ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Barton's Trick Is Treat on Halloween Night

Published on October 29, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


WHEELING, WV- Chris Barton gave the 2,260 fans in attendance at WesBanco Arena an early Halloween treat on Saturday night. The rookie forward found the back of the net three times, as the Wheeling Nailers held off the Trenton Titans 6-4, for their fifth consecutive victory.

With 6:38 remaining in the first period, the Nailers opened the scoring with a power play goal. Chris Barton took a feed from Patrick Johnson in the right circle. He then moved in toward the net, letting a shot go that beat Dave Caruso for a 1-0 lead. Wheeling extended their lead a little more than one minute into the second. Zack Torquato took a shot from the left side of the goal that ended up sitting against the post. Matt Lombardi noticed the loose puck, and took advantage, poking it through Caruso.

Trenton battled back to even the score at two, thanks to a pair of power play tallies. At the 5:41 mark, Tyler Hostetter pulled the puck out from behind the goal, cut toward the middle, and beat Patrick Killeen against the grain on his stick side. Less than five minutes later, Andy Bombach picked up the equalizer, finishing off a quick passing play from Dustin Cameron.

With 2:54 remaining in the middle frame, the Nailers regained their lead. Joe Tolles worked the puck along the blueline to Matt Lombardi in the middle. Despite being high in the zone, Lombardi let a hard wrist shot go, beating Caruso high over the blocker for his second goal of the night. For Tolles, the assist was his first professional point.

The Nailers added to their lead in the early stages of the third period. At the 6:58 mark, Chris Barton rifled home a slap shot from left circle for his second of the night. 3:06 later, Barton completed his hat trick on a power play, netting the rebound of Patrick Johnson's initial shot. Jordan Pietrus' one-time goal with 3:27 remaining brought the Titans within two, but that's as close as they got, as Wheeling's Devin DiDiomete and Trenton's Eric Baier exchanged goals in the final two minutes of the battle.

Patrick Killeen picked up his fourth straight win for the Nailers, making 18 saves on 22 shots. He defeated Dave Caruso, who allowed five goals on 23 shots for the Titans.

The Nailers will conclude their four-game homestand on Friday night, when they play host to the Kalamazoo Wings at 7:35.

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from October 29, 2011


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.

OurSports Central