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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers Triumphant in First Trip of Season to Kalamazoo

March 19, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


KALAMAZOO, MI- The Wheeling Nailers went on the road for three games in three days, and as it has for most of the last two months, the successes continued on opposition ice. Wheeling took five out of six possible points on the trip, finishing it off against the Kalamazoo Wings at Wings Event Center. Five different players lit the lamp in support of JP Anderson, who made 22 saves, as the Nailers disposed of the Wings, 5-2. Wheeling now has points in nine straight games overall, nine straight road games, and has also locked up its eighth consecutive year with a winning record.

For the second straight Saturday, the Nailers came out with a mission against Kalamazoo, and it resulted in 20 shots on goal, as well as a 2-0 lead. The first tally came at the 14:29 mark, when Cody Wydo and Riley Brace skated in on a 2-on-1 rush. Wydo elected to make the pass to Brace, which turned out to be a good idea, as Brace jammed a shot through Joel Martin on the right side of the net. 3:28 later, Wheeling turned on the red light for a second time. Jordan Kwas and Dan O'Donoghue drove the puck to the front of the net, where it got blocked out to Andrew Cerretani on the left side. Cerretani gathered the puck on his backhand, and flipped it into the net.

Kalamazoo wasn't about to go away quietly, and it battled back to even the score. 1:47 into the stanza, Ludwig Blomstrand led the way on a 3-on-1 rush, keeping the puck to himself in the left circle, where he snapped a shot in a few inches off of the ice. The equalizer came on the man advantage with 5:17 to go. Justin Taylor centered a pass out of the trapezoid to Lane Scheidl, who roofed a shot into the top-right corner. Wheeling had an answer before the period concluded, retaking the lead. Clark Seymour's shot from the left point deflected off of Dan O'Donoghue, kicking over to Jordan Kwas, who squeezed a shot in on the right side of the cage.

Early in the third period, the Nailers netted a huge goal to go ahead by two. Wings goaltender Joel Martin turned the puck over behind his net, and Connor Leen pounced on the opportunity, slamming a shot into the wide open goal. Wheeling added one more insurance tally at the 6:56 mark. Anton Zlobin set up Mathew Maione for a one-time drive from the blueline, which was deflected in by John McCarron, giving the game a 5-2 final score.

JP Anderson won for the second time in as many starts for Wheeling, as he made 22 saves on 24 shots. Joel Martin took the loss for Kalamazoo, facing a barrage of 41 shots and coming up with 36 stops.

The Nailers will return home on Tuesday for a 7:05 game against the Toledo Walleye. All tickets are "Buy One, Get One Free," and kids tickets are $5, courtesy of McDonald's. Wheeling also has thrilling promotions coming up on April 1st with Duck Dynasty Night Starring Si Robertson, as well as April 2nd, when the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders visit WesBanco Arena.

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