The Wheeling Nailers are coming home with a split, as they put forth a dominant performance in game two of the Central Division Semifinal Series at Indiana Farmers Coliseum.
Wheeling got humongous offensive contributions from a group of players, led by Jordan Martel, who had two goals and three assists. Evan Vierling also found the back of the net twice, Justin Addamo dished out four assists, and Matt Koopman and Justin Lee both had three-point games. The Nailers clobbered the Indy Fuel, 7-1, to tie the best-of-seven series, 1-1.
The opening stanza was exactly what the Nailers were looking for, as they collected the first two goals of the contest. The first tally came at the 6:36 mark. Jordan Martel threw a pass off of the right wall for Justin Addamo to skate onto. Addamo curled around the offensive zone, and ultimately landed in the high slot, where he drilled a wrist shot toward the goal.
His attempt didn’t go in, but Matt Koopman banged away at the loose change and got it to squirt through. With ten seconds to go in the period, Indy’s Chase Lang high sticked Dustin Manz on a face-off, which gave Wheeling a four-minute power play. It took the Nailers just six seconds to convert. Addamo brushed an initial pass by Justin Lee to the right side of the crease, where Evan Vierling swatted a goal in during his return to the lineup.
The Nailers blew the game open in the second period, as they added four goals to their total. Jordan Martel lit the lamp twice in a span of 21 seconds, as he slid into the slot to deposit a centering pass from Koopman, then faked out goaltender Zach Driscoll and shuffled a shot into the right side of the cage off of another setup from Koopman.
With 2:56 remaining, another pair of strikes went to the visitors. Martel took a hit to move the puck into neutral ice. Justin Lee skated into the offensive zone and took a shot that got denied, but followed that up by burying his own rebound. 65 seconds after that, Jared Westcott joined the party, as he took a feed from David Jankowski and roofed a wrist shot into the top-left corner of the goal.
Vierling notched his second of the game with a power play wrist shot from the right side of the slot, before Ross MacDougall delivered the lone Indy goal with 4:42 to go, as Wheeling finished off its 7-1 triumph.
Jaxon Castor backstopped his first career playoff victory for the Nailers, as he thwarted 20 of the 21 shots he faced. Zach Driscoll gave up six goals on 22 shots in the loss for the Fuel, before giving way to Mitchell Weeks, who was 6-of-7 in relief.
The Central Division Semifinal Series will shift to WesBanco Arena for games three and four on Monday and Tuesday, both with 7:10 face-offs. Monday’s game will feature Fan Appreciation Night festivities, including the vacation giveaway to Put-in-Bay.
To purchase tickets for the playoffs or for any questions or concerns about ticketing, please visit wheelingnailers.com or call (304) 234-GOAL. The Wheeling Nailers, considered one of the top things to do in Wheeling, West Virginia, provide affordable family entertainment for fans throughout the Ohio Valley.
