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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers Game Preview: Wheeling Vs. Trenton

December 28, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Wheeling Nailers (15-9-1-1 32 Pts) vs. Trenton Titans (10-12-3-2

On Wednesday night, the Wheeling Nailers will continue their three-game road swing, when they meet up with the Trenton Titans at Sun National Bank Center.

Despite picking up points in each of their last three games, the Nailers enter the game in second place in the Atlantic Division, trailing the Elmira Jackals by two points. Wheeling's record currently stands at 15-9-1-1, which is good for 32 points. In the conference standings, that mark leaves the Nailers in a four-way tie for fifth place, along with the South Carolina Stingrays, Florida Everblades, and Chicago Express. The Titans enter Wednesday night's tilt in fourth place in the Atlantic Division, with a record of 10-14-2-2, which is good for 24 points. Trenton trails Reading by five points for third place in the division, and Cincinnati and Toledo by three points, as the Titans currently sit in the Eastern Conference basement.

Wheeling's last two contests have both taken place against the Elmira Jackals, and both took longer than sixty minutes to decide a winner. Last Wednesday night, the two sides went to overtime with the score even at two, until Riley Armstrong (who recently left for Finland) broke the deadlock at the 3:12 mark of the extra session. On Monday night, the two clubs met up in Elmira, and after a 1-1 tie in regulation and overtime, Mike Radja's goal in the shootout was the difference, as the Jackals prevailed. Peter Merth netted his first goal since December 15, 2010 for Wheeling, on an assist by Zack Torquato, who has points in nine of eleven games this month. Patrick Killeen made 30 saves on 31 shots, and has appeared in six straight games between the pipes.

On the other side of the ice, the Trenton Titans have picked up at least one point in six of the ten games they've played in December, but only have three wins to show for their efforts. At the end of last week, the Titans made their lone visit to Florida, falling 3-2 in overtime on Thursday, before getting doubled up 6-3 by the Everblades in an emotional contest on Friday night. Friday's battle between Trenton and Florida featured a full line brawl with 1:19 left in regulation, which even included the goaltenders. Leading defensive scorer Jordon Southorn has produced five points in his last four games, giving him 15 points on the season. With Andy Bohmbach (21 points) and Rob Bordson (21 points) both on recall to the AHL, Randy Rowe and Ryan Hayes currently lead the Titans' offensive attack with 20 points each. Dave Caruso has seen the majority of the action in goal for Trenton, going 7-9-2, with a 3.41 GAA, and an .899 Sv% in 19 games.

Two weeks ago, the Titans invited a former Nailer to join their roster, signing defenseman Ray DiLauro. DiLauro spent one season in a Wheeling uniform, recording 12 goals, 40 assists, 52 points, and 82 penalty minutes during the 2004-05 campaign. His 40 assists led that squad, and his 52 points were second behind Ed McGrane's 63. The former Atlanta Thrashers' draft pick has played in four games with Trenton thus far this season, dishing out three assists.

This is the eighth of 12 meetings this season between the Nailers and Titans, and the third at Sun National Bank Center. Wheeling has defeated Trenton in five of the previous seven contests, including both head-to-head matchups in New Jersey. The first of those two wins came by a 5-1 score on November 5th, before a 3-1 victory took place for the Nailers on December 7th. The most recent battle between the two clubs came on December 10th at WesBanco Arena, when Wheeling edged Trenton 2-1 in a goaltending duel between Peter Delmas and Dave Caruso. Chris Barton's six goals and eight points are the most in the seven-game season series, with three of those goals coming on October 29th. Zack Torquato and the recently retired Patrick Johnson have each scored seven points against the Titans, while Trenton's leading scorer is Ryan Hayes, who has six assists to account for all of his points. Peter Delmas has three wins in four head-to-head outings, while Patrick Killeen has two victories in three appearances against Trenton. On the other side of the ice, Dave Caruso has appeared in five of the seven games, going 1-3-1. Brad Phillips is 1-1 in two starts.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Wheeling Nailers

15-9-1-1, 32 points, 2nd Atlantic Division, T-5th Eastern Conference

87 GF, 73 GA

PP: 19-for-110 (17.3%), 13th

PK: 88-for-108 (81.5-%), T-11th

Active Leaders

Goals: Barton (15)

Assists: Torquato (15)

Points: Barton (26)

Penalty Minutes: Ross (66)

+/-: Merth (+13)

Wins: Killeen (9)

GAA: Delmas (2.40)

Sv%: Delmas (.902)

Trenton Titans

10-14-2-2, 24 points, 4th Atlantic Division, 12th Eastern Conference

83 GF, 99 GA

PP: 24-for-123 (19.5%), 8th

PK: 79-for-102 (77.5%), 18th

Active Leaders

Goals: Rowe (8)

Assists: Hayes (13)

Points: Hayes, Rowe (20)

Penalty Minutes: Versteeg (50)

+/-: Kearney (+6)

Wins: Caruso (7)

GAA: Phillips (3.25)

Sv%: Caruso (.899)

Wheeling's next game takes place on Wednesday night, when they visit the Trenton Titans at 7:00. The Nailers will return to WesBanco Arena on Saturday night at 7:35, when they take on the Reading Royals. 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.

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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