ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers earn valuable standings point in 5-4 shootout loss

Published on February 26, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Reading, PA - The Wheeling Nailers blasted away on Royals goalie Josh Johnson for 19 shots on goal in the 3rd period and overtime combined but couldn't come up with the game-winner as they fell in a shootout at Reading 5-4 Friday night. With the shootout loss, the Nailers earn a valuable standings point to stretch their lead on the last playoff spot in the American Conference to three points with 14 games remaining in the regular season.

Wheeling outshot the Royals on the game 44-2 and controlled play for much of the night.

Jon D'Aversa (2nd), Thomas Beauregard (34th), Andrew Lord (14th) and Colin Power (5th) scored for Wheeling while Michael-Lee Teslak took the shootout loss in net. Mitch Ganzak recorded a pair of assists as he increased his season total to 33, most among ECHL defensemen.

Reading struck first early in the 1st period as Olivier Labelle staked the Royals to the 1-0 lead.

Wheeling struck back with a pair of power play goals in the 1st from D'Aversa and Beauregard both on cross-ice feeds. Joey Haddad would feed it from the right-wing for a D'Aversa one-timer at the top of the circle to tie the game. Later it would be Aaron Clarke finding Beauregard on the back-door on the left-wing side of the goal-mouth to chip it home. Beauregard's 34th puts him all alone in 2nd place in the ECHL trailing Wes Goldie of Victoria by one.

Wheeling had several more fine chances in a mostly dominant first period as they outshot the Royals 14-9.

Scott Langdon tied the score at 2-2 about seven minutes into the 2nd period but a few minutes later Andrew Lord would stuff in his 14th of the year to put the Nailers back on top 3-2. Lord has 5 goals in his last 7 games as well as 9 goals in his last 16 games to become the hottest scoring Wheeling player for the past several weeks.

Stefano Giliati scored on a rebound from a Ryan Cruthers shot just past the reach of the scrambling Michael-Lee Teslak to tie the game at 3-3 with 4 minutes remaining in the 2nd. The power play goal equalized the score for only a few seconds as Colin Power would backhand one along the goal-line with his back mostly turned to the goal to give the Nailers the 4-3 lead. Power's shot may have gone in off the back of Royals goalie Josh Johnson.

Giliati split the Nailers defense in the opening minute of the 3rd period on a give-and-go with Cruthers on the left-wing wall and would convert on his breakaway top shelf to tie the game at 4-4.

The tie would remain throughout an exciting 3rd period that saw both goalies make some fine saves. Wheeling outshot Reading 15-7 in the 3rd and Aaron Clarke's pair of drives that had Johnson scrambling with just a few minutes remaining was perhaps the Nailers closest chance to winning the game.

Wheeling kept the Royals on their heels into the overtime until Jordan Fox got called for a high sticking infraction with a few seconds more than two minutes remaining. Nailers Head Coach Greg Puhalski argued the Fox's stick into the goalie happened due to a Royals defender holding Fox's stick up. Reading was denied on the 4-on-3 power play with several fine plays again by the Wheeling penalty kill including Lane Caffaro, Andrew Lord and Kyle Bushee all blocking shots or intercepting passes.

By keeping the game tied the Nailers gave themselves an opportunity to earn the second point in a shootout but Thomas Beauregard would be the lone Nailer to score of the four shooters. Mitch Ganzak frustratedly rang one off the iron for the second shootout in a row. And Reading was able to prevail when Andrew Sarauer lit the lamp in the 4th round.

The Nailers are 27-26-5 while the Royals improved to 26-24-4. Wheeling is 1-1-1 against Reading this year with one game remaining between the two teams on Friday, April 2nd when the Royals make their only visit to WesBanco Arena.

The Nailers wrap up this busy stretch of travelling Saturday at Elmira. That closes the 7 game road trip which is Wheeling's longest of the season.

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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ECHL Stories from February 26, 2010


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