Hotham, Lenes Shine in Nailers' 5-2 Victory
January 29, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
JOHNSTOWN, PA - Andrew Hotham led the Nailers with four points, and Peter Lenes scored two goals in the Nailers 5-2 victory over the Toledo Walleye. Toledo gave up seven consecutive power plays, three of which the Nailers capitalized on.
The Nailers started off the first period quickly with several good chances. Paul Crowder's shot from the left circle 49 seconds in was knocked away by Toledo goaltender Dustin Carlson, while Zack Torquato nearly scored moments later. A hard hit along the near boards on Cody Chupp by Matt Krug led to Adam Ross stepping in and dropping the gloves with Krug. Zack Torquato was called for boarding, and Toledo's power play was able to capitalize. Bryan Rufenach sent a wrist shot from the left circle high on Killeen to put the Walleye up 1-0, with help from Joey Martin and Andrej Nestrasil. The Nailers had a 5-on-3 opportunity, where Chris Barton and Jordon Southorn both had great chances, but were stopped by Carlson. Phil Rauch was called for high-sticking with under a minute left to give the Nailers a power play opportunity to start the second.
While the Nailers were unable to score on the lingering penalty from the first period, they were able to take advantage of two consecutive delay of game penalties to Rauch. Chupp started the scoring for the Nailers, with Torquato and Andrew Hotham picking up assists. On the second penalty, Southorn took a shot from the slot that was deflected off Krug for the Nailers' second goal - Southorn's first with the Nailers. Hotham notched his second point of the night on the goal with the second assist. A flurry in front of the net with 5:08 remaining in the period nearly resulted in another Nailers goal. Hotham hit the post, while Chupp's shot was knocked down in front of the net.
Nearly the first five minutes of the third period turned into a goaltending battle, as the two teams exchanged chances. Nestrasil gave the Nailers their seventh consecutive power play at 4:16 on a slashing call. For his third goal in four games, Petersen sent a rocket from the right circle, above Carlson's shoulder a minute into the penalty to give the Nailers a 3-1 lead. Southorn and Hotham picked up the assists, with Hotham earning his third point of the game. Lombardi was called for slashing at 6:01, giving the Walleye their third power play of the night. However, they were unable to convert, as the Nailers killed Lombardi's penalty. Peter Lenes scored his 15th of the season, and eighth since coming to Wheeling, unassisted at 8:34 from the left circle. Three minutes later, David Gilbert, recently sent down from Rockford, cut the Nailers lead in half, with assists from Rufenach and Gleason Fournier. Toledo pulled their goaltender for the extra attacker, but Lenes scored his second of the game, with another assist from Hotham, to bring the Nailers back to a three-goal lead to finalize their 5-2 win.
The Nailers head to Elmira Wednesday night to take on the Jackals before coming back to Wheeling on Friday for the second half of a home-and-home against Elmira at 7:35. For ticket information or to purchase tickets call 304-234-GOAL (4625) or online at shop.wheelingnailers.com. You can now purchase Nailers game tickets on your smart phone by visiting m.wheelingnailers.com.
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ECHL Stories from January 29, 2012
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