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Wheeling Nailers

2014-15 Wheeling Nailers Season in Review

May 6, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


The 23rd season of hockey in Wheeling has come to an end, and while there were enough ups and downs to keep an amusement park in business, the 2014-15 version of the Wheeling Nailers can be proud of what they accomplished. The Nailers posted a 37-33-1-1 record during the regular season, marking the seventh consecutive year that the team has finished with a winning record. 22 of the 37 victories came at WesBanco Arena, where nearly 90,000 fans filed their way in, to cheer for the home team. For the second consecutive spring and fifth time in the last seven years, playoff hockey made its way to Wheeling, nearly resulting in a remarkable upset, as the 31-point underdog Nailers fell one goal shy of eliminating the Brabham Cup Champion Toledo Walleye in game seven of the North Division Semi-Final.

The 2013-14 "Island of Misfit Toys" made a large impact both on the ice and with the fan base, so when it came to constructing the 2014-15 roster, fourth year Head Coach Clark Donatelli wanted to assure that continuity was a significant part of the mix. Zack Torquato became just the fifth player in team history to eclipse the 200-game plateau, while Paul Cianfrini returned for his third season in Wheeling. Other popular returning players included Shane Bakker, Tyler Fernandez, Sahir Gill, Chaz Johnson, Patrick McGrath, and Mike Ratchuk, who all signed ECHL contracts with the club during the summer. As is the case during most years, the affiliates also lent a major helping hand, particularly in the crease, where Franky Palazzese (MTL/HAM) and Eric Hartzell (PIT/WBS) backstopped all 37 of the team's wins. Finally, the rookies put together another strong showing, led by ECHL All-Rookie Team member Derek Army, who finished with 29 goals. Jarrett Burton, David Makowski, and Clark Seymour were also large contributors, who spent the majority of their first campaigns in the ECHL.

For the second year in a row, the Nailers played their season opener at home on October 18th, and as it turned out, the Ohio Valley was as excited as they were for the first puck to hit the ice. 4,754 fans packed WesBanco Arena, and quickly got something to cheer about, as Patrick McGrath picked up the first of his 26 fighting majors, throwing down the gloves against Reading's Bryant Molle. Although the Royals scored the first goal of the season, Opening Night belonged to Wheeling. Riley Brace and Carter Rowney both posted four-point games, with Brace's hat trick goal at 18:52 of the third period capping off a 6-3 triumph for the good guys.

Some of the highlights during the first ten games of the regular season included a 5-1 win at South Carolina during the first road trip, a hat trick by Matia Marcantuoni in Evansville, and a thrilling 4-3 triumph at Cincinnati. Another large crowd greeted the Nailers on November 19th, as the popular school day game returned to the docket after a one-year absence. At first, it appeared the early start time caught the home team off guard, as the Elmira Jackals took a 2-0 lead, while outshooting Wheeling, 9-3. Two goals in a span of 1:41 in the third period brought the Nailers even, and the 4,855 in attendance began to get loud, sensing a positive end result. The game ultimately needed a shootout to be decided, and that's when Wheeling completed the comeback win, scoring a pair of goals, while receiving four saves from Eric Hartzell.

At that time, the Nailers looked like they were starting to heat up, as they went on to win six of eight games from November 19th through December 6th. On November 29th, Wheeling handed the Florida Everblades only their third regulation loss of the year, thanks to two goals by Riley Brace, who was playing against his cousin Adam for the first time in their professional careers. The following weekend saw a new visitor come to town, as the Nailers played their first ever series against the Utah Grizzlies. Wheeling took the first game, 5-2, although the highlight of the night came from what may have been the fight of the season, as Patrick McGrath threw down the gloves with Alex Gallant. That was only the start of a memorable weekend for McGrath, who was featured in a Bobblefist Giveaway the next night. While Patrick did engage in the fisticuffs in the third period, the unpredictable moment occurred with 1:56 left in the middle frame, when his second career goal snapped a 2-2 tie, sparking a five-goal rally and a 7-3 victory.

Unfortunately, the high water mark of 11-7-0 turned out to be short-lived, as the injury bug and the Mumps began to take their greatest tolls on the parent Pittsburgh Penguins, which trickled down to a plethora of roster moves in Wheeling. The Nailers won just one of their next eight games, and were in need of something drastic to turn their luck around. With only four defensemen in his lineup for the final contest during a stretch of three games in three days, Clark Donatelli experimented a 1-4 defensive formation, keeping a forward in the neutral zone at all times. Sure enough, the skid stopped with a 3-1 win at Gwinnett, as Chaz Johnson lit the lamp twice, and Eric Hartzell made 38 saves. Later that week, Donatelli gave the 1-4 another go, as Wheeling faced the conference leading Fort Wayne Komets. Fort Wayne jumped ahead 3-0 and 4-1, but two late goals in the second period gave the Nailers life, as they erased the three-goal deficit, going on to win 5-4 on Shawn Skelly's goal in the fifth round of the shootout.

