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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Royals Game Day Snap Shot

March 5, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Another Storybook Ending

The Wheeling Nailers have made a habit out of putting together some very magical comebacks during the 2015-16 season, and Friday night's game certainly got added to the list. Wheeling entered the third period with a 3-2 deficit against the Reading Royals at Santander Arena - a place they hadn't won at in 2015-16. However, the Nailers charged ahead, scoring five times in the final frame, with three of the goals coming from Cody Wydo, as Wheeling stunned the Royals, 7-4 in front of their home crowd. The Nailers had a 2-1 lead after the first period, as Riley Brace and newcomer James Melindy teamed up to put the visitors ahead. In addition to Wydo's three, Tyler Biggs and Jordan Kwas also lit the lamp during the third period, with Biggs connecting for a goal in his first game since joining the club from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Also not to be overlooked was the performance of Franky Palazzese, who stopped 42 of the 46 shots he faced, moving into a tie for fifth place in team history with his 37th career win.

A Painful Return Home

The Reading Royals entered Friday night's game, following a four-game road trip, which saw them pick up three victories against three key East Division opponents. While the finale against Adirondack didn't go as Reading had hoped, neither did the return to Santander Arena, as the Royals dropped their fourth consecutive contest in their own back yard. Reading bagged the game's first goal at the 7:11 mark of the first period, when Cam Reid drilled in a slap shot from the right circle, but the home team quickly found itself trailing, 2-1. Reid's second of the evening tied that score in the middle frame, then the Royals took the lead on a power play tip-in by Nikita Kashirsky. The third period turned sour in a hurry for Reading, who allowed three straight goals to fall behind, 5-3. Robbie Czarnik's redirection gave the home team a bit of life at 5-4, but a pair of empty netters dashed any remaining hopes, as the Nailers prevailed, 7-4. Connor Knapp made his third straight start, giving up five goals on 30 shots in the defeat.

Cody Calls for the Hats

Cody Wydo became the first member of the 2015-16 Nailers to record a hat trick, when he found the back of the net three times in the third period of Friday night's victory. His first tally came from the right side of the slot, off of a pass by Mathew Maione. His second was a breakaway, set up by a home run feed from Riley Brace. His third was taken from his own slot, which went all the way down into the center of a vacant Reading net. While Wydo is the first Wheeling player to achieve a three-goal game this season, a host of others came close, as the Nailers had 18 two-goal games in their first 54 contests. Prior to Friday, Wheeling's last hat trick was netted by Zack Torquato in game six of last year's playoffs against Toledo. The last regular season hat trick was scored by Sahir Gill on March 29th against Cincinnati, and the last rookie to record a trio of goals was Josh Archibald last February 22nd in Kalamazoo.

East Teams Like the Road

Each of Wheeling's last three opponents (Greenville, Elmira, Reading), as well as the Nailers have faced similar scenarios with their records this season in the sense that all four have performed better in enemy territory than they have on home ice. Friday night's win was Wheeling's 15th of the year away from WesBanco Arena, matching last season's total with nine road contests still remaining. If the Nailers keep up their current pace, they could be looking at one of the club's best road records in the past decade. Unfortunately, Wheeling also possesses a 12-13-3 mark at home - a number it hopes to turn around in the final eight tilts. Friday's defeat dropped the Royals to .500 at Santander Arena, as they are now 12-12-4 in 28 games in front of their faithful fans. Reading has also had strong success in opposing buildings, going 15-10-4. Nine of the 14 teams in the Eastern Conference have more road wins than home wins.

Both Sides Have a Road Win

Saturday night marks the eighth of 11 head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Royals this season, as well as the fourth of five battles at Santander Arena. After a run of utter domination by the home teams, which saw them post a 16-1-0 record, the road teams have combined to post a two-game winning streak, thanks to a 6-0 win by Reading on February 6th, in addition to Wheeling's 7-4 triumph on Friday. The most recent of those victories gave the Nailers a 4-3 lead in the season series, running their record against the Royals to 11-8-0 over the past two years. Friday's hat trick by Cody Wydo marked the third year in a row that a Wheeling player scored three times in a game against Reading, as Riley Brace did so in the 2014-15 season opener, and Cody Sylvester achieved the feat during St. Patrick's Day Weekend in 2013-14. After Saturday, the Nailers will make one more visit to the Keystone State in the regular season finale on April 9th, while the Royals will make two more trips to West Virginia on April 1st and 8th.

Wheeling Nailers (27-23-2-3, 59 Pts.) at Reading Royals (27-22-5-3, 62 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(27-23-2-3, 59 PTS, 2nd North, 9th East)

169 GF, 173 GA

PP: 16.7% (35-for-209), 13th

PK: 83.6% (178-for-213), 16th

23-F-Riley Brace (20 goals, 27 assists, 47 points in 39 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (7 goals, 34 assists, 41 points in 53 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (17 goals, 16 assists, 33 points in 42 games)

25-F-John McCarron (8 goals, 13 assists, 21 points in 35 games)

17-F-Jordan Kwas (6 goals, 15 assists, 21 points in 43 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (6 goals, 14 assists, 20 points in 55 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (17-14-2 record, 2.95 GAA, .903 Sv% in 33 games)

READING ROYALS

(27-22-5-3, 62 PTS, 3rd East, 7th East)

175 GF, 159 GA

PP: 19.1% (41-for-215), 4th

PK: 83.0% (161-for-194), 17th

7-F-Robbie Czarnik (24 goals, 22 assists, 46 points in 49 games)

14-F-Mike Pereira (17 goals, 23 assists, 40 points in 44 games)

28-F-Cam Reid (14 goals, 23 assists, 37 points in 43 games)

10-F-Yannick Tifu (12 goals, 23 assists, 35 points in 53 games)

26-F-Nikita Kashirsky (12 goals, 19 assists, 31 points in 45 games)

43-D-Kevin Young (3 goals, 15 assists, 18 points in 42 games)

31-G-Connor Knapp (10-10-1 record, 2.96 GAA, .899 Sv% in 22 games)

Head to Head

Season Series: Nailers 4, Royals 3

Season Series at Santander Arena: Royals 2, Nailers 1

All-Time Series: Royals 83, Nailers 67

All-Time Series at Santander Arena: Royals 47, Nailers 29

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 5, 2016


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