Nailers Announce Hall Of Fame Inductees And Weekend Schedule
Published on December 29, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
Wheeling, WV - The unveiling of the Hall of Fame banners, a Doug Sauter bobblehead giveaway and a special dinner event honoring the inductees are some of the highlights for a very special Wheeling Hockey Hall of Fame weekend coming up January 29th and 30th.
The Wheeling Nailers are pleased to announce that Doug Sauter and Nick Bedway will be officially inducted on Hall of Fame Night on Saturday, January 30th before the Wheeling Nailers play the South Carolina Stingrays at WesBanco Arena.
The weekend begins with the Hall of Fame Dinner on Friday, January 29th upstairs at Generations Pub and Restaurant. Voice of the Nailers Bob Rotruck will emcee the special night honoring Sauter and Bedway. Tickets for the dinner are $30 per person or $250 for a table of ten and are on sale at the Wheeling Nailers office or online at shop.wheelingnailers.com. Only 150 seats are available.
Sauter and Bedway will be officially inducted into the Wheeling Hockey Hall of Fame at WesBanco Arena during a pre-game ceremony Saturday, January 30th. The ceremony will culminate with the unveiling of their Hall of Fame banners.
The first 2500 fans in attendance for the Hall of Fame game will receive a Doug Sauter bobblehead courtesy of WesBanco.
Sauter is the legendary first head coach of the Wheeling Thunderbirds and all-time winningest in the organization as well.
"Doug not only brought a high level of hockey to the Ohio Valley," Wheeling Nailers Vice President Craig Bommer said, "but his charm with the fans continues to make him a fan favorite even today."
In Wheeling's first year of professional hockey Sauter led the T-Birds to the Riley Cup Finals where they lost a classic and hard-fought series to the rival Toledo Storm.
Nick Bedway was a long-time beat-writer for the Wheeling Nailers and Thunderbirds for the Wheeling Intelligencer and News-Register until he retired in 2005. Bedway introduced the Ohio Valley to ECHL hockey and educated the public through his stories, game-recaps and popular Nick's Notebook column.
"Nick is one of the good guys in the Ohio Valley and very deserving of this honor," Bommer said. "His ability to bring the game to fans in a way they could understand was amazing."
Sauter and Bedway will join the members of the Wheeling Hockey Hall of Fame Inaugural class of 2008 including Wheeling all-time leading scorer Darren Schwartz and WAHA founder Bob Otten.
Tickets for the Wheeling Hockey Hall of Fame Dinner on Friday, January 29th and Hall of Fame Game on Saturday, January 30th are on sale now. Call the Nailers for tickets at 304-234-GOAL or log-on to wheelingnailers.com for more information.
ECHL Stories from December 29, 2009
- Stockton Stymies Condors, 5-1 - Bakersfield Condors
- Jackals Smack Royals 7-1 - Reading Royals
- Jackals Silence Royals 7-1 - Elmira Jackals
- Everblades Triumph Over Gladiators 41 - Florida Everblades
- Ontario Reign Newsletter - Ontario Reign
- Thunder Bryan Pitton Named ECHL Goaltender Of The Week - Stockton Thunder
- Stockton's Pitton Named Reebok Hockey ECHL Goaltender Of The Week - ECHL
- ECHL Transactions - ECHL
- Cleaver To Syracuse - Kalamazoo Wings
- Star Wars Night Returns Saturday - Kalamazoo Wings
- Matt Marquardt Assigned To Reading - Reading Royals
- Nailers Announce Hall Of Fame Inductees And Weekend Schedule - Wheeling Nailers
- Goaltender Ford Recalled To Texas - South Carolina Stingrays
- Game Preview: Stockton Thunder Vs. Bakersfield Condors - Stockton Thunder
- Condors Host Make Over Night On Saturday - Bakersfield Condors
- Bachman Returned To Steelheads By AHL's Stars - Idaho Steelheads
- ECHL Today - ECHL
- Alaska Blows 4-0 Lead, Loses 7th In A Row - Alaska Aces
- Salmon Kings Comeback To Defeat Aces, Extend Home Win Streak to 11 - Victoria Salmon Kings
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.
