ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Fuel Game Day Snap Shot

Published on November 9, 2014 under ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Wheeling Nailers (4-3-0-0, 8 PTS) vs. Indy Fuel (2-4-2-1, 7 PTS)

WHEELING NAILERS

(4-3-0-0, 8 PTS, T-5th North, T-8th East)

22 GF, 23 GA

PP: 18.2% (4-for-22), 14th

PK: 90.9% (30-for-33), 5th

23-F-Riley Brace (3 goals, 8 assists, 11 points in 7 games)

21-F-Sahir Gill (2 goals, 4 assists, 6 points in 7 games)

8-D-Zach Yuen (2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points in 6 games)

12-F-David Gilbert (4 goals, 4 points in 7 games)

18-F-Matia Marcantuoni (3 goals, 1 assist, 4 points in 2 games)

19-F-Shane Bakker (3 goals, 3 points in 6 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (4-3-0 record, 3.31 GAA, .885 Sv% in 7 games)

INDY FUEL

(2-4-2-1, 7 PTS, 7th North, T-12th East)

26 GF, 33 GA

PP: 22.2% (8-for-36), 6th

PK: 82.1% (23-for-28), T-17th

27-F-Robert Czarnik (5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points in 8 games)

19-F-Patrick Cullen (4 goals, 2 assists, 6 points in 9 games)

9-F-Rhett Bly (3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points in 9 games)

6-D-Mathieu Brisebois (1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points in 9 games)

14-F-Mike Duco (2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points in 9 games)

5-D-Nick Jones (1 goals, 4 assists, 5 points in 9 games)

1-G-Cody Reichard (2-2-1 record, 2.75 GAA, .900 Sv% in 5 games)

Head-to-Head

First All-Time Meeting

Back on Track in the Queen City

The Wheeling Nailers continued their string of alternating wins and losses on Saturday night, as they picked up a 4-3 win against the Cincinnati Cyclones at US Bank Arena. Wheeling never trailed in the contest, building 2-0 and 3-1 leads, before David Gilbert ultimately broke a 3-3 deadlock at the 2:14 mark of the third period. Tyler Murovich and Chaz Johnson both netted their first goals of the campaign, while Zack Torquato found the back of the net for the first time in the ECHL in 2014-15. Riley Brace grabbed his second straight two-point game, and Franky Palazzese backstopped the victory, making 22 saves in his seventh consecutive start.

Not as Fortunate for the Other Guys

The Indy Fuel is also coming off of a game at Cincinnati's US Bank Arena, however, it was the Cyclones who got the upper hand on Friday night. Brett Perlini opened the scoring for Indy with a power play goal at the 6:43 mark, before Cincinnati responded with three unanswered markers for a 3-1 final score. Byron Froese scored a shorthanded goal with 13:24 remaining, breaking the 1-1 tie to lift the Cyclones to victory. Mac Carruth was saddled with the loss in goal for the Fuel, making 21 saves, as he fell to 0-1-2. Indy, Orlando, and South Carolina will become the second, third, and fourth teams in the Eastern Conference to reach the ten-game plateau on Sunday, joining Elmira, who reached the mark on Saturday.

Donatelli Joins Club 100

With Saturday night's victory, Clark Donatelli became the second head coach in team history to earn his 100th win, joining Doug Sauter, who is the current leader with 124 from his time behind the bench of the Wheeling Thunderbirds. Donatelli is the sixth longest tenured coach in the ECHL's Eastern Conference, as Florida's Greg Poss, Greenville's Dean Stork, Kalamazoo's Nick Bootland, Reading's Larry Courville, and South Carolina's Spencer Carbery are the five who have been in their positions for a longer period of time. Scott Hillman is in his first season with Indy, after spending the past season with the then CHL's Missouri Mavericks.

Opposites in Overtime

Wheeling and Indy have faced drastically different scenarios when it comes to overtime games in the early portion of the 2014-15 season. The Nailers will be playing their eighth game of the campaign on Sunday, and have yet to see a tilt go past the 60-minute mark. However, the opposite holds true for the Fuel, who has already played bonus hockey in four of nine games to begin its team history. Indy has gone 1-3 in overtime games this season, splitting a pair of shootouts against Evansville and Fort Wayne, while losing both trips to the five-minute extra session to Kalamazoo and Evansville. Last season, Wheeling was 6-1 in overtime and 3-5 in shootouts.

The Oldest and Youngest Collide

Sunday afternoon marks the first ever head-to-head meeting between the Nailers and Fuel, who will do battle on four occasions during the 2014-15 regular season. This is the first of two clashes at WesBanco Arena, while Wheeling will pay its inaugural visit to Fairgrounds Coliseum on November 15th. Indy becomes just the third team from Indiana that the Nailers have faced in their 23-year history, joining the Evansville IceMen and Fort Wayne Komets. Wheeling did not face an expansion team in 2013-14, but posted a combined record of 4-2-2 in 2012-13 against Evansville, Fort Wayne, and Orlando, when they joined the ECHL.

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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