ECHL Wheeling Nailers

2013-14 Wheeling Nailers Season in Review

May 15, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


The 2013-14 season of Wheeling Nailers hockey has come to an end, and although a Kelly Cup was not the end reward, the response around the Ohio Valley turned out to be very appreciative. After missing the postseason in 2012-13, the Nailers posted a 39-27-1-5 regular season record, finishing sixth in the Eastern Conference with 84 points. They then went on to go 6-4 in the playoffs, sweeping the South Carolina Stingrays, before falling in six games to the Greenville Road Warriors.

As the roster was being constructed by Head Coach Clark Donatelli during the summer, fans quickly realized that they were going to see a significantly different team on the ice. Veteran Chaz Johnson and former Kelly Cup Champion Mike Ratchuk were among the first players signed, along with experienced defenseman Barry Goers. While there was a new flavor of players coming in, there was also a group of familiar faces, as Christiaan Minella and Peter Merth returned for their fourth seasons, while Zack Torquato was back in the Ohio Valley for the third consecutive campaign. One of the major roster storylines was the amount of rookies that made an impact, as 26 of the 48 players used this season fell into that category. Goaltender Mike Condon, leading scorer Sahir Gill, and leading goal scorer Cody Sylvester were among the 26.

A season-high crowd of 3,782 fans flew through the turnstyles on October 18th, as Wheeling dropped the puck on its 22nd season of professional hockey. Christiaan Minella opened the scoring 4:12 into the campaign, as he began a two-goal, one-fight performance, which earned him the game's first star. Mike Condon also set his tone for the season, making 40 saves, as the Nailers defeated the Elmira Jackals, 3-2 for their third straight win in a home opener.

Although the following three games didn't go Wheeling's way, a turnaround of sorts began on November 2nd, when the Nailers played host to the Greenville Road Warriors. Despite leading 34-15 in shots, the home team trailed 3-1 after forty minutes of play. That was when Cody Sylvester inserted himself into the equation. Sylvester netted the first two goals of his professional career in the final frame, including the winning tally with 3:03 remaining, as Wheeling rallied for four goals and a 5-3 victory.

That game kickstarted the Nailers' best month of the regular season, as the team went 10-3-2 in November, earning 22 of 30 possible points. Four of the ten triumphs came against the Elmira Jackals, including a home-and-home-and-home series sweep on the 14th, 15th, and 16th. Chaz Johnson was the hero on the 15th, as he recorded a hat trick in his first game back at First Arena as a visiting player. That achievement came one week after Carter Rowney scored the first hat trick of his professional career in a 6-2 road win against the Fort Wayne Komets.

From November 14th-December 7th, Wheeling put together a 12-game point streak (10-0-2) - the longest in the ECHL this season. The stretch began with the three straight victories against Elmira, then featured a five-game winning streak from November 23rd-30th. In the game on the 23rd, the Nailers had one of their most memorable comebacks of the year, as they trailed 3-0 and 4-3, before Carter Rowney tied the score in the final minute of regulation, and Mike Ratchuk decided the contest in overtime. The overtime tally was the first of four during the regular season for Ratchuk and the first of three in 29 days, as Wheeling went 6-1 in that scenario. The winning streak also featured a pair of shutouts, as Mike Condon thwarted 38 Cincinnati shots on the 27th, before Mathieu Corbeil turned in a 39-save effort against Toledo on the 30th.

In a bizarre twist, the 14 games that directly followed the 12-game point streak were not exactly what one would consider successful. The Nailers closed December and opened January by going 2-9-3, culminating with four regulation losses in five days from January 8th-12th. Four of those nine regulation setbacks were suffered by Brooks Ostergard and Alex Westlund, who were in charge of tending the net while Mike Condon was in the AHL. Christiaan Minella, Matt Grassi, Zack Torquato, Cody Sylvester, and Denver Manderson all missed games during that span.

After the stumble, the roller coaster began to go up once again, as Wheeling went on to win four of its next six contests. The Nailers took two out of three games in Greenville and Gwinnett, scoring three of their 13 shorthanded goals - two of which were game winners. They then duplicated their feat the following weekend, picking up two wins in three tilts against Toledo and Cincinnati.

The next significant stretch of the season came at the tail end of February. Wheeling had posted a 5-2 record in seven games from February 8th-19th, setting the stage for four consecutive games at Elmira's First Arena. The Jackals got the upper hand, 5-2 in the opener on the 21st, but the Nailers rebounded with a 3-1 triumph the following night. On Sunday the 23rd, Wheeling racked up its most lopsided victory of the year, dumping Elmira, 7-0, with goals by six different players. In case that wasn't exciting enough, the Nailers returned to New York five days later, earning their largest comeback win of the season. After falling behind 4-0 early in the second, Wheeling rallied back to take a 5-4 lead after two, before ultimately coming out on top, 6-4.

When play began on March 8th in the Nailers' final visit to Elmira, the team was on the outside of the playoff picture, sitting in a ninth place tie in the Eastern Conference. Wheeling erased a 2-0 deficit for a 3-2 overtime win. That was the last time that the team found itself on the outside looking in, as the Nailers finished the regular season with wins in 11 of the final 14 tilts. Five of those 11 triumphs came during a six-game homestand from March 28th-April 5th, as Wheeling notched 20 victories on home ice for the fourth straight season. On April 6th, the Nailers locked up their 12th playoff berth in team history, thanks to Florida's 3-2 loss to South Carolina.

Between both the regular season and the playoffs, the month of April belonged to Mike Condon. The former Princeton University Tiger posted a perfect 8-0 record during the month, pitching five shutouts, while also going 13-1-0 from February 14th-April 25th. Condon took home his third ECHL Goaltender of the Week Award, second ECHL Rookie of the Month Award, and first ECHL Goaltender of the Month Award during the closing month of the regular season.

For the second time in four years, the Nailers opened the playoffs with a series against the South Carolina Stingrays. Wheeling controlled the opening game 3-0, but had to battle back in game two, as the Stingrays took 1-0 and 2-1 leads. The Nailers pulled even in the third period, before Tom Kuhnhackl launched a shot into the top-right corner of the goal in overtime, taking a 2-0 series advantage back to WesBanco Arena. Christiaan Minella was responsible for the lone tally in game three, as Mike Condon's 38-save shutout preserved a 1-0 victory. In game four, Max MacKay's two tallies helped Wheeling to its first ever four-game sweep, as the Nailers eliminated South Carolina with a 4-2 win.

In the second round, Wheeling ran into the Greenville Road Warriors, who represented their team name well, opening with 7-3 and 4-3 wins at WesBanco Arena. The Nailers battled back to tie the series, with back-to-back 3-2 triumphs in games three and four at Greenville, before the Road Warriors retook the series lead with a 4-1 victory in game five. Unfortunately, Wheeling didn't have another magical comeback in store, as Greenville completed the series win with a 4-0 shutout in game six, closing the Nailers' season on May 12th.

In 2014-15, the Wheeling Nailers will take the ice for their 23rd season of hockey in the Ohio Valley, which will give them sole possession of the longest run of consecutive years in one city in ECHL history. The regular season will open on October 18th at WesBanco Arena.

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