Nailers Grab Series Lead, Thanks to Electric Start
April 23, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers defended their home ice well over the course of the last two nights, and now they have put themselves in good position, as they will make the treck down to the Sunshine State. Wheeling flew out with three goals in the first period, then added one in the second to take a 4-0 lead. The Florida Everblades attempted a rally, but fell short, as the Nailers took a 3-2 series lead with a 4-3 triumph at WesBanco Arena. Riley Brace had two goals, and is now the league leader with ten points in the postseason.
Feeding off of the excitement of the night before, the Nailers came out flying and established a 3-0 lead in the first period. The opening goal came at the 4:47 mark. Andrew Ammon poked a pass to Ty Loney at the bottom of the right circle. Loney went to the goal, dragging the puck around to his backhand, which he slid around Anthony Peters' right pad. 3:09 later, Wheeling tallied for the second time. Mathew Maione hesitated a bit, before driving a left point shot toward the cage. Riley Brace tipped the try into the goal for his third of the series. Brace netted his second marker of the evening later in the frame, when he slammed in a slap shot from the top of the right circle.
The Nailers added to their lead early in the middle frame, chasing Peters for the second time in the series. Maione skated over the middle of the offensive blueline, and let a wrist shot fly, ringing it in off of the crossbar. Florida tallied its first goal of the night with eight minutes left in the period, utilizing a man advantage. Gabriel Desjardins fed Matt Marquardt for a one-timer, which was thrusted into the bottom-left corner of the net.
The gap closed even tighter in the third period, as the Everblades continued to attempt to mount a comeback. At the 6:53 mark, Mark Nemec blocked a shot, sending Kevin Lynch and Jon DiSalvatore on a 2-on-1 shorthanded rush. Lynch floated a pass over to DiSalvatore, who snapped a shot into the right side of the cage. With 6:57 to go, Brendan O'Donnell dashed down the slot and had his initial shot stopped, before Ethan Werek potted the rebound, making the score 4-3 in favor of the Nailers. While the last six minutes may have felt like an eternity, the home team hung on and got the desired result.
Brian Foster was Wheeling's winning netminder for the second straight night, as he stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced. Anthony Peters took the loss, allowing four goals on 15 shots, before giving way to Rasmus Tirronen, who was 14-of-14 in relief.
The Nailers and Everblades will travel to Florida for game six on Monday at 7:30. The game can be heard on Mix 97.3 and viewed on WLUTV-14.
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