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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Cyclones Game Day Snap Shot

October 7, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Wheeling Nailers at Cincinnati Cyclones - Preseason Game #1

WHEELING NAILERS

2014-15:

(37-33-1-1, 76 PTS, 4th North, 9th East)

210 GF, 213 GA

PP: 16.2% (44-for-272), 18th

PK: 83.4% (247-for-296), 12th

Returning Players Expected in the Lineup: Tanner Burton, Franky Palazzese, Shawn Skelly, Mike Slowikowski, Cody Wydo

CINCINNATI CYCLONES

2014-15:

(31-30-2-9, 73 PTS, T-5th North, T-10th East)

195 GF, 212 GA

PP: 15.1% (39-for-259), 25th

PK: 81.8% (189-for-236), 25th

Returning Players Expected in the Lineup: Zach Budish, Jack Downing, Branden Gracel, Nick Huard, Christiaan Minella, Garrick Perry, Jaynen Rissling, Mikko Vainonen, Brett Wysopal, Andrew Yogan

Head-to-Head

2014-15 Season Series: Nailers 2, Cyclones 2

2014-15 Season Series at US Bank Arena: Nailers 1, Cyclones 1

All-Time Series: Nailers 56, Cyclones 55

All-Time Series at US Bank Arena: Cyclones 30, Nailers 26

Let's Get it Started

The puck drops on the 2015 preseason on Wednesday night, as two ECHL games are set to take place, with the Wheeling Nailers visiting the Cincinnati Cyclones, and the Indy Fuel playing host to the Fort Wayne Komets. It has been just under four months since the last game took place on June 14th, when the Allen Americans captured their first Kelly Cup Championship with a 6-1 win over the South Carolina Stingrays in a decisive seventh game. 2015-16 will be the 28th season of ECHL hockey, and the 24th in Wheeling.

Same Division to Opposite Conference

Last season, the Nailers and Cyclones had a fierce battle for the final playoff spot in the North Division, as the two clubs were united as division rivals for the first time since 2010-11. Wheeling ended up getting the upper hand and earning the postseason berth by winning its final four games of the regular season, while Cincinnati stumbled to the finish with an 0-1-2 clip. The Nailers nearly pulled off an incredible upset in the opening round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, but fell to eventual Eastern Conference Finalist Toledo in overtime of game seven. After splitting four games in their season series a year ago, Wheeling and Cincinnati will again lock horns on four occasions, but this time, they will do so in separate conferences. The Nailers are in the North Division of the Eastern Conference, while the Cyclones are in the Midwest Division of the Western Conference.

A Friendly October Rivalry

Before the annual 72-game marathon begins, it has become common practice for Wheeling and Cincinnati to get together for a two-game tune-up set. 2015 marks the fifth time in the last six years that the two squads will do battle twice, having split each of the previous four preseason series. Home teams have posted the more dominant record, coming away with the victory in seven of the eight prior battles. The Cyclones were the lone road team to register a win, doing so last October in the second of two games at WesBanco Arena. Typically, both venues host one game, with 2014 being the lone exception, as both tilts took place in West Virginia. 2013 was the only time in the last five years that the Nailers and Cyclones didn't meet, as Cincinnati was in Alaska.

Young Legs Ready to Run

The Nailers will be icing a relatively young lineup on Wednesday night, comprised of players either on ECHL contracts or tryout agreements. Five of the 18 skaters expected to take the ice at US Bank Arena were with Wheeling at some point last season in Tanner Burton, Tyler Fernandez, Shawn Skelly, Mike Slowikowski, and Cody Wydo. Gentry Zollars (a Nailer from 2012-14) is also expected to play, and 2014-15 goaltender Franky Palazzese will likely get the starting nod and play the first half of the game, before rookie Casey DeSmith takes over in relief. Connor Leen, Kyle Mariani, and Nardo Nagtzaam are the other three players on the trip with previous professional experience.

Three Familiar Faces, and a Fourth on the Way

Cincinnati's lineup on Wednesday night could feature as many as three players who used to suit up as members of the Nailers. Christiaan Minella enters his second season with the Cyclones, after picking up 19 points in 64 games a year ago. Minella was with Wheeling for parts of four seasons, totaling 57 points in 130 games. 2013-14 All-ECHL Second Team Defenseman Mike Ratchuk joined Cincinnati this summer, following two seasons in the Ohio Valley. Injuries limited Ratchuk to 11 points in 28 games in 2014-15, after his 15-goal, 44-point campaign one year earlier. Goaltender Brandon Whitney signed with the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals, after breaking into the pros with five games as a Nailer last spring. Former Wheeling backstop Brad Thiessen has recently been added to the Cyclones' roster, but is not expected to play on Wednesday. That same status applies to former Cincinnati netminder Brian Foster, who was loaned to the Nailers by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

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