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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers Game Preview: Wheeling Vs. Reading

January 25, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Wheeling (21-14-3 45 Pts) v. Reading Royals (16-17-6 38 Pts)

On Wednesday night, the Wheeling Nailers will reunite with a familiar foe, when they play the first half of a home-and-home series against the Reading Royals at Sovereign Center.

After going 1-1 last weekend, the Nailers enter this stretch of four games in five days with a record of 21-14-2-1, which is good for 45 points. Those 45 points are seven better than the next closest team behind them in the Atlantic Division Standings, which happens to be the Royals, who enter the week with a 16-17-3-3 mark, which is good for 38 points. Both teams are currently looking up at the Elmira Jackals, who lead the division and the conference with 26 wins and 53 points. When it comes to the conference standings, Wheeling is currently in a tie for sixth place, while Reading sits in ninth place - two points behind Chicago for the final playoff spot. The Nailers have played the second fewest games in the ECHL, with Cincinnati's 34 being the only number smaller than Wheeling's 38.

Wednesday night's battle will be the second straight game within the Atlantic Division for the Nailers, who started off January with eight consecutive games against teams not named Elmira, Reading, or Trenton. Wheeling will be looking for a better result in the second divisional game, after falling 7-4 to Elmira on Saturday, despite a two-goal, three-point effort from Chris Barton. Last weekend's first tilt saw the Nailers blank the Toledo Walleye 3-0, thanks to 18 saves by Patrick Killeen, one massive stop by Adam Ross, as well as goals by Brian Day, Denver Manderson, and Peter Lenes. Day has three points in his last two games, as he continues to battle back from an injury that kept him out of action for the first three months of the season.

Despite drawing an average of over four thousand fans per game, Sovereign Center hasn't been the friendliest of places for the Reading Royals, who enter Wednesday night's action tied for the fewest home wins in the ECHL (5). However, two of those victories have come in January, and both came against first place teams, as the Royals edged Elmira 3-2 in overtime on January 13th, before knocking off Kalamazoo 4-1 on January 20th. Since his arrival in Reading from a trade with the Chicago Express, Yannick Tifu has been one of the Royals' best players, as he has picked up 23 points in 20 games since the deal, giving him 34 points on the season. Olivier Labelle leads the team in goals, with 17, but also has the lead in penalty minutes, with 97. Rob Kwiet's 21 points are the most among Reading defensemen, who have played in front of four different netminders this year, with a fifth on the way. With Paul Dainton and Mark Owuya on recall to the AHL, and Joe Palmer currently on injured reserve, Karel St. Laurent's 3-8 record, 3.84 GAA, and .890 are the only goaltending statistics on the Royals' active roster. St. Laurent will be joined on Wednesday by Jussi Rynnas, who was assigned by the AHL's Toronto Marlies.

This is the seventh of 13 meetings between the Nailers and Royals this season, as well as the fourth game at Sovereign Center. The road team has won five of the six prior meetings, with Reading's 6-3 victory on December 17th standing as the lone home triumph, which incidentally has given the Royals a 4-2 lead in the season series. Yannick Tifu's nine points and Dale Mitchell's six goals are the most in the six battles, while Chris Barton leads Wheeling with seven head-to-head points. Patrick Killeen has been the goaltender of record in all six contests for the Nailers, while Mark Owuya and Joe Palmer have picked up the decisions for Reading.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Wheeling Nailers

21-14-2-1, 45 points, 2nd Atlantic Division, T-6th Eastern Conference

125 GF, 111 GA

PP: 28-for-156 (17.9%), 9th

PK: 127-for-154 (82.5%), 10th

Active Leaders

Goals: Barton (21)

Assists: Torquato (20)

Points: Barton (38)

Penalty Minutes: Ross (79)

+/-: Bushee (+11)

Wins: Killeen (12)

GAA: Delmas (2.69)

Sv%: Delmas (.902)

Reading Royals

16-17-3-3, 38 points, 3rd Atlantic Division, 9th Eastern Conference

124 GF, 132 GA

PP: 31-for-174 (17.8%), 10th

PK: 133-for-162 (82.1%), 11th

Active Leaders

Goals: Labelle (17)

Assists: Tifu (23)

Points: Tifu (34)

Penalty Minutes: Labelle (97)

+/-: Tifu (+10)

Wins: St. Laurent (3)

GAA: St. Laurent (3.84)

Sv%: St. Laurent (.890)

Wednesday's game between the Nailers and Royals at Sovereign Center begins at 7:05. Wheeling's next home game takes place on Friday night at 7:35, when they welcome Reading to WesBanco Arena as part of Penguins Weekend. For ticket information or to purchase tickets call 304-234-GOAL (4625) or online at shop.wheelingnailers.com. You can now purchase Nailers game tickets on your smartphone by visiting m.wheelingnailers.com

NEXT HOME GAME: Fri. Jan., 27th - 7:35PM

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