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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Beast Game Day Snap Shot

February 20, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


The Finish Line is in Sight

The Wheeling Nailers will put an end to their season-long six-game road trip on Saturday night, when they play the second of back-to-back games against the Brampton Beast at Powerade Centre. On Friday night, Wheeling won for the fourth time in five games, and the offense started immediately, as Adam Krause scored just 14 seconds into the contest. Brampton pulled ahead with two goals in the second period, but a late power play marker by Jordan Kwas sent the game into the third period deadlocked at two. At the 6:48 mark of the final frame, Riley Brace played the role of hero, as he finished off a three-way passing play with Krause and Cody Wydo, giving the Nailers the lead for good. Brace added an empty netter in the last few seconds for a 4-2 final score and his team-leading 17th goal of the year. Franky Palazzese secured his third win of the road trip, making 27 saves in his home province of Ontario.

A Bit of Help From the New Guys

The Brampton Beast found themselves on the losing side of the scoreboard for the third straight game on Friday night, despite seeing former Nailer Luke Pither return to the lineup from injury, while adding the services of defenseman Mac Bennett and goaltender Kenny Reiter. Reiter made his season debut between the pipes, and despite allowing a goal on the first shot he faced, was able to end the game with 22 saves on 25 shots, prior to an empty netter. Bennett, who has played in 88 career AHL games, assisted on Luc-Olivier Blain's goal, which put the Beast ahead, 2-1. Meanwhile, Pither was held scoreless. 41-year old David Ling joined Brampton last week for his second straight season with the club, and he notched his third point in three games, with a helper on Chris Auger's tying tally on the power play. The Nailers also got their first look at Jonathan Parker on Friday, who suited up in his fourth contest since being acquired from the Allen Americans.

Hope You Tuned in On Time

Adam Krause wasn't about to wait around to get the game off to a quick start for the Nailers on Friday, as he needed just 14 seconds to light the lamp with a slap shot from the top of the right circle. The goal came nearly a minute faster than any other goal by Wheeling in 2015-16, as the previous mark was 1:03, set by Danny Fick on January 29th at Elmira. It also edges the 18 seconds taken by Stephan Vigier to score against the Nailers for South Carolina on December 4th. The last time the Nailers scored that quickly in a period was March 19, 2014, when Carter Rowney dented the twine at the 14-second mark of the middle frame in an eventual 6-2 victory at Huntington Center against the Toledo Walleye. Wheeling has scored the first goal in three of five games on the trip. Turning that stat on its side a bit, the Nailers have had back-to-back comeback wins, after trailing 1-0 in Elmira and 2-1 in Brampton, giving them nine for the year.

Franky Feasts on Foreign Territory

Franky Palazzese is expected to turn the crease over to Casey DeSmith on Saturday night, and he will do so after a second straight spectacular road trip in goal for the Nailers. After posting a 3-0-0 record during Wheeling's last journey through Elmira, Brampton, and Cincinnati, Palazzese duplicated that feat on this swing, knocking off Adirondack twice and Brampton once, including a 28-save shutout on Tuesday against the Thunder for his third blanking of the campaign. During his personal six-game winning streak on the road, Franky has surrendered a total of eight goals on 186 shots for a sparkling 1.33 goals against average and a .957 save percentage. The recent run has lifted the second year netminder's record to 8-4-1 away from WesBanco Arena, while running his overall mark to 15-12-2, as he has now won 35 career games in a Wheeling uniform. Palazzese has his highest road win total in Elmira, where he has defeated the Jackals on four occasions.

Last One up North

Saturday night marks the eighth of nine head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Beast this season, as well as the fourth and final battle at Powerade Centre. Wheeling collected its third consecutive victory in Canada this season and fourth straight overall, with a 4-2 result on Friday night, while also clinching its second straight win in the season series. After taking the first ever set between the squads 3-1 last year, the Nailers have grabbed a 5-2 advantage in 2015-16 with one contest remaining in each building. Despite not being in the lineup for this weekend's set, Ontario native Jarrett Burton continues to lead all scorers with ten points in games played by the two North Division foes. After Saturday, the two sides will clash once more at WesBanco Arena on March 8th - the make-up date for the game postponed on January 24th.

Wheeling Nailers (24-21-2-3, 53 Pts.) at Brampton Beast (15-24-6-4, 40 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(24-21-2-3, 53 PTS, 2nd North, 10th East)

147 GF, 154 GA

PP: 16.7% (32-for-192), 17th

PK: 83.4% (161-for-193), 15th

23-F-Riley Brace (17 goals, 20 assists, 37 points in 34 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (6 goals, 30 assists, 36 points in 48 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (14 goals, 11 assists, 25 points in 37 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (5 goals, 13 assists, 18 points in 50 games)

4-D-Paul Cianfrini (2 goals, 16 assists, 18 points in 49 games)

22-F-Jordan Kwas (4 goals, 12 assists, 16 points in 38 games)

30-G-Casey DeSmith (3-2-2 record, 2.54 GAA, .918 Sv% in 10 games)

BRAMPTON BEAST

(15-24-6-4, 40 PTS, 4th North, 14th East)

126 GF, 172 GA

PP: 17.5% (35-for-200), 11th

PK: 78.2% (165-for-211), 27th

22-F-Brandon Marino (11 goals, 27 assists, 38 points in 38 games)

16-F-Chris Auger (17 goals, 12 assists, 29 points in 41 games)

57-F-Jonathan Parker (11 goals, 17 assists, 28 points in 49 games)

11-F-Luke Pither (9 goals, 11 assists, 20 points in 26 games)

36-D-Travis Brown (7 goals, 13 assists, 20 points in 49 games)

8-F-Scott Jacklin (6 goals, 12 assists, 18 points in 41 games)

29-G-Jordan Ruby (2-5-2 record, 3.43 GAA, .894 Sv% in 11 games)

Head to Head

Season Series: Nailers 5, Beast 2

Season Series at Powerade Centre: Nailers 3, Beast 0

All-Time Series: Nailers 8, Beast 3

All-Time Series at Powerade Centre: Nailers 6, Beast 1

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ECHL Stories from February 20, 2016


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