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Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Royals Game Day Snap Shot

May 5, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Don't Push the Panic Button

The Wheeling Nailers have nearly duplicated their first round results in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series, as they fell behind the Reading Royals 2-1 after a 3-1 setback on Wednesday night at Santander Arena. Wheeling has rallied from a 2-1 series deficit three times in its history, with the most recent coming in the opening round against the Florida Everblades. On Wednesday, the Nailers had a stellar first period, but the score didn't show it, as they trailed 1-0, despite a 16-9 advantage in shots on goal. The lone bright spot offensively came at the 56-second mark of the middle frame, when Shane Bakker escaped from the penalty box and scored on a breakaway. Reading responded with two goals later in the second period to take a 3-1 lead, then tacked on an empty netter for a 4-1 final score. Brian Foster made 27 saves, as his record fell to 4-3 in this year's playoffs.

Morrison Was the Man

The Reading Royals got the best goaltending performance of the series on Wednesday night, as Adam Morrison was a winner for the second consecutive contest. He stopped all 30 shots he faced in the first and third periods, and ended the evening with a 37-save effort on 38 attempts. Morrison's offensive support started with 1:12 left in the opening stanza, when Mike Marcou took a drop pass from Michael Pelech, and lifted a shot into the top-left corner of the net. Following Wheeling's equalizer, Cam Reid put the home team ahead, as he followed up his initial shot, burying an attempt from the slot. Pelech was responsible for tally number three, slamming in a one-timer from the right face-off dot, which was fed by Todd Perry. Maxim Lamarche got credited with the empty netter to complete the 4-1 result, as he found the twine from the bottom of his own right circle.

No Need for Extra Man Power

Special teams have certainly been a factor in the first two rounds of the playoffs, but on Wednesday night, power plays turned out to be a non-factor. For just the second time in nine games involving the Nailers, neither team was able to light the lamp with the man advantage, as Wheeling turned in an 0-for-3 mark, while successfully killing off all four opportunities by the Royals. There were two goals that came close to the expirations of penalties, as Mike Marcou's opening marker for Reading came two seconds after a Mathew Maione minor ended. Then, in the second period, Shane Bakker connected on a breakaway eight seconds after he exited the penalty box. Only one of the five goals was not scored 5-on-5, and that was Lamarche's empty netter, as the Nailers had six skaters on the ice. Game six of the first round against Florida was the other outing that didn't feature a power play goal. The seven combined man advantages were the fewest in a game involving Wheeling in the postseason.

The First One Tells the Story

Most people in hockey will echo the statement that a good start and an early lead are two keys to a successful performance. The Royals know that scenario to be extremely true in the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs, as they have only seen a lead change hands in one of their ten games. That was game two of the current set, when Reading went ahead 1-0, Wheeling battled back to take a 2-1 lead, and the Royals ultimately prevailed, 4-2. The team scoring first has won all ten playoff games involving Reading, and each of the last 11 overall, with the Nailers 4-3 comeback win in the regular season home finale serving as the last time a team surrendered the first goal to the Royals and still won. Wheeling has seen the team score first come away victorious in six of nine postseason affairs, with four of the nine games experiencing a lead changing hands.

That Evens the Score in Their House

Thursday night is game four of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series between the Nailers and Royals, and the second of three battles at Santander Arena. Reading captured its first lead of the series on Wednesday night, when it defeated Wheeling 4-1 on home ice. That decision snapped a three-game winning streak for the Nailers in Eastern Pennsylvania, as the Royals came out on the positive side of the equation at home against Wheeling for the first time since November 29th. Counting the regular season and the playoffs, both sides have now won three times in Reading, with the Nailers continuing to hold an 8-6 advantage overall. Wheeling will need to win one of the next two tilts to send the series back to WesBanco Arena, although two wins would give them the lead, heading into home games on Monday and possibly Wednesday. The Nailers are now 3-2 all-time in postseason clashes on the road against the Royals.

Wheeling Nailers (5-4) at Reading Royals (6-4)

WHEELING NAILERS

(5-4)

28 GF, 30 GA

PP: 14.0% (6-for-43), 12th

PK: 85.5% (47-for-55), 7th

23-F-Riley Brace (3 goals, 8 assists, 11 points in 9 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points in 9 games)

25-F-John McCarron (4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points in 9 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (5 goals, 3 assists, 8 points in 9 games)

19-F-Shane Bakker (2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points in 9 games)

24-F-Ty Loney (3 goals, 1 assist, 4 points in 9 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (1-1 record, 4.11 GAA, .872 Sv% in 3 games)

(37-26-5-4, 83 PTS, 2nd North, 5th East)

214 GF, 211 GA

PP: 17.8% (48-for-269), 9th

PK: 83.6% (225-for-269), 15th

23-F-Riley Brace (26 goals, 41 assists, 67 points in 56 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (11 goals, 43 assists, 54 points in 70 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (23 goals, 27 assists, 50 points in 59 games)

25-F-John McCarron (14 goals, 17 assists, 31 points in 51 games)

17-F-Jordan Kwas (9 goals, 20 assists, 29 points in 60 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (7 goals, 17 assists, 24 points in 72 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (20-15-3 record, 2.86 GAA, .906 Sv% in 39 games)

READING ROYALS

(6-4)

31 GF, 26 GA

PP: 17.5% (7-for-40), 5th

PK: 83.7% (36-for-43), 8th

17-F-Kevin Goumas (4 goals, 7 assists, 11 points in 10 games)

18-F-Brandon Alderson (7 goals, 2 assists, 9 points in 10 games)

28-F-Cam Reid (4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points in 10 games)

4-D-Maxim Lamarche (2 goals, 6 assists, 8 points in 10 games)

19-F-Justin Crandall (2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points in 10 games)

26-F-Nikita Kashirsky (1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points in 9 games)

39-G-Adam Morrison (2-2 record, 1.60 GAA, .944 Sv% in 4 games)

(36-26-6-4, 82 PTS, 3rd East, 8th East)

222 GF, 194 GA

PP: 18.6% (51-for-274), 6th

PK: 83.5% (203-for-243), 16th

19-F-Justin Crandall (17 goals, 38 assists, 55 points in 54 games)

28-F-Cam Reid (18 goals, 30 assists, 48 points in 58 games)

10-F-Yannick Tifu (19 goals, 26 assists, 45 points in 66 games)

55-F-Michael Pelech (11 goals, 33 assists, 44 points in 70 games)

14-F-Mike Pereira (19 goals, 24 assists, 43 points in 47 games)

11-D-Adam Comrie (15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points in 39 games)

39-G-Adam Morrison (7-4-6 record, 2.29 GAA, .926 Sv% in 18 games)

Head to Head

Playoff Series: Royals 2, Nailers 1

Playoff Series at Santander Arena: Royals 1, Nailers 0

Season Series: Nailers 7, Royals 4

Season Series at Santander Arena: Nailers 3, Royals 2

All-Time Series (Regular Season + Playoff): Royals 86, Nailers 71

All-Time Series at Santander Arena (Regular Season + Playoff): Royals 49, Nailers 34

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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