The comeback win in Fort Wayne was the first of seven victories in January, and aside from 5-2 and 7-2 blowouts in Brampton, almost all of the wins featured late thrills. On the 9th, the Nailers erased three separate deficits, then scored three goals in a span of 1:33, before holding off the Reading Royals, 6-5 at WesBanco Arena. One night later, Wheeling fell behind again, but rallied to tie Elmira, 2-2, allowing Tyler Fernandez to provide the heroics, snapping the deadlock with 26 seconds left in regulation. On the 23rd, the Nailers got the best of Fort Wayne for the second time in the month, as Morgan Ellis broke a 4-4 tie with 1:53 remaining in the third period.

February's home schedule started with the lone regular season win over the Brabham Cup Champion Toledo Walleye, as three different players dented the twine, while Franky Palazzese made 27 saves to begin his incredible turnaround between the pipes. One week after that, the Nailers got to play the role of spoiler against their longtime rival, the Reading Royals. Reading charged into the Ohio Valley on a 12-game winning streak, but that run ended when Riley Brace banked a shot off of Connor Knapp and into the net at 3:13 of overtime for a 3-2 final score. Josh Archibald's hat trick in a 4-1 victory at Kalamazoo highlighted a brief three-game road trip, bringing Wheeling home for another memorable contest. The Nailers and Jackals played to a 2-2 tie in regulation and overtime, leading to a shootout for the ages. Elmira took five separate leads in the third, fourth, fifth, eighth, and ninth rounds, only to see Wheeling answer each time. Finally, in round ten, former Jackal Chaz Johnson ended the game with a perfectly placed shot.

For the second year in a row, the Nailers needed a strong month of March in order to chase down a playoff spot. After dropping a 4-2 decision to Greenville on the 2nd, Wheeling rattled off eight wins in its next 12 games, starting with Palazzese's first career shutout - a 26-save blanking in a 5-0 spanking of the Jackals. The Nailers were on the right side of pivotal decisions against Indy and Kalamazoo on the 7th and 13th, which included Clark Donatelli's record-breaking 125h win as the team's head coach.

That led to a huge four-game homestand, which saw Wheeling go to battle with Toledo, Fort Wayne, Reading, and Cincinnati, all in a matter of five days. The Nailers narrowly dropped the opener, 3-2 to the Walleye, but rebounded in comeback fashion against the Komets. Cody Wydo had a professional debut to remember, as he evened the score 1-1 at the 7:23 mark of the third period, then assisted on Sahir Gill's winning goal 2:13 later. Emotions were high on NASCAR Night against the Royals, but before things got too crazy with 147 combined penalty minutes, Wheeling took care of its main focus - winning the game, 5-2. Sunday's finale against the Cyclones was the Sahir Gill Show, as he illustrated the finishing touches on his ECHL Player of the Week honor with a hat trick and four-point afternoon, helping the Nailers to the 4-3 win and a three-point lead for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division.

The celebrating quickly got put on hold, as three straight losses dropped Wheeling outside of playoff position with one week remaining. With their season on the line, the Nailers came through in enormous fashion. Franky Palazzese made 46 saves in a 2-1 win at Reading to get the four-game stretch started on a positive note. Two nights later, 4,022 fans rooted their team on to a 3-1 triumph over Elmira in the regular season home finale, as Wheeling climbed back into fourth place. On April 11th, the playoff spot was officially secured, as the Nailers downed the Jackals, 5-3 at First Arena, thanks to Adam Krause's winning goal with 4:53 left in the game. Wheeling then earned its first four-game winning streak of the campaign with a 4-2 victory in Brampton.

Once they clinched their spot, the Nailers knew that the playoffs were going to be a challenge, as they were matched up with the Toledo Walleye, who set the ECHL record for largest turnaround, going from 49 points in 2013-14 to 107 in 2014-15. However, Wheeling was ready to prove the doubters wrong, starting in game one, when David Gilbert's second goal of the night snapped a 2-2 tie with 8:50 left in the third period. Troy Schwab's goal at 1:35 of overtime in game two squared the series 1-1, giving the Nailers a split at Huntington Center. Game three saw both squads blow two-goal leads, but in the end, it was Wheeling who had the final say, 5-4. The Walleye put forth their best performance in game four, tying the series with a 4-1 decision. Game five could have gone either way, but a fabulous save by Jeff Lerg allowed AJ Jenks to come through in the clutch, putting Toledo ahead 3-2 in the series, with games six and seven at home. Zack Torquato helped force a decisive seventh game, as his hat trick was a major part of a 5-2 Nailers triumph in game six. Torquato also played a clutch role in game seven, as his tally with 7:23 left in regulation forced overtime, with the score deadlocked, 1-1. Unfortunately, that was when the season came to its conclusion, as Kyle Bonis' shorthanded goal at 2:54 of the extra session propelled the Walleye into the North Division Final.

In 2015-16, the Wheeling Nailers will play their 24th season of hockey in the Ohio Valley, after WesBanco Arena goes through construction over the summer, which will feature new seats, handrails, and a new entrance. The regular season will begin on October 16th and 17th in Norfolk, where the Nailers will rebuild an old rivalry with the Admirals. The home opener will take place on October 24th against the new division rival Brampton Beast, who will make their first ever visit to West Virginia.

Wheeling Nailers 2015-16 season tickets, as well as flex tickets, group tickets, single-game tickets, and playoff packages 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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