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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Jackals Game Day Snap Shot

February 28, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


The Streak Ends at Five

The Wheeling Nailers entered Saturday night with their longest winning streak since the 2013-14 season, having collected five straight victories. Unfortunately, the team was unable to post its first six-game run since 2012-13, as the Elmira Jackals spoiled the fun at WesBanco Arena. Wheeling allowed the first goal of the contest, but rallied back to take a 2-1 lead on tallies by Riley Brace and Danny Fick. The Jackals then scored three consecutive goals to go ahead 4-2, before the resistent Nailers clawed their way back to a 4-4 deadlock in the third period, courtesy of Adam Krause and Jordan Kwas. The final four minutes of regulation belonged to Elmira, who found the back of the net three times for a 7-4 final score. Alain Valiquette picked up his first career win for the Jackals, defeating Franky Palazzese.

Surprisingly, Not Their Highest

The Elmira Jackals brought their offense to Saturday night's game at WesBanco Arena, as they turned on the red light seven times in a 7-4 triumph over the Nailers. That marked the third time this season that Elmira scored at least seven goals in a game, and interesting enough, all three scenarios have occurred on the road. The Jackals picked up a 7-2 win in Reading on October 24th, then throttled Adirondack, 8-0 on February 9th. Jacob MacDonald led the way for Elmira on Saturday with three goals and an assist, while Cason Hohmann matched that point total with four helpers. Kyle Stroh opened the scoring at the 5:18 mark of the first period, while Allan McPherson was responsible for the game winning goal with 3:08 left in the third period. Matt Garbowsky and Mike Seidel were the other two goal scorers for the visitors. 11 different players recorded at least one point.

Another Assist From the Keeper

Jordan Kwas tied the game 4-4 for the Nailers with 6:32 left in the third period on Saturday night's game, when he smacked home the rebound of Mathew Maione's initial shot. The rush that created that goal started all the way on the opposite end of the ice, where Franky Palazzese stopped an Elmira clear, leaving the puck in the trapezoid for Maione. Since those were the only three players to come in contact with the puck, Palazzese was awarded with an assist - his third this season and the team's fifth. Four of those five helpers have come in the last four games against the Jackals, with two each going to Palazzese and Casey DeSmith. The last Wheeling goaltender to record three assists in a single season was Peter Delmas in 2012-13. The team record in a single season is five, set by Olie Sundstrom during the 1996-97 campaign. Sundstrom holds the career record as well, with nine helpers.

A Large Dose of Big Macs

Two of Elmira's most lethal offensive weapons rose to the occasion in Saturday night's game, as Jacob MacDonald racked up a hat trick and an assist, while Allan McPherson had one goal and one assist, including the game winner. While Wheeling's Mathew Maione has a six-point lead in defensive scoring, MacDonald is beginning to make his climb up those rankings, as he currently sits in a tie for 12th place with 28 points. 13 of those points have come via goals, while places him in sole possession of second among blueliners. MacDonald is particularly dangerous when playing special teams, as he has buried three goals on the power play and another four when his team is shorthanded. The other Mac, McPherson, is second on the Jackals with 38 points, but he has achieved that in just 31 games, giving him the best points per game average on the squad. McPherson also leads Elmira with a +20 rating.

Winner Leads Until Next Year

Sunday afternoon marks the sixth and final head-to-head meeting between the Nailers and Jackals this season, as well as the third battle at WesBanco Arena. Contrary to what had typically been the case in the previous eight season series, road teams have had the decided edge in 2015-16, winning four of the five games. Wheeling and Elmira have both won once in regulation and once after regulation in the opposition's building, while the Jackals have the lone win on home ice, which came in a shootout. This will be the fifth time that the two rivals collide in a 31-day span, with both sides having one twice during that stretch. The Nailers will be unable to collect their third consecutive win in a season series against Elmira, but can even the tally at three all. Bragging rights for the summer will be on the line on Sunday, as both clubs have won 45 times in the historical series.

Wheeling Nailers (26-22-2-3, 57 Pts.) vs. Elmira Jackals (27-25-3-1, 58 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(26-22-2-3, 57 PTS, 2nd North, 9th East)

161 GF, 166 GA

PP: 17.2% (35-for-203), 13th

PK: 83.4% (171-for-205), 15th

23-F-Riley Brace (19 goals, 25 assists, 44 points in 37 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (7 goals, 33 assists, 40 points in 51 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (14 goals, 16 assists, 30 points in 40 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (6 goals, 14 assists, 20 points in 53 games)

26-F-Adam Krause (12 goals, 7 assists, 19 points in 32 games)

22-F-Jordan Kwas (5 goals, 14 assists, 19 points in 41 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (16-13-2 record, 2.91 GAA, .903 Sv% in 31 games)

ELMIRA JACKALS

(27-25-3-1, 58 PTS, 4th East, 8th East)

156 GF, 173 GA

PP: 15.4% (32-for-208), 22nd

PK: 80.1% (161-for-201), 25th

10-F-Cason Hohmann (16 goals, 28 assists, 44 points in 44 games)

9-F-Allan McPherson (17 goals, 21 assists, 38 points in 31 games)

11-F-Chris Langkow (8 goals, 25 assists, 33 points in 53 games)

17-F-Mike Seidel (13 goals, 16 assists, 29 points in 53 games)

23-D-Jacob MacDonald (13 goals, 15 assists, 28 points in 56 games)

18-F-Colin Jacobs (11 goals, 14 assists, 25 points in 49 games)

29-G-Alain Valiquette (1-0-0 record, 3.13 GAA, .912 Sv% in 2 games)

Head to Head

Season Series: Jackals 3, Nailers 2

Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Jackals 2, Nailers 0

All-Time Series: Nailers 45, Jackals 45

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 26, Jackals 17

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ECHL Stories from February 28, 2016


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