Nailers vs. Cyclones Game Day Snap Shot
November 10, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
The Less Time to Wait, the Better
The Wheeling Nailers are playing one of their busiest stretches of hockey this season, as Tuesday morning will be their third of seven games in ten days. The first two tilts didn't go Wheeling's way, as the team lost both of its games over the weekend, dropping a 4-3 decision at home to Kalamazoo on Friday, before a 6-2 setback in Norfolk on Saturday. The contest against the Admirals got off to a crazy start, as the two clubs combined to score five goals in the first period, with the Nailers rallying to tie twice, before Charles-Olivier Roussel's go-ahead goal with 27 seconds remaining. Zack Torquato and Jarrett Burton were the goal scorers for Wheeling. Norfolk added one goal in the second period and two more in the third, while Ty Rimmer made 36 saves, pushing both team records to 4-4-0.
Cycling Through the Opposition
The Cincinnati Cyclones have gotten off to one of the best starts in the ECHL this season, as they enter Tuesday's contest with the second best points percentage, having gone 5-1-1 in their first seven games. After suffering back-to-back losses to Kalamazoo and Toledo, the Cyclones got back on track with two wins last weekend. The first came on Friday night, when Joe Pendenza broke a 2-2 deadlock with 16 seconds remaining, helping Cincinnati give Adirondack its first loss of the campaign. Pendenza and Jack Downing both had two goals in what turned out to be a 4-2 final. On Saturday, defensemen Garrett Noonan and Steve Weinstein lit the lamp in the third period for the Cyclones, who edged Evansville, 2-1. Former Nailers Brad Thiessen and Brandon Whitney both backstopped one win between the pipes.
We're Sharp in the Morning
2015-16 will be the seventh straight season involving a morning game for the Nailers, who have played five of their last six pre-noon clashes at WesBanco Arena. Over the past six years, Wheeling has fared well in the a.m., posting a 4-0-2 record, which includes four consecutive victories on home ice. Last November, the Nailers played host to the Elmira Jackals on Education Day, and rallied from a 2-0 defict to tie the game in the third period, before eventually coming out on top in a shootout. The year before, Wheeling came from behind, but dropped a shootout in Kalamazoo, 3-2. The Cyclones will be playing the first of two straight Tuesday morning affairs, as they will take on the Alaska Aces at 10:30 next week at US Bank Arena. Cincinnati lost its lone morning contest a year ago, falling 5-3 at home to Orlando, after going 2-0 in 2013-14.
He's a Brad Brad Man
Goaltender Brad Thiessen had great success as a member of the Nailers in 2009-10, going 8-3-0, before rejoining the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. For the following five seasons, Brad never saw the ECHL, appearing in 201 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Norfolk, and Adirondack, in addition to five games with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins. This year, the Aldergrove, British Columbia native is back in the league, after attending training camp with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Thiessen enters the week leading the ECHL in goals against average (1.18) and save percentage (.959), posting a 4-0-1 record in his first five games. Fellow former Nailer Brandon Whitney has played the other two tilts for the Cyclones, going 1-1-0, while Neil Conway, who won games four, five, and six of the 2015 Eastern Conference Final for Toledo, has yet to make his season debut.
It's Their Only Trip
Tuesday morning marks the first of four head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Cyclones this season, as well as the lone battle between the clubs scheduled to take place at WesBanco Arena. Wheeling and Cincinnati have always had healthy competition in the ECHL, as the rivalry first took place from 2001-03, before starting back up again in 2006. The Nailers have a slight 56-55 advantage through the first 111 matches, which includes a 30-25 mark on home ice. The two sides split each of the last two season series, 2-2 in 2014-15 and 6-6 in 2013-14. Cincinnati's last series win came in 2012-13, while Wheeling's occurred in 2010-11. The next clash will take place at US Bank Arena on February 3rd, followed by a two-game mini-set there on March 17th and 18th.
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Wheeling Nailers (4-4-0-0, 8 Pts.) vs. Cincinnati Cyclones (5-1-0-1, 11 Pts.)
WHEELING NAILERS
(4-4-0-0, 8 PTS, 3rd North, T-9th East)
22 GF, 23 GA
PP: 18.4% (7-for-38), 13th
PK: 74.3% (26-for-35), 25th
16-F-Derek Army (2 goals, 6 assists, 8 points in 8 games)
20-F-Jarrett Burton (5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points in 8 games)
23-F-Riley Brace (1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points in 8 games)
21-F-Sahir Gill (3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points in 8 games)
25-F-John McCarron (1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points in 8 games)
22-D-Clark Seymour (2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points in 8 games)
29-G-Franky Palazzese (2-2-0 record, 2.26 GAA, .908 Sv% in 4 games)
CINCINNATI CYCLONES
(5-1-0-1, 11 PTS, T-2nd Midwest, T-5th West)
22 GF, 11 GA
PP: 24.0% (6-for-25), 5th
PK: 87.1% (27-for-31), 10th
19-F-Jack Downing (5 goals, 1 assist, 6 points in 7 games)
10-F-Eric Robinson (3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points in 5 games)
28-D-Garrett Noonan (3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points in 7 games)
24-F-Zach Budish (2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points in 7 games)
40-F-Nick Huard (1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points in 7 games)
18-F-Joe Pendenza (2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points in 6 games)
39-G-Brad Thiessen (4-0-1 record, 1.18 GAA, .959 Sv% in 5 games)
Head to Head
2014-15 Season Series: Nailers 2, Cyclones 2
2014-15 Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 1, Cyclones 1
All-Time Series: Nailers 56, Cyclones 55
All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 30, Cyclones 25
ECHL Stories from November 10, 2015
- Jackals Drop Admirals, 4-3 - Elmira Jackals
- Jackals Hand Admirals First Loss Since Opening Night - Norfolk Admirals
- Florida Ends Atlanta's Winning Streak with 8-2 Victory - Atlanta Gladiators
- K-Wings Stifled by Monarchs - Kalamazoo Wings
- Everblades Conquer Gladiators 8-2 - Florida Everblades
- Monarchs Clip Wings, 7-3 - Manchester Monarchs
- Tulsa Oilers' Budweiser Military Night Benefiting Folds of Honor Set for Friday - Tulsa Oilers
- ECHL Transactions - November 10 - ECHL
- Utah's Faragher Named CCM ECHL Goaltender of the Week - ECHL
- Norfolk Admirals Weekly - Norfolk Admirals
- Mallards Host Military Appreciation Night Tomorrow - Quad City Mallards
- Swamp Rabbits Exchange Defensemen with AHL Syracuse - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- Nailers Complete Historic Comeback against Cyclones - Wheeling Nailers
- Swamp Rabbits Weekly Report - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- Game Day vs. Wichita - Allen Americans
- Ryan Faragher Named ECHL Goaltender of Week - Utah Grizzlies
- Cyclones Lose Lead Late, Fall in School Day Affair - Cincinnati Cyclones
- Providence Calls up Two from Atlanta - Atlanta Gladiators
- Game Day Capsule: Wichita at Allen, November 10th - Wichita Thunder
- Fort Wayne's Southorn Named Sher-Wood Hockey ECHL Player of the Week - ECHL
- Elmira Looks to End Road Trip on High Note in Norfolk - Elmira Jackals
- Komet Defenseman Jordon Southorn Named ECHL Player of the Week - Fort Wayne Komets
- Monarchs to Host Boston Bruins Alumni Game on "American Pride Night" - Manchester Monarchs
- ECHL Today - November 10 - ECHL
- Nailers vs. Cyclones Game Day Snap Shot - Wheeling Nailers
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