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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Monarchs Game Day Snap Shot

February 14, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


One-For-One

The Wheeling Nailers started their season-long six-game road trip in victorious fashion on Friday night, when they collided with the Adirondack Thunder at Glens Falls Civic Center. Despite being outshot 17-8 in the opening stanza, the Nailers busted out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Andrew Cerretani and Riley Brace. Adirondack crawled back to within a goal at the 1:44 mark of the second period, but Wheeling quickly answered to regain the two-goal advantage, as Adam Krause lit the lamp just 37 seconds later. Louis Belisle's first ECHL tally gave the Nailers another insurance goal in the middle frame, and Chris Ciotti tacked on one more in the third period, as Wheeling came out on top, 5-2. Franky Palazzese stopped all 17 of those shots in the first period, en route to a 37-save performance for his 13th win of the campaign.

A Week to Wait Around

The Manchester Monarchs experienced a rare scheduling situation this weekend, as they had both Friday and Saturday off, meaning the last time they took the ice was exactly a week ago, when they played host to the Elmira Jackals last Sunday at Verizon Wireless Arena. Super Bowl Sunday was a high scoring affair, which saw the Monarchs jump out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Zac Larraza and Mark Anthoine, only to have Elmira rally with three straight goals to go on top. Manchester evened the score on Maxim Kitsyn's tally late in the middle frame, but the Jackals netted the first two markers of the third period, climbing ahead, 5-3. Larraza's second of the afternoon pulled the home team within one, but that was as close as they could get, as Elmira prevailed, 5-4. Doug Carr surrendered five goals on 27 shots in the defeat, but has since been recalled to the AHL's Ontario Reign.

New Guys Don't Waste Time

Two of the newest faces in the Nailers lineup made their presence felt on Friday night, as Louis Belisle scored his first ECHL goal to put Wheeling ahead 4-1, while Andrew Ammon assisted on the opening tally by Andrew Cerretani. Belisle was playing in his third game with the Nailers, after playing his first six tilts in the league with the South Carolina Stingrays. Ammon also started the campaign playing six games with another club, as he was scoreless in six contests with the Reading Royals, before notching that assist in his Wheeling debut. Ammon had 12 points a year ago with South Carolina and Providence. Finding the scoresheet quickly has been a theme for new Nailers, as 14 of 16 players recorded at least one point within the first six games of their Wheeling debuts. Ammon landed in the same category with six of the 13 remaining players, picking up a point in his first game with the club.

A Chance to Learn the Opponent

Last spring, fans in Manchester got to experience quite the send-off, as AHL hockey left the city after a 14-year run, and doors opened to the ECHL for the first time ever in the State of New Hampshire. The Monarchs won the 2015 Calder Cup, before the AHL club switched positions with the Ontario Reign, who adopted Manchester's name and color scheme, moving from the ECHL's Western Conference to the Eastern Conference. This is the first time that the Los Angeles Kings have had an Eastern Conference affiliation since 2007-08, when they concluded a seven-year partnership with the Reading Royals. Although the logo on the front of the jerseys will look different, there will be some familiar names on the backs, as seven current Monarchs have suited up against the Nailers in their careers.

Only Visit to the Granite State

Sunday afternoon marks the first of two head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Monarchs this season, as well as the lone battle at Verizon Wireless Arena. Manchester serves as the first team from New England in ECHL history, meaning Wheeling will be entering new territory for this particular contest. While the team itself will be in an unfamiliar setting, the game will be a homecoming of sorts for five players, in addition to Head Coach David Gove and Radio Broadcaster DJ Abisalih, who all either grew up or attended college in that region of the country. This will be the lone game in New Hampshire for the Nailers this season, who will welcome the Monarchs to West Virginia for the first time ever on April 2nd to complete the brief two-game season series.

Wheeling Nailers (21-20-2-3, 47 Pts.) at Manchester Monarchs (29-14-1-4, 63 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(21-20-2-3, 47 PTS, 2nd North, 11th East)

134 GF, 144 GA

PP: 17.5% (31-for-177), 10th

PK: 83.4% (151-for-181), 18th

18-D-Mathew Maione (5 goals, 28 assists, 33 points in 44 games)

23-F-Riley Brace (14 goals, 18 assists, 32 points in 30 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (12 goals, 8 assists, 20 points in 33 games)

4-D-Paul Cianfrini (2 goals, 14 assists, 16 points in 45 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (5 goals, 10 assists, 15 points in 46 games)

10-F-Chris Ciotti (6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points in 34 games)

31-G-Brian Foster (6-6-1 record, 2.93 GAA, .905 Sv% in 13 games)

MANCHESTER MONARCHS

(29-14-1-4, 63 PTS, 1st East, 2nd East)

148 GF, 133 GA

PP: 16.5% (27-for-164), 16th

PK: 81.9% (154-for-188), 19th

17-F-Matt Leitner (10 goals, 29 assists, 39 points in 45 games)

48-F-Maxim Kitsyn (19 goals, 18 assists, 37 points in 48 games)

32-F-Joe Diamond (8 goals, 20 assists, 28 points in 35 games)

7-D-Yann Sauve (6 goals, 20 assists, 26 points in 40 games)

14-F-Derek Arnold (14 goals, 11 assists, 25 points in 29 games)

13-F-Gasper Kopitar (6 goals, 15 assists, 21 points in 39 games)

30-G-Colin Stevens (11-5-1 record, 2.35 GAA, .918 Sv% in 18 games)

Head to Head

Season/All-Time Series: First Game

Season/All-Time Series at Verizon Wireless Arena: First Game

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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ECHL Stories from February 14, 2016


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