Nailers Earn Point, But Fall in Shootout
March 17, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
WHEELING, WV- In the first 58 games of the regular season, the Wheeling Nailers were perfect in shootouts, going 3-0. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end, and so did that statistic on Tuesday night. The Toledo Walleye rallied back from a 4-2 deficit with two goals in the third period, before scoring on all four shootout attempts, as they defeated the Nailers, 5-4 at WesBanco Arena. Wheeling is now tied with Cincinnati for fourth place in the North Division.
The game began with fire, as Patrick McGrath celebrated his birthday by dropping the gloves with Cody Lampl at the one-second mark. The following 19:59 saw even more excitement, as both teams turned on the red light twice. For the second straight contest, the Nailers got a quick one, as Zack Torquato took a drop pass from Derek Army, before wristing in a shot from the right circle. Toledo battled back to tie the score at 9:30, when Michael Leone redirected Josh Holmstrom's pass through Franky Palazzese's legs. Tyler Barnes then put the Walleye ahead for a brief time, when he got a piece of Shane Sims' point shot on the power play. 11 seconds after Barnes' marker, Army knotted things up for Wheeling, when he roofed an attempt from the inner edge of the left circle.
At the 9:17 mark of the second period, the Nailers pulled ahead, courtesy of a power play goal. Torquato slid a pass to the middle of the blueline, where David Makowski stepped up with a shot, which flew into the right side of the cage. Less than four minutes later, the home team added to its advantage. Shane Bakker led an odd-man rush into the offensive zone, before hooking up with Riley Brace, who beat Neil Conway over the glove.
Toledo had a strong start in the third period, quickly rallying back to even the score. Jared Nightingale's right point shot found its way in at the 1:08 mark, before Barnes' second power play tip-in of the evening ultimately sent the game to bonus hockey.
Despite a 4-on-3 power play for Wheeling, overtime wasn't able to solve anything, leading to a shootout. In the shootout, the Walleye converted on all four of their attempts (Berschbach, Schwab, Barnes, Bonis), while Zack Torquato was the only successful Nailer on three attempts.
Neil Conway got the win in goal for Toledo, making 25 saves on 29 shots, before a 2-for-3 showing in the shootout. Franky Palazzese took the shootout loss for Wheeling, turning away 35 of the 39 shots he faced during the game, before struggling in the shootout.
The Nailers will visit the Elmira Jackals on Friday and Saturday, with both games starting at 7:05, before returning to WesBanco Arena for a four-game homestand, beginning on March 25th.
The next homestand will take place with four games in five days from March 25th-29th. NASCAR Night on March 28th will be the highlight game of the week, as the Nailers will wear special jerseys as part of CORE Weekend, while a NASCAR race car will be at the game. March 29th will be the final Family Funday and Post Game Skate, while March 27th is a Flat Screen Friday, Frosty Friday, and Player Poster Giveaway.
Wheeling Nailers 2015-16 season tickets, as well as flex tickets, group tickets and single-game tickets for 2014-15 are on sale now. For more information, call 304-234-GOAL or visit wheelingnailers.com.
Listen to all Nailers regular season and post-season games live on the Valley's rock station EAGLE 107.5 FM, on www.iheartradio.com or watch live on www.echl.tv. Catch every road game live on WLUTV on Comcast Cable 14.
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