Nailers at Stingrays Game Day Snap Shot
May 14, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
A Small Blip on the Radar
The Wheeling Nailers lost their first series opening game of the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs on Friday night, as they dropped a 3-0 decision to the South Carolina Stingrays in game one of the Eastern Conference Final. Wheeling took 33 shots in the contest, putting 11 attempts on the frame in the first period, ten in the middle stanza, and 12 in the third period. The Nailers had five power plays in the game, and despite scoring eight times on the man advantage in round two, were held off of the scoreboard by the Stingrays, who have the top ranked penalty kill in the postseason. Brian Foster did his best to give his team a chance to win, making 26 saves on 29 shots, including all 12 he faced in the third period. The shutout was the first against Wheeling in the playoffs since game six of the 2014 second round against Greenville. The Nailers last pitched a postseason blanking against the Stingrays in game three of the 2014 first round.
Four Straight at Home
The South Carolina Stingrays won their fourth consecutive home game in the playoffs on Friday night, as they recorded three straight triumphs against the Adirondack Thunder, before their 3-0 decision against the Nailers. The affair opened with a shorthanded goal by Austin Fyten, who took a David Pacan pass, and roofed a wrist shot from the top of the right circle. South Carolina added to its lead with 4:29 left in the first period, and Fyten was in the middle of it again. He tipped Stephan Vigier's centering pass on net, creating a rebound on the left side. The loose puck was shoveled in by Jared Staal for his first marker of the postseason. Former Wheeling defenseman Bobby Shea added one more insurance goal during the first minute of the second period, firing in a one-timer from Joe Devin. Vitek Vanacek made the score stand up, as he was perfect on 33 saves, earning his first career postseason shutout. The Stingrays are now 6-1 at North Charleston Coliseum in this year's playoffs.
Think Like Bad Boys
One of the themes that the 2015-16 Nailers have rallied around is "Bad Boys," but late in Friday's game, the Stingrays began to bring their own element of nasty into the series. Veteran forward Trevor Gillies laid two big hits, and ended up being guilty of two minor penalties, but Wheeling was unable to cash in with a power play goal. South Carolina and Wheeling have both been sent to the penalty kill 69 times in the playoffs, which are the most among the 16 teams who qualified for the postseason. Both teams have done a tremendous job disposing of those minors, as the Stingrays have been scored on just seven times, while the Nailers have been successful in shutting down the opposition on 60 occasions. Wheeling's penalty kill has been especially strong on the road, where it is 29-for-31 (93.5%) in the playoffs.
Another Team With First Goal Success
In round two, the Nailers ended a run of 12 straight games in which the team scoring first had won in contests featuring the Reading Royals, as they won games six and seven, after falling behind. They are facing a similar opponent in the Eastern Conference Final, as the Stingrays have tremendous success when they are the first club to turn on the red light. Friday night was the ninth time in the playoffs that South Carolina netted the opening tally, and the seventh time that it resulted in a victory. The Stingrays are just 1-3 when the opposition jumps out to an early lead. During the regular season, they were 35-4-4 when scoring first and 9-14-6 when they didn't. Combining the regular season and playoffs, the Nailers are 28-8-2 when scoring first, and 17-24-7 when surrendering the opening tally.
Streak Stopped in South Carolina
Saturday night is game two of the Eastern Conference Final Series between the Nailers and Stingrays, as well as the second battle at North Charleston Coliseum. South Carolina ended a four-game playoff losing streak at home against Wheeling on Friday, with its 3-0 victory. Three of the previous four wins by the Nailers came in overtime, as Andrew Orpik and Kyle Bushee netted winning goals in the 2011 first round, while Tom Kuhnhackl ended a contest in the 2014 opening set. Wheeling is now 7-2 all-time in postseason contests against the Stingrays, taking both prior series. These first two games were the first two of the year in the Palmetto State, as the two regular season clashes both took place at WesBanco Arena, where each side won once. The series will shift to Wheeling for the next three games next week, where the Nailers have won nine of 14 tilts against South Carolina.
Wheeling Nailers (8-6) at South Carolina Stingrays (9-4)
WHEELING NAILERS
(8-6)
43 GF, 43 GA
PP: 18.5% (12-for-65), 5th
PK: 87.0% (60-for-69), 3rd
23-F-Riley Brace (4 goals, 10 assists, 14 points in 14 games)
18-D-Mathew Maione (5 goals, 8 assists, 13 points in 14 games)
25-F-John McCarron (5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points in 13 games)
11-F-Cody Wydo (6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points in 14 games)
19-F-Shane Bakker (4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points in 14 games)
24-F-Ty Loney (4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points in 14 games)
29-G-Franky Palazzese (2-2 record, 2.53 GAA, .908 Sv% in 5 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)
SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS
(9-4)
44 GF, 25 GA
PP: 19.6% (10-for-51), 4th
PK: 89.9% (62-for-69), 1st
8-F-Joe Devin (9 goals, 5 assists, 14 points in 13 games)
21-F-Austin Fyten (5 goals, 8 assists, 13 points in 13 games)
19-F-Kelly Zajac (2 goals, 11 assists, 13 points in 13 games)
23-F-Caleb Herbert (7 goals, 5 assists, 12 points in 13 games)
13-F-Derek DeBlois (3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points in 10 games)
17-D-Bobby Shea (1 goal, 6 assists, 7 points in 13 games)
30-G-Vitek Vanacek (4-0 record, 1.63 GAA, .941 Sv% in 5 games)
(44-18-7-3, 98 PTS, 1st South, 2nd East)
224 GF, 162 GA
PP: 19.6% (51-for-260), 4th
PK: 87.5% (251-for-287), 1st
61-F-David Pacan (20 goals, 42 assists, 62 points in 69 games)
28-F-Stephan Vigier (24 goals, 26 assists, 50 points in 70 games)
10-F-Brett Cameron (20 goals, 28 assists, 48 points in 61 games)
8-F-Joe Devin (18 goals, 23 assists, 41 points in 55 games)
17-D-Bobby Shea (5 goals, 24 assists, 29 points in 64 games)
20-F-Jared Staal (12 goals, 12 assists, 24 points in 64 games)
30-G-Vitek Vanacek (18-7-6 record, 2.03 GAA, .917 Sv% in 32 games)
Head to Head
Playoff Series: Stingrays 1, Nailers 0
Playoff Series at North Charleston Coliseum: Stingrays 1, Nailers 0
Season Series: Nailers 1, Stingrays 1
Season Series at North Charleston Coliseum: Did Not Play
All-Time Series (Regular Season + Playoff): Nailers 18, Stingrays 14
All-Time Series at North Charleston Coliseum (Regular Season + Playoff): Nailers 9, Stingrays 9
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from May 14, 2016
- Nailers Complete Comeback in Double-Overtime to Tie Series - South Carolina Stingrays
- Nailers Even Conference Final with Three-Goal Comeback - Wheeling Nailers
- Nailers at Stingrays Game Day Snap Shot - Wheeling Nailers
- Playoff Game Preview: Game 2-Wheeling at South Carolina, 7:05 p.m. - South Carolina Stingrays
- ECHL Today - May 14 - ECHL
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
