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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers at Wings Game Day Snap Shot

March 19, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Add Another Point in the Standings

The Wheeling Nailers fell just shy of tying a team record with an eighth consecutive victory on the road, but they did end up securing a point on Saturday night, running that streak to eight straight games (6-0-2). Wheeling fell behind the Cincinnati Cyclones 2-0 on a first period goal by Peter Quenneville and a tally in the middle frame by Joe Wilson. However, the visitors rallied back to pull even, as Clark Seymour wristed in a power play marker in the second period, then bombed in a one-timer on the man advantage in the third. The Nailers had a phenomenal chance to get out of the Queen City with a regulation win, but a stellar penalty kill by the Cyclones on a 5-on-3 kept the score deadlocked. The tilt eventually progressed to overtime, where Cincinnati's Branden Gracel played the role of hero with the winning goal. Brian Foster made 30 saves, and is now 3-0-2 in his last five starts, matching Franky Palazzese for the longest point streak by a Wheeling netminder in 2015-16.

They've Been Expecting Us

The Kalamazoo Wings had Friday night off, after thoroughly beating down the Brampton Beast on Thursday, 7-2 at Wings Event Center. Former Nailer David Gilbert scored the lone goal of the first period for the Wings, who then exploded to take a 5-0 lead in the middle frame on tallies by Curtis Valk (2), Lane Scheidl, and Justin Kovacs. Brampton attempted a small comeback with two goals in a span of 1:07 in the third period, but host Kalamazoo proved to be too much, as Scheidl and Tanner Sorenson iced the triumph with two more markers. Joel Martin had a relatively busy night for such a one-sided result, as he ended up making 36 saves on 38 shots for his 28th win of the season. The Wings have won back-to-back games, as they edged Toledo, 4-3 on Sunday at Huntington Center. Clay Witt backstopped his first victory of the season that afternoon.

Always Time for a Late Surge

Teams have found out this season that sitting back on a lead against the Nailers isn't the best idea in the world, as Wheeling has tended to be a club that gets better as the game goes along. While the Nailers were unable to earn a victory on Friday, they did battle back to earn a point, marking the 19th time this season that the squad has collected at least one point in the standings when trailing at any moment in the contest. In fact, 35 of Wheeling's 71 points have come in comeback fashion. Friday was also the tenth time that the Nailers bagged at least one point when trailing after two periods, as well as the seventh time they have gotten a point when trailing by at least two goals. Third periods have been Wheeling's best by far in 2015-16, as they have racked up a +15 goal differential, outscoring the opposition, 69-54. The second period is slightly in the negatives at -3 (62-59), while the first period has a bit further to climb to reach even at -7 (62-55).

Designed to Get Results

When the ECHL adopted the 3-on-3 format for overtime, they did so with the intention of getting more games decided in the extra session without having teams progress to a shootout. As Wheeling's last two games indicate, that idea has produced successful results, as the Nailers got a goal from Mathew Maione at 2:47 of overtime to win on Thursday, while the Cyclones saw Branden Gracel lift them to victory at 1:24 of the extra session on Friday. Wheeling has now played past regulation in 12 of its first 62 games, and eight of those tilts have produced a winner during the five-minute frame. The Nailers have picked up the bonus point in five of the eight. The 66.7% rate of games decided during overtime is above the league average, which has seen 60.3% of games settled without needing a shootout (108 of 179). 20 of the league's 28 teams have had more games decided in overtime than shootouts.

Alas, We Have Arrived in Michigan

Saturday night marks the sixth of eight head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Wings this season, as well as the first of three battles at Wings Event Center. Despite being in the same division, this is Wheeling's first trip of the year to Southwest Michigan, after the two sides squared off five straight times at WesBanco Arena. Kalamazoo came out victorious in three of those five, but the Nailers have taken two of the last three, including a 4-2 decision last Saturday night. Cody Wydo netted a pair of goals in that affair, and leads all scorers with five tallies in the season series. Tanner Sorenson is the leading active scorer for the Wings, as he has collected five points in the five contests. JP Anderson is expected to be Wheeling's fourth different starting goaltender in six games, while Joel Martin could make his 11th straight start against the Nailers for Kalamazoo. Next weekend will see the conclusion of the eight-game set, when Wheeling goes to the 'Zoo for two on Friday and Saturday.

Wheeling Nailers (32-23-3-4, 71 Pts.) at Kalamazoo Wings (29-27-4-1, 63 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(32-23-3-4, 71 PTS, 2nd North, 7th East)

188 GF, 185 GA

PP: 17.0% (39-for-230), 13th

PK: 84.4% (200-for-237), 14th

23-F-Riley Brace (22 goals, 35 assists, 57 points in 46 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (9 goals, 38 assists, 47 points in 60 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (21 goals, 22 assists, 43 points in 49 games)

17-F-Jordan Kwas (6 goals, 17 assists, 23 points in 50 games)

25-F-John McCarron (8 goals, 14 assists, 22 points in 41 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (6 goals, 16 assists, 22 points in 62 games)

1-G-JP Anderson (1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .957 Sv% in 1 game)

KALAMAZOO WINGS

(29-27-4-1, 63 PTS, 3rd North, 11th East)

193 GF, 206 GA

PP: 14.5% (35-for-242), 24th

PK: 84.9% (191-for-225), 11th

23-F-Ludwig Blomstrand (21 goals, 29 assists, 50 points in 60 games)

19-F-Alex Mallet (18 goals, 31 assists, 49 points in 61 games)

21-F-Lane Scheidl (10 goals, 23 assists, 33 points in 61 games)

93-F-Justin Taylor (18 goals, 13 assists, 31 points in 59 games)

18-F-Curtis Valk (15 goals, 14 assists, 29 points in 26 games)

7-D-Cory Pritz (3 goals, 24 assists, 27 points in 46 games)

49-G-Joel Martin (28-20-5 record, 3.09 GAA, .915 Sv% in 54 games)

Head to Head

Season Series: Wings 3, Nailers 2

2014-15 Season Series at Wings Event Center: Nailers 2, Wings 2

All-Time Series: Wings 19, Nailers 18

All-Time Series at Wings Event Center: Nailers 8, Wings 8

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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