Sports stats



ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Mallards Game Day Snap Shot

December 19, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


We Got the First One

The Wheeling Nailers have already earned two points on their quick two-game trip to Northwest Illinois, as they skated away with a 4-1 victory on Friday night in their first ever visit to iWireless Center. Goaltending turned out to be one of the main highlights of the night, as Franky Palazzese and Steve Michalek combined to stop 74 of the 78 shots they faced, before Wheeling's empty net tally with less than ten seconds to go. After a scoreless first period, the Nailers lit the lamp twice in the middle frame, as Mathew Maione scored his first goal in a Wheeling uniform, followed by Derek Army's sixth of the year. Zack Torquato tacked on a large insurance marker in the third, and John McCarron added the empty netter. Palazzese made 39 saves, earning his eighth victory of the season.

They Are Human at Home

The Quad City Mallards were beginning to look superhuman when playing on home ice, as they carried an eight-game home winning streak and 11-game home point streak into Friday night's affair. Thanks to the 4-1 win by the Nailers, both of those streaks are now things of the past. Despite rarely losing, Quad City was nearly blanked for the second time this season at iWireless Center, but Guillaume Gelinas prevented that from happening, when he scored at the 19:12 mark of the third period, to make Wheeling's lead 3-1. Steve Michalek turned in a 35-save effort in goal for the Mallards, but has now been their goaltender of record in all three home defeats. Brody Hoffman is 5-0-0 at the home of the Flock, and could get the start on Saturday. Wheeling joins the Tulsa Oilers and Missouri Mavericks as the only road teams to have won in Northwest Illinois in 2015-16.

It's All About the Streaks

Over the course of the last two seasons, teams have had multiple different streaks come to an end, when the Nailers appear on their schedules. On Friday night, Quad City saw its eight-game home winning streak and 11-game home point streak come to a conclusion. That marked the second time in as many years that Wheeling ended a positive streak that reached double digits, as the Reading Royals had a 12-game winning streak come to an end at WesBanco Arena in February. Unfortunately for the Nailers, negative streaks have also been finished against them, as Indy snapped a 14-game road winless streak with a 3-0 victory in January. Wheeling enters Saturday night on its second five-game point streak of the campaign, having gone 3-0-2 in its previous five tilts. The Nailers are also in search of their second three-game winning streak of 2015-16.

Lineups Getting Thin

As the holiday season approaches, both teams have experienced the season of giving in recent weeks, as multiple players have found their way to the American Hockey League. In fact, the Nailers had five players join the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this week - Casey DeSmith, Brian Foster, Sahir Gill, Ty Loney, and Harrison Ruopp. Even with that number, Wheeling was still able to dress 16 skaters and two goaltenders on Friday, as Matt Papineau made his professional debut, while Tanner Burton skated in his first game of the 2015-16 campaign. In addition, Anton Zlobin returned, after missing nine straight contests. Quad City played one man short on Friday night, and will have one additional player out of the lineup on Saturday, as Mike Monfredo was suspended for one game, after receiving an instigator penalty during the final five minutes of play.

A Pleasant First Time Visit

Saturday night marks the third and final head-to-head meeting between the Nailers and Mallards this season, as well as the second battle at iWireless Center. Wheeling will attempt a three-game sweep, after outscoring Quad City, 6-2 over the course of the first two clashes. Home teams have recorded tons of shots in the season series, as the Nailers posted 37 shots in a 2-1 triumph on Halloween, before the Mallards reached 40 in Friday night's 4-1 defeat. Derek Army and John McCarron lead Wheeling with three points, while Guillaume Gelinas has been Quad City's lone player to accumulate more than one. Mathew Maione has created nightmares for the Mallards during his two full seasons in the ECHL, as Friday's two-point performance gave him seven goals and 23 points in 16 career games. This will be the seventh of 12 games for the Nailers against the Midwest Division. They are 5-0-1 so far.

Wheeling Nailers (14-9-1-2, 31 Pts.) at Quad City Mallards (14-9-1-2, 31 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(14-9-1-2, 31 PTS, 2nd North, T-7th East)

79 GF, 74 GA

PP: 15.3% (17-for-111), 22nd

PK: 81.9% (86-for-105), 15th

23-F-Riley Brace (10 goals, 14 assists, 24 points in 26 games)

20-F-Jarrett Burton (9 goals, 12 assists, 21 points in 26 games)

16-F-Derek Army (6 goals, 11 assists, 17 points in 19 games)

15-F-Zack Torquato (12 goals, 4 assists, 16 points in 20 games)

25-F-John McCarron (6 goals, 10 assists, 16 points in 26 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (5 goals, 11 assists, 16 points in 24 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (8-4-1 record, 2.53 GAA, .916 Sv% in 13 games)

QUAD CITY MALLARDS

(14-9-1-2, 31 PTS, 1st Midwest, 3rd West)

70 GF, 71 GA

PP: 19.8% (19-for-96), 8th

PK: 86.0% (86-for-100), 7th

8-F-Matt Neal (10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points in 26 games)

19-F-Olivier Archambault (7 goals, 13 assists, 20 points in 19 games)

4-D-Mike Monfredo (3 goals, 16 assists, 19 points in 26 games)

26-D-Guillaume Gelinas (5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points in 24 games)

28-F-Raphael Bussieres (8 goals, 6 assists, 14 points in 17 games)

71-F-Vladimir Nikiforov (2 goals, 10 assists, 12 points in 21 games)

30-G-Brody Hoffman (6-5-0 record, 2.64 GAA, .903 Sv% in 11 games)

Head to Head

Season Series: Nailers 2, Mallards 0

Season Series at iWireless Center: Nailers 1, Mallards 0

All-Time Series: Nailers 2, Mallards 0

All-Time Series at iWireless Center: Nailers 1, Mallards 0

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from December 19, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Wheeling Nailers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central