Nailers vs. Beast Game Day Snap Shot, February 15
February 15, 2019 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
Wheeling Nailers (22-22-5-1, 50 Pts.) vs. Brampton Beast (25-20-3-1, 54 Pts.), 7:05 p.m.
WHEELING NAILERS
(22-22-5-1, 50 PTS, 5th Central, 9th West)
172 GF, 166 GA
PP: 22.2% (47-for-212), 2nd
PK: 80.9% (182-for-225), 21st
NHL Affiliate: Pittsburgh Penguins
AHL Affiliate: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins
27-F-Zac Lynch (14 goals, 34 assists, 48 points in 50 games)
9-F-Yushiroh Hirano (14 goals, 26 assists, 40 points in 45 games)
21-F-Cam Brown (9 goals, 28 assists, 37 points in 31 games)
23-F-Michael Phillips (15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points in 50 games)
4-F-Alex Rauter (10 goals, 24 assists, 34 points in 42 games)
22-D-Kevin Spinozzi (12 goals, 17 assists, 29 points in 27 games)
31-G-Jordan Ruby (6-3-2 record, 2.49 GAA, .922 Sv% in 13 games)
BRAMPTON BEAST
(25-20-3-1, 54 PTS, T-3rd North, T-4th East)
161 GF, 149 GA
PP: 18.7% (34-for-182), 10th
PK: 85.0% (170-for-200), 7th
NHL Affiliate: Ottawa Senators
AHL Affiliate: Belleville Senators
13-F-Brandon Marino (9 goals, 34 assists, 43 points in 45 games)
61-F-David Pacan (19 goals, 22 assists, 41 points in 49 games)
16-F-Nathan Todd (19 goals, 21 assists, 40 points in 49 games)
97-F-David Vallorani (16 goals, 24 assists, 40 points in 48 games)
19-F-Erik Bradford (12 goals, 24 assists, 36 points in 40 games)
22-D-Matt Petgrave (7 goals, 24 assists, 31 points in 42 games)
40-G-Etienne Marcoux (12-7-2 record, 2.73 GAA, .916 Sv% in 22 games)
Head-to-Head
Season Series: Beast 1, Nailers 0
Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Beast 1, Nailers 0
All-Time Series: Nailers 18, Beast 13
All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 9, Beast 6
High Five to Start the Homestand
The Wheeling Nailers were full of energy, as they began a three-game homestand with a 5-2 victory over the Reading Royals on Wednesday night. Renars Krastenbergs opened the scoring for Wheeling tapping in a perfect pass from Cam Brown on the power play. The Royals pulled even on a man advantage of their own, before Kevin Spinozzi's bank shot off Steve Johnson's skate put the Nailers back on top in the middle frame. Tyler Brown knotted the score in the first minute of the third period for Reading, but Dan Fick responded quickly with the go-ahead goal from the right circle. Alec Butcher followed with an insurance goal, then Brown put the final icing on the cake with an empty netter. Jordan Ruby had an excellent game in goal, as he set a career high with 43 saves, earning his sixth win of the year.
Ripping on the Royals
The Brampton Beast also defeated the Reading Royals in their last time out. In fact, Brampton swept a two-game set in Reading on Saturday and Monday. Goaltender Etienne Marcoux was the key player on Saturday, as he stopped all 41 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season. David Vallorani's goal at 13:14 of the second period broke the scoreless deadlock that night, before Jackson Leef, Artur Tianulin, and Austin McEneny tacked on insurance in the third for a 4-0 final. On Monday, the Beast came charging out of the gates with two goals and 22 shots in the opening stanza, with the tallies coming from Matt Petgrave and Vallorani. The Royals got their lone goal of the series during the middle frame, before Tianulin and Nathan Todd put the finishing touches on a 4-1 win. Marcoux needed just 17 saves to secure the second victory.
Big Shooters on the Bluelines
The top two goal scorers among ECHL defensemen will be on the ice at WesBanco Arena on Friday and Saturday. Brampton's Jordan Henry currently sits in the top spot, having lit the lamp 13 times in 48 games this season. Henry has also taken the most shots on goal among blueliners in the league, sending the puck toward the cage 144 times. On Wednesday night, Kevin Spinozzi netted his 12th goal of the season, breaking a tie with Eric Knodel, Dylan Sadowy, and Travis Brown, to take sole possession of second place, despite playing in just 27 games. Spinozzi is one of six Wheeling players who has taken over 100 shots on goal this season, and his 3.74 shots per game rank first on the club. Dan Fick joined Kevin in the goal column on Wednesday, marking the first time since December 22nd that the Nailers got two goals from the blueline in the same contest.
Former Penguin in the House
Pittsburgh Penguins Night is still a little more than two weeks away, but fans attending the games this weekend will catch a glimpse of a former Penguin, who will be wearing the opposing team's uniform. With Jake Paterson on recall, and Daniel Altshuller out with an injury, the Beast needed a backup goaltender to play behind Etienne Marcoux, so they called on Sebastien Caron. The 38-year old was originally selected by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He made his professional debut with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins during the 2000-01 season, before appearing in his first NHL game with the Penguins on January 11, 2003. Caron went on to play in 95 NHL games with Pittsburgh, Chicago, Anaheim, and Tampa Bay, before heading over to Europe.
Last Back-to-Back of the Year
Friday night marks the second of four head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Beast this season, as well as the second of three battles at WesBanco Arena. The first clash saw 11 goals scored, as Brampton escaped with a 6-5 win, thanks to a late marker by Anthony Beauregard. Nine different players found the back of the net that night, including Alec Butcher and Erik Bradford, who both struck twice. This will be the last time this season that Wheeling faces the same opponents on consecutive nights. The previous four back-to-back sets have seen the Nailers go 2-0-2, with the winning series coming against Norfolk and Indy, and the splits occurring against Reading and Greenville. There have been other scenarios with back-to-back games against the same opponent, but also featured off days. After Saturday, Wheeling will travel to Brampton on February 26th to close out its 11th season series of 2018-19.
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