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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Walleye Game Day Snap Shot

December 26, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Two Minutes From a Point

The Wheeling Nailers put forth a strong effort in the final game before the holidays last Saturday night, as they rallied from a two-goal deficit to even the tilt with the Quad City Mallards at three all. Unfortunately, on that particular night, the Mallards played the role of the grinch, as they not only acquired both points, but did so in regulation, leaving Wheeling empty-handed. Olivier Archambault snapped the 3-3 deadlock with 1:56 remaining in regulation, and Vladimir Nikiforov added an empty net tally for the 5-3 decision. Jarrett Burton, Riley Brace, and John McCarron were the goal scorers for the Nailers, as Brace factoring into the scoring of all three Wheeling markers with one goal and two assists. McCarron's goal was his fourth in three games. Brody Hoffman made 39 saves in the win for Quad City, defeating Franky Palazzese, who stopped 26 of 30 shots for Wheeling.

Lots of Games and Lots of Wins

The Toledo Walleye had a packed schedule leading into the holiday break, as they took the ice for four games in five days. The first place Walleye came out on top in all four contests, spanking Indy 5-1 last Wednesday, using a shootout to squeeze past Brampton 4-3 on Thursday, blanking Manchester 2-0 on Saturday, and defeating the Fuel 4-3 on Sunday. Sunday's affair at Indiana Farmers Coliseum was a back-and-forth tilt, which saw Toledo lead 1-0 and 3-2, while Indy had a 2-1 advantage at one point. Similar to the Nailers, the Walleye were involved in a 3-3 tie in the third period, but they broke it themselves on Joel Chouinard's power play goal with 9:23 left to play. Five of the seven markers that night were recorded on the man advantage, including three by Toledo in four attempts.

The Governor Takes Over

During his time as a player with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, David Gove was known as "The Governor." Earlier this week, Gove earned a new title, as he was named Interim Head Coach of the Nailers, taking over for Clark Donatelli, who was promoted to the AHL Penguins. Donatelli's five-year tenure in Wheeling comes to an end with him at the top of the team record books in both wins (147) and games coached (298), after taking over for Stan Drulia in December, 2011. Clark was the only head coach to hold that role with the club for more than three seasons. Gove will become the 15th head coach in the 24-year history of professional hockey in Wheeling, after serving as the team's assistant coach for the first 27 games of the campaign. Donatelli was Drulia's assistant for 17 games before earning his promotion.

The Mystery is How to Solve Them

There isn't much question who will get the starting nods in Saturday night's game, as Wheeling's Franky Palazzese and Toledo's Jeff Lerg will stare each other down for the second time this season, and the seventh time over the past two years, including the 2015 North Division Semi-Final Series. Palazzese will make his third straight start for the Nailers, after splitting a pair of decisions against the Quad City Mallards last weekend. Franky stopped 39 of the 40 shots he faced in his eighth win of the campaign on Friday, before a 26-save effort resulted in a 5-3 defeat on Saturday. In the other crease, Lerg gets his seventh consecutive start, having won five of the previous six, with the lone setback taking place at WesBanco Arena on December 12th. The former Michigan State Spartan won ECHL Goaltender of the Week last week, after going 4-0 with 108 saves on 115 shots, including a 15-save shutout against Manchester on Saturday.

Back to Even Again

Saturday night marks the third of seven head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Walleye this season, as well as the second of four battles at Huntington Center. Both teams have picked up one victory in the 2015-16 season series, as Toledo eked out a 2-1 shootout win on December 11th, before Wheeling responded with a 6-2 frying of the fish one night later in the Ohio Valley. Despite winning two of four postseason games in Northwest Ohio last spring, the Nailers will be looking to end a four-game regular season losing skid on the road against the Walleye, after dropping all three tilts there a year ago. The two sides will gather again at Toledo in three weeks, before a nearly two-month break, when the Walleye visit WesBanco Arena on March 11th. The seven-year all-time series has seen both sides collect 26 triumphs, with 34 of the 52 games decided in favor of the home team.

Wheeling Nailers (14-10-1-2, 31 Pts.) at Toledo Walleye (16-7-1-3, 36 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(14-10-1-2, 31 PTS, 2nd North, 8th East)

82 GF, 79 GA

PP: 14.7% (17-for-116), 25th

PK: 82.6% (90-for-109), 16th

23-F-Riley Brace (11 goals, 16 assists, 27 points in 27 games)

20-F-Jarrett Burton (10 goals, 12 assists, 22 points in 27 games)

25-F-John McCarron (7 goals, 11 assists, 18 points in 27 games)

15-F-Zack Torquato (12 goals, 5 assists, 17 points in 21 games)

16-F-Derek Army (6 goals, 11 assists, 17 points in 20 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (5 goals, 11 assists, 16 points in 25 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (8-5-1 record, 2.64 GAA, .912 Sv% in 14 games)

TOLEDO WALLEYE

(16-7-1-3, 36 PTS, 1st North, 3rd East)

81 GF, 69 GA

PP: 21.4% (21-for-98), 3rd

PK: 83.9% (78-for-93), 10th

23-F-Alden Hirschfeld (14 goals, 11 assists, 25 points in 26 games)

10-F-Shane Berschbach (5 goals, 13 assists, 18 points in 22 games)

72-D-Joel Chouinard (4 goals, 14 assists, 18 points in 21 games)

16-F-Tyler Sikura (6 goals, 10 assists, 16 points in 27 games)

27-F-AJ Jenks (8 goals, 7 assists, 15 points in 26 games)

15-F-Austin Wuthrich (7 goals, 4 assists, 11 points in 19 games)

1-G-Jeff Lerg (11-3-2 record, 2.07 GAA, .926 Sv% in 16 games)

Head to Head

Season Series: Nailers 1, Walleye 1

Season Series at Huntington Center: Walleye 1, Nailers 0

All-Time Series: Nailers 26, Walleye 26

All-Time Series at Huntington Center: Walleye 15, Nailers 7

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ECHL Stories from December 26, 2015


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