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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Cyclones Game Day Snap Shot

March 17, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


An Exclamation Point on the Homestand

The Wheeling Nailers are about to begin a stretch of three games in three days on the road, following a four-game homestand in which they earned seven out of eight possible points. The Nailers defeated the Brampton Beast, Kalamazoo Wings, and Norfolk Admirals by scores of 3-0, 4-2, and 3-1, while coming up short in a shootout against the Toledo Walleye, 2-1. In Sunday's homestand finale, Wheeling surrendered its lone power play goal to Norfolk, before answering with one of its own from Derek Army to tie the contest at one. Late in the second period, the home team received a pair of clutch goals from Riley Brace and Cody Wydo to build a 3-1 advantage. JP Anderson held down the fort from there, making 22 saves on 23 shots to earn his first victory as a member of the Nailers. Brace and Wydo led the way with seven points in the four games, followed by Army, who finished the week with four points.

Back-to-Back Comebacks Fall Short

The Cincinnati Cyclones played three games in three days last week, earning mixed results, as they faced their divisional opponents, the Quad City Mallards and Indy Fuel. Cincinnati opened the weekend with a 3-1 victory at home against Quad City, thanks to goals by Tommy Mele, Brett Wysopal, and former Nailer Colin Mulvey. The following night, the Mallards got their revenge, building a 3-0 lead, before holding off a late surge by the Cyclones for a 3-2 triumph. Mele and Peter Quenneville were the goal scorers for the home side. Finally, on Sunday, Cincinnati made its way to Indiana Farmers Coliseum, where it ran into a red hot Keegan Asmundson, who put on a show in a goaltending duel with Andy Iles. The Fuel grabbed a 2-0 lead, before the Cyclones pulled within one on Quenneville's second tally of the weekend, but that was the only time Cincinnati could light the lamp on 36 shots. Brad Thiessen was the netminder for both clashes against the Mallards.

An Open Spot With the Dynamic Duo

The pairing of Cody Wydo and Riley Brace has been a part of one of the most electric tandems in the league as of late, as the two players combined for 14 points during Wheeling's four-game homestand last week. Prior to that, Wydo took home ECHL Player of the Week honors with a five-point performance in two tilts at Reading, and he enters this week with points in 14 of his last 15 games. Those games coincided with Brace's return from the AHL's Chicago Wolves. During that time, Riley has racked up points in 12 of 15 contests. For a good chunk of time, Adam Krause was the third member of that line, but he was recalled by the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins after Friday's tilt against Toledo. Derek Army picked up four points in two games with Brace and Wydo on Saturday and Sunday, but he has since joined the AHL's Texas Stars. Wydo and Brace will look for more success with a new linemate on Thursday.

Feels Nice to be in the Top Eight

Last week's success on home ice lifted the Nailers into the top eight places in the Eastern Conference Standings, as they enter this week's stretch of games in a tie for seventh place with the Elmira Jackals. Elmira dropped a 5-2 decision to the Norfolk Admirals on Wednesday night, despite peppering goaltender Nic Riopel with 56 shots on goal. The Nailers have three games in hand on the Jackals. Sixth place Reading has won four straight games, and currently sits two points ahead of Wheeling, with the Nailers holding two games in hand. On the outside looking in are the Atlanta Gladiators and Orlando Solar Bears. The Gladiators are winless in seven consecutive tilts, putting them three points back of Wheeling and Elmira, while the Solar Bears have won four in a row to climb within four points of the playoffs. In the Western Conference, Cincinnati sits in sixth place with 70 points, which is one back of Utah for fifth, and only five behind Fort Wayne for the Midwest Division lead.

We Thought We'd Come for a Couple of Days

Thursday night marks the third of four head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Cyclones this season, as well as the second of three battles at US Bank Arena. Wheeling's last visit to the Queen City took place on February 3rd, when it completed a successful four-game road swing with a 3-1 victory. Matt Tabrum and Chris Ciotti both netted shorthanded goals that evening, and Anton Zlobin iced the win with a power play marker in the third. Franky Palazzese made 25 saves for his second win of the season series. The first triumph was significantly more dramatic, as the Nailers rallied from a 5-2 deficit for a 7-5 win on Education Day at WesBanco Arena. Brett Stern and Clark Seymour both dented the twine twice from the blueline. The two former divisional rivals, who are now members of opposite conferences, will conclude their four-game set against each other on Friday in Cincinnati. The last time a back-to-back between the Nailers and Cyclones, the two sides split a pair of games to end the 2013-14 regular season. Both teams had already solidified playoff positioning.

Wheeling Nailers (31-23-2-4, 68 Pts.) at Cincinnati Cyclones (32-22-3-3, 70 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(31-23-2-4, 68 PTS, 2nd North, T-7th East)

184 GF, 181 GA

PP: 16.7% (37-for-222), 14th

PK: 84.1% (196-for-233), 16th

23-F-Riley Brace (22 goals, 34 assists, 56 points in 44 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (8 goals, 37 assists, 45 points in 58 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (21 goals, 21 assists, 42 points in 47 games)

25-F-John McCarron (8 goals, 14 assists, 22 points in 39 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (6 goals, 16 assists, 22 points in 60 games)

17-F-Jordan Kwas (6 goals, 15 assists, 21 points in 48 games)

31-G-Brian Foster (8-7-2 record, 2.77 GAA, .906 Sv% in 17 games)

CINCINNATI CYCLONES

(32-22-3-3, 70 PTS, 2nd Midwest, 6th West)

183 GF, 163 GA

PP: 16.4% (38-for-232), 16th

PK: 82.3% (167-for-203), 20th

19-F-Jack Downing (27 goals, 26 assists, 53 points in 60 games)

24-F-Zach Budish (23 goals, 28 assists, 51 points in 57 games)

40-F-Nick Huard (17 goals, 26 assists, 43 points in 60 games)

18-F-Tommy Mele (20 goals, 18 assists, 38 points in 62 games)

51-F-Colin Mulvey (16 goals, 16 assists, 32 points in 50 games)

28-D-Garrett Noonan (7 goals, 25 assists, 32 points in 43 games)

39-G-Brad Thiessen (9-4-3 record, 1.88 GAA, .934 Sv% in 17 games)

Head to Head

Season Series: Nailers 2, Cyclones 0

Season Series at US Bank Arena: Nailers 1, Cyclones 0

All-Time Series: Nailers 58, Cyclones 55

All-Time Series at US Bank Arena: Cyclones 30, Nailers 27

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 17, 2016


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