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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Everblades Game Day Snap Shot

April 16, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Ready From the Word "Go"

The Wheeling Nailers couldn't have asked for a much better start to the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs, as they plowed through the gates with a dominant first period, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. John McCarron opened the scoring at the 9:23 mark of the first period from the left side of the crease, and 1:23 later, Wheeling went ahead by two, when Andrew Ammon drilled in a shot from the slot. Later in the stanza, Cody Wydo extended the lead, when he completed a 3-on-1 rush with a right circle wrister. Finally, with less than 40 seconds left, Mathew Maione converted on a power play wrist shot, silencing the home crowd. Florida attempted to make a comeback, scoring twice in the middle frame, but with 1:13 remaining, Maione struck again, putting the Nailers back up by three. McCarron's second of the evening at 5:26 of the third period gave Wheeling its sixth goal, capping off what turned out to be a 6-3 victory. Franky Palazzese made 25 saves for his second career postseason win. The six goals came one shy of tying the team record for most in a playoff game.

Getting Stuck in the Swamp

The Florida Everblades got a rather rude surprise from the Nailers on Friday night, as 27-win goaltender Anthony Peters was chased from his crease, after surrendering four goals on ten shots during the first period. In the middle frame, Florida attempted to cut into the 4-0 deficit, and ultimately pulled within two goals. Matt Marquardt put the Everblades on the board at the 4:44 mark with a slap shot from just inside the left point. With less than eight minutes remaining, Ryan Martindale trimmed the gap to two, when he roofed a feed from Matt Willows in the left circle on second after a Wheeling penalty expired. Rasmus Tirronen made 21 saves on 23 shots in relief, but the two goals allowed were key, as the Nailers reestablished their four-goal cushion. Gabriel Desjardins turned on the red light one more time just for fun, as the margin was too much to overcome for the Everblades, who fell on home ice.

This is a Familiar Spot

There is no better way to begin a game or a series than to take an early lead, and the Nailers accomplished both of those feats on Friday night. Wheeling stormed out to a 4-0 advantage in the first period, en route to a 6-3 triumph for a 1-0 series lead. Opening game victories are nothing new to the Nailers, who have now won their first game of the playoffs in nine consecutive postseason appearances. The team's last defeat in game one of round one came all the way back in 1997 against the Peoria Rivermen. Six of the last seven wins in playoff openers have come on the road, including each of the last three years, when Wheeling skated away victorious in South Carolina, Toledo, and Florida. This is the 17th time in 25 historical playoff series that the Nailers have won game one, and they have gone on to take the series in ten of those 16 prior circumstances. The Everblades have now lost back-to-back series openers, but it was the first time since 2008 that Florida lost its first game of the playoffs.

Taking Advantage of Even Skating

The 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs is the introduction of a different setup for the ECHL when it comes to officials, as all postseason games will now feature two referees. Previously, the two-referee format didn't occur until the conference final round. Thus, Friday night's contest was the first time the Nailers got to give the idea a test run, and although there were 14 combined power plays, both teams were magnificent on the penalty kill. Mathew Maione's goal in the final minute of the first period was the lone marker on the man advantage all night, with all eight of the other goals being scored while the teams were playing 5-on-5. Each team got to experience nearly all playing scenarios, as there was time played at 4-on-4, 3-on-3, 4-on-3 for both teams, and a 5-on-3 power play for the Everblades. Florida also pulled its netminder for 2:57 at the end of the contest, which temporarily evened the ice at 5-on-5, before a 6-on-5 when a minor penalty concluded.

We Kind of Like it Down Here

Saturday night will be game two of the best-of-seven series between the Nailers and Everblades, and dating back to regular season play, it will be the fifth consecutive battle at Germain Arena. Wheeling has gone 3-1-0 in Southwest Florida in 2015-16, after taking two of three games in November, in addition to coming out on top of Friday night's clash. In each of the three victories, the goals have come at a fast and furious rate for the Nailers, who lit the lamp six and five times respectively during the regular season, before finding the twine six more times in game one. Wheeling has had good historical success in Estero, having won seven of 13 historical visits. The Everblades have a 13-9 lead overall, thanks to seven road wins against the Nailers - four of which came via the shootout. After Saturday night, the next three games of the series will take place at WesBanco Arena, with the third of those tilts being if necessary.

WHEELING NAILERS

(1-0)

6 GF, 3 GA

PP: 14.3% (1-for-7), T-8th

PK: 100.0% (7-for-7), T-1st

11-F-Cody Wydo (1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points in 1 game)

18-D-Mathew Maione (2 goals, 1 assist, 3 points in 1 game)

25-F-John McCarron (2 goals, 2 points in 1 game)

21-F-Andrew Ammon (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points in 1 game)

23-F-Riley Brace (2 assists, 2 points in 1 game)

4 players tied with 1 point

29-G-Franky Palazzese (1-0 record, 3.00 GAA, .893 Sv% in 1 game)

(37-26-5-4, 83 PTS, 2nd North, 5th East)

214 GF, 211 GA

PP: 17.8% (48-for-269), 9th

PK: 83.6% (225-for-269), 15th

23-F-Riley Brace (26 goals, 41 assists, 67 points in 56 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (11 goals, 43 assists, 54 points in 70 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (23 goals, 27 assists, 50 points in 59 games)

25-F-John McCarron (14 goals, 17 assists, 31 points in 51 games)

17-F-Jordan Kwas (9 goals, 20 assists, 29 points in 60 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (7 goals, 17 assists, 24 points in 72 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (20-15-3 record, 2.86 GAA, .906 Sv% in 39 games)

FLORIDA EVERBLADES

(0-1)

3 GF, 6 GA

PP: 0.0% (0-for-7), T-11th

PK: 85.7% (6-for-7), T-6th

29-F-Matt Willows (2 assists, 2 points in 1 game)

26-F-Gabriel Desjardins (1 goal, 1 point in 1 game)

28-F-Matt Marquardt (1 goal, 1 point in 1 game)

7-F-Ryan Martindale (1 goal, 1 point in 1 game)

4 players tied with 1 assist

30-G-Anthony Peters (0-1 record, 12.00 GAA, .600 Sv% in 1 game)

(46-23-1-2, 95 PTS, 2nd South, 4th East)

226 GF, 175 GA

PP: 17.1% (45-for-263), 13th

PK: 86.0% (203-for-236), 4th

29-F-Matt Willows (23 goals, 43 assists, 66 points in 71 games)

11-F-Kevin Lynch (22 goals, 36 assists, 58 points in 62 games)

28-F-Matt Marquardt (15 goals, 30 assists, 45 points in 72 games)

21-F-Brendan O'Donnell (17 goals, 20 assists, 37 points in 53 games)

23-F-Brant Harris (19 goals, 15 assists, 34 points in 51 games)

20-D-Corey Syvret (7 goals, 21 assists, 28 points in 70 games)

30-G-Anthony Peters (27-15-2 record, 2.20 GAA, .920 Sv% in 46 games)

Head to Head

Playoff Series: Nailers 1, Everblades 0

Playoff Series at Germain Arena: Nailers 1, Everblades 0

Season Series: Nailers 2, Everblades 1

Season Series at Germain Arena: Nailers 2, Everblades 1

All-Time Series (Regular Season + Playoff): Everblades 13, Nailers 9

All-Time Series at Germain Arena (Regular Season + Playoff): Nailers 7, Everblades 6

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from April 16, 2016


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