 92). The shutout was Wheeling’s third of the campaign, as Maxim Pavlenko recorded the first two in Reading. The three road shutouts are the most for the Nailers since 2013-14, when that team sent fans home unhappy in enemy territory four times.
WE’RE COMING OUT SWINGING
The Nailers are developing a reputation for being quick out of the starting blocks, and that has been evident over the past couple of weeks. Wheeling scored the opening goal in all three of its games last week (although one of those was in the third period), and has taken a 1-0 lead in six of its seven December duels. The Nailers have struck first in 17 of their 25 games (68%) this season, which gives them the highest percentage of first goals scored in the ECHL (Tahoe’s 18 in 27 for 66.7% ranks second). Wheeling’s 15 wins when scoring the opening marker are also tops in the league, leading Atlanta by three. While the most explosive period offensively for the Nailers has been the third (32 goals), their best goal differential comes in the first, when they are +13 (26-13).
URDAHL THE ULTIMATE CHISELER
When the Nailers have needed a key goal against Greensboro this season, they have turned to Zach Urdahl. The rookie forward has lit the lamp four times in the six head-to-head clashes, and all four goals have been game winners. Urdahl also has a +7 rating in the set, and has yet to be on the ice for a goal by the Gargoyles. Zach is the first Wheeling player since 2006-07 to score four game winning goals against the same opponent in the same season. The last player to do that was Sean Collins against the Trenton Titans. No Wheeling player has ever scored five game winning goals against the same opponent in the same season. The Nailers had two players score five game winning goals last season over the course of the 72-game slate – Matty De St. Phalle and Jordan Martel. The team record for most game winning goals in one season is 11, which was set by John Varga in 1996-97.
FINISHING THE FIRST ONE
The Nailers will put the finishing touches on their first season series this weekend, as they face the Greensboro Gargoyles for the seventh and eighth times on Friday and Saturday. Wheeling has already secured the victory in the set by winning each of the first six matches. Despite the fact that the Nailers are 6-0-0, the Gargoyles have kept the games close, as five of the six have been decided by either one or two goals, with the lone outlier being a 5-2 decision in the most recent game on December 7th. Wheeling’s penalty kill has been one of the reasons for the success, as it has limited Greensboro to one goal on 18 chances. That goal is the only home power play strike by the Gargoyles this season (35 opportunities), and the Nailers are also the only team to score a shorthanded goal against Greensboro. The leading scorers for each team in the season series are Connor Lockhart (3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points) for Wheeling and David Gagnon (3 goals, 1 assist, 4 points) for the Gargoyles. Both teams have used four different goaltenders in head-to-head play.
Buy Tickets for Upcoming Games
Sat. Dec. 27 – 80’s Night
Wed. Dec. 31 – Kid’s New Year’s Eve
Sat. Jan. 3 – Women in Sports Night
Sat. Jan. 10 – Marvel Night
