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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Beast Game Day Snap Shot, February 16

February 16, 2019 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Wheeling Nailers (23-22-5-1, 52 Pts.) vs. Brampton Beast (25-20-4-1, 55 Pts.), 7:05 p.m.

WHEELING NAILERS

(23-22-5-1, 52 PTS, 5th Central, T-8th West)

177 GF, 170 GA

PP: 22.2% (48-for-216), 3rd

PK: 81.2% (186-for-229), 18th

NHL Affiliate: Pittsburgh Penguins

AHL Affiliate: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

27-F-Zac Lynch (14 goals, 36 assists, 50 points in 51 games)

9-F-Yushiroh Hirano (14 goals, 27 assists, 41 points in 46 games)

21-F-Cam Brown (9 goals, 28 assists, 37 points in 32 games)

23-F-Michael Phillips (15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points in 51 games)

4-F-Alex Rauter (10 goals, 24 assists, 34 points in 43 games)

22-D-Kevin Spinozzi (12 goals, 18 assists, 30 points in 28 games)

31-G-Jordan Ruby (7-3-2 record, 2.60 GAA, .917 Sv% in 14 games)

BRAMPTON BEAST

(25-20-4-1, 55 PTS, 3rd North, T-4th East)

165 GF, 154 GA

PP: 18.3% (34-for-186), 10th

PK: 84.8% (173-for-204), 9th

NHL Affiliate: Ottawa Senators

AHL Affiliate: Belleville Senators

13-F-Brandon Marino (9 goals, 34 assists, 43 points in 46 games)

16-F-Nathan Todd (20 goals, 22 assists, 42 points in 50 games)

61-F-David Pacan (19 goals, 23 assists, 42 points in 50 games)

97-F-David Vallorani (17 goals, 24 assists, 41 points in 49 games)

22-D-Matt Petgrave (7 goals, 26 assists, 33 points in 43 games)

73-F-Artur Tianulin (15 goals, 12 assists, 27 points in 38 games)

40-G-Etienne Marcoux (12-7-3 record, 2.84 GAA, .913 Sv% in 23 games)

Head-to-Head

Season Series: Nailers 1, Beast 1

Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 1, Beast 1

All-Time Series: Nailers 19, Beast 13

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 10, Beast 6

Two-for-Two to Start the Homestand

The Wheeling Nailers earned their second straight home victory on Friday night, needing a bit of extra time before the celebration. Wheeling quickly fell behind by a pair of goals - a deficit that the team had previously overcome twice in wins during the 2018-19 season. The comeback took place in the second period, when Renars Krastenbergs scored off a rush with Dane Birks, then Cedric Lacroix tapped in the equalizer from the top of the crease. The Nailers continued their strong play into the early stages of the third period, as Alec Butcher swatted home his own rebound, then Lacroix roofed his second of the night, building a 4-2 lead. However, Brampton staged a late rally, sending the cross-conference match into overtime. The extra session needed one shot to be decided, as Butcher was left alone in front of the goal. The rookie promptly slid in his first career game winning goal, as Wheeling took the 5-4 final.

The End of a Successful Journey

The Brampton Beast will conclude a seven-game road trip on Saturday night, knowing that they will be returning home in a similar position to how they departed. After dropping the first two games of the trip in Toledo and Newfoundland, the Beast rattled off three straight wins, knocking off Newfoundland once and Reading twice, before Friday's overtime setback left them with a mark of 3-2-1. Brampton got off to a fast start against the Nailers, as David Vallorani and Artur Tianulin scored 1:20 apart from each other, building a 2-0 lead in goals, in addition to a 5-0 advantage in shots. Wheeling recovered to sway the game into its favor, but the Beast had another two-goal surge late in the contest, assuring both teams a point. Tianulin converted on a breakaway with 2:20 remaining, before Nathan Todd banged in a rebound with 8.6 seconds on the clock. Brampton didn't fire another shot on former Beast netminder Jordan Ruby, who got the win with 28 saves. Etienne Marcoux stopped 25 shots in the overtime defeat.

Delaying the Original Result

Bonus hockey has been required in 11 games involving the Nailers this season, including Friday night, when the team ended a four-game drought in overtime and shootouts, thanks to Alec Butcher's winning marker. Although Brampton scored the tying goal with less than ten seconds remaining in regulation, the team netting the tying goal hasn't been able to carry that momentum into overtime very often. Only twice in those 11 games has one team scored the tying and winning goals - the Nailers at Greenville on November 18th, then Reading at WesBanco Arena on January 26th. Overtime is once again dominating shootouts, as Wheeling has had eight games decided during the five-minute period, while going to just three shootouts. Since the ECHL introduced 3-on-3 overtime in 2015, the Nailers have had 41 of their 52 games past regulation (79%) decided without needing a shootout.

First Time Hitting 50

Zac Lynch picked up a couple of points on Friday night, assisting on both of Alec Butcher's goals. In addition to being his second overtime point of the season, the final helper was a special one for Lynch, who recorded his 50th point of the season. The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native is playing in his third full season as a pro, and prior to this year, his career high for points in a season was 49, which he did last year, spending time with the Manchester Monarchs and Utica Comets. Lynch is one of three Nailers in a top-10 scoring category in the ECHL, as his 50 points rank ninth, Yushiroh Hirano's 41 points are tied for fifth among rookies, and Kevin Spinozzi's 30 points are tied for eighth among defensemen. Spinozzi extended his point streak to nine games with an assist on the overtime goal, while Cam Brown's 13-game point streak came to an end, tying for the third longest run in the league this season.

These Teams Like to Score Late

Saturday night marks the third of four head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Beast this season, as well as the third and final battle at WesBanco Arena. Both clubs have earned one-goal victories thus far, with Brampton prevailing 6-5 on January 25th, before Wheeling's 5-4 overtime triumph on Friday. While the beginnings of the games have brought their fare shares of excitement, the endings have been explosive, as ten of the 20 goals scored in the two matches have gone in during the third period or overtime. Alec Butcher has found a quick liking to facing the Beast, as he leads the Nailers with four goals and five points, while Artur Tianulin is Brampton's leader, and he has also collected five points. While Wheeling leads the overall series, 19-13, the last three years have been nearly even, with Brampton holding a slim 10-9 advantage. The 2018-19 season set will conclude with a morning tilt in Canada on February 26th - Wheeling's lone trip out of the country.

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ECHL Stories from February 16, 2019


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