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ECHL Brampton Beast

Nailers Outlast Beast on Friday Night in Wheeling

March 23, 2018 - ECHL (ECHL)
Brampton Beast News Release


WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA - Brampton Beast forward Alex Foster had a goal and an assist and netminder Chris Dreidger turned in a stellar 38-save performance but the Wheeling Nailers scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and hung on to defeat the Beast 4-3 at WesBanco Arena on Friday night.

Brandon Marino and Jordan Henry also scored for the Beast, who have now lost three straight games.

The Beast came out flying to start the contest and were the first to find the back of the net. Beast captain Brandon Marino parked himself in front of Nailers starting goaltender Adam Morrison and got his stick on a Reggie Traccitto blast from the point, deflecting home his 18th goal of the season to open the scoring on the power play at 7:12.

Brampton added to their lead less than two minutes later on an eerily similar play. This time, it was a Willie Corrin point shot that got redirected in front of the goal with Alex Foster getting the last touch of the puck for his 12th goal of the campaign at 9:03.

The Nailers settled themselves in the second half of the opening period and found a way to tie the game before the first intermission. Cody Wydo got the Nailers on the board, beating an outstretched Chris Dreidger at 18:07.

Wheeling struck again in the final minute of the opening frame as Ayrton Valente picked up his first professional goal with just 15 seconds left in the period to tie the game at 2-2.

In the second period, the Beast quickly found themselves in penalty trouble as they were nabbed for four consecutive penalties in the period. After several successful kills, including a lengthy five-on-three, the Nailers finally broke through to grab a 3-2 lead as Chris Francis pounced on a rebound in front of Dreidger for a power play goal at 11:01.

Despite spending the majority of the period on the penalty kill and being outshot 20-10 in the frame, the Beast remained resilient and tied the game late in the second period.

Jordan Henry settled a loose puck along the right wing blue line and sent a seeing-eye shot on goal. His shot got through a crowd in front and beat Morrison cleanly for his seventh of the year at 17:43, tying the game at 3-3 heading into the third period.

The Nailers wasted no time to start the third period and quickly struck to regain the lead. Kevin Spinozzi's first of year on a rebound just 29 seconds into the third gave the Nailers the lead back at 4-3.

For the remainder of the third period, the Beast threw everything they had at the Nailers netminder Morrison. He was up to the task and stopped all 19 shots he faced in the final period to help the Nailers edge the Beast.

NOTES: Molson Three Stars: 3) Morrison (WHL). 2) Valente (WHL). 1) Spinozzi (WHL). The Beast finished the game 5-for-6 on the penalty kill and 1-for-4 on the power play. The Beast have seven games left in the 2017-18 season. Brampton returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, March 24 as they head to the Huntington Center to face the Toledo Walleye. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:15PM.

For more information or general media inquiries on the Brampton Beast please contact Chris Ballard, Public Relations Coordinator at (905) 564-1684 or cballard@bramptonbeast.com. The Brampton Beast will be bringing their exciting brand of ECHL hockey back to the Powerade Centre next season. Don't miss a minute of the action! 2017-18 Memberships are now available, join the club!

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