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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Beast Game Day Snap Shot

October 25, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


All Smiles All Around

If the Wheeling Nailers were to have created a script for Saturday night's home opener, it would have come extremely close to what actually happened at WesBanco Arena. The Nailers welcomed their largest crowd in recent memory, as 5,330 fans poured their way in to watch their hockey team earn a 5-1 victory over the Brampton Beast - the fifth straight home opening win for Wheeling. Sahir Gill wired in a shorthanded goal during the first period, before Derek Army, Connor Leen, and Jarrett Burton opened up a 4-0 lead for the Nailers during the middle frame. Tim Billingsley put Brampton on the board late in the second, but Clark Seymour iced the triumph with an empty netter in the third. Franky Palazzese made 22 saves to defeat Edward Pasquale and his 24 stops.

Park the Bus for a Bit

When the Brampton Beast arrived at Powerade Centre in the early hours of Sunday morning, they could feel a bit of relief, knowing they won't see the road again until a quick one-game trip to Elmira on November 14th. Brampton began the 2015-16 season with three of four games in opposition buildings, suffering regulation losses in Manchester, Elmira, and Wheeling, with a home shootout loss to Adirondack in the mix on Friday night. Sunday will be the first of six consecutive home tilts for the Beast, who will also tangle with Toledo twice and Manchester three times. Brampton will play only three road games in the month of November, with the other two coming in Toledo and Wheeling on the 27th and 28th.

Burton Bangs in Another

Jarrett Burton entered Saturday's contest between Wheeling and Brampton as the Nailers' leading goal scorer, after lighting the lamp three times in two games during the club's season opening road trip to Norfolk. In the home opener, it appeared that Burton dented the twine two more times for a total of five goals, but after the game, it was determined that the power play goal in the early stages of the second period never reached Jarrett's stick, and was credited to Derek Army for his first tally of 2015-16. Army picked up three points during the second period, assisting on markers by Connor Leen and Burton. Leen's goal was his first in a Wheeling uniform, while Mickael Beauregard's assist on Burton's goal was the first point of his professional career.

Almost Had to Look at History

With 5:03 remaining in Saturday's game, the Beast received their seventh power play of the evening, and although they were trailing by four goals, they decided to pull their goaltender in favor of an extra attacker. Just a few minutes earlier, that strategy had backfired on Brampton, as Clark Seymour mastered the glass, banking a shot into the vacant 4X6 for a shorthanded empty net goal. Seymour's second career tally was Wheeling's second shorthanded goal of the contest, as Sahir Gill's opening goal at 17:53 of the first period also came with a teammate in the penalty box. While the Nailers were unable to find the cage for a third shorthanded goal, their penalty kill did post a perfect 7-for-7 effort to complement a 1-for-5 power play.

It's a Rivalry Now

Sunday afternoon marks the second of nine head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Beast this season, as well as the first of four battles scheduled to take place at Powerade Centre. After playing four non-conference games against each other in 2014-15, Wheeling and Brampton are now in the same division, and on Saturday night, Patrick McGrath and Stefan Fournier kicked off the rivalry with a fight just two seconds into the season series. That was the only disagreement of the game, despite 12 combined power plays being assessed. The Nailers earned their fourth win over the Beast all-time, after going 3-1-0 a year ago, with all four of those matches taking place in Ontario. Five of the nine games this season will occur in January and February.

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Wheeling Nailers (2-1-0-0, 4 Pts.) at Brampton Beast (0-3-1-0, 1 Pt.)

Nailers at Beast Game Day Snap Shot

Wheeling Nailers (2-1-0-0, 4 Pts.) at Brampton Beast (0-3-1-0, 1 Pt.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(2-1-0-0, 4 PTS, 2nd North, T-5th East)

10 GF, 5 GA

PP: 16.7% (3-for-18), 12th

PK: 85.7% (12-for-14), T-16th

20-F-Jarrett Burton (4 goals, 4 points in 3 games)

16-F-Derek Army (1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points in 3 games)

21-F-Sahir Gill (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points in 3 games)

4 players tied (2 assists, 2 points in 3 games)

31-G-Brian Foster (0-1-0, 3.03 GAA, .870 Sv% in 1 game)

BRAMPTON BEAST

(0-3-1-0, 1 PT, 3rd North, 13th East)

8 GF, 16 GA

PP: 20.0% (3-for-15), T-8th

PK: 81.3% (13-for-16), 21st

36-D-Travis Brown (2 goals, 2 points in 4 games)

2-D-Josiah Didier (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points in 2 games)

10-F-Yannick Tifu (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points in 4 games)

17-F-Bryan McGregor (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points in 4 games)

13-F-Scott Howes (2 assists, 2 points in 3 games)

22-F-Brandon Marino (2 assists, 2 points in 4 games)

40-G-Edward Pasquale (0-2-1 record, 4.42 GAA, .866 Sv% in 3 games)

Head to Head

Season Series: Nailers 1, Beast 0

Season Series at Powerade Centre: First Game

All-Time Series: Nailers 4, Beast 1

All-Time Series at Powerade Centre: Nailers 3, Beast 1

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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