ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Royals Game Day Snap Shot

Published on December 31, 2013 under ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


WHEELING NAILERS

(14-9-0-5, 33 PTS, 1st Atlantic, T-5th East)

77 GF, 78 GA

PP: 11.8% (12-for-102), 18th

PK: 87.5% (112-for-128), 5th

21-F-Sahir Gill (7 goals, 12 assists, 19 points in 23 games)

2-D-Mike Ratchuk (7 goals, 11 assists, 18 points in 28 games)

98-F-Chaz Johnson (4 goals, 9 assists, 13 points in 28 games)

7-F-Max MacKay (4 goals, 7 assists, 11 points in 18 games)

19-F-Scott Zurevinski (5 goals, 3 assists, 8 points in 21 games)

30-G-Brooks Ostergard (0-1-1 record, 4.37 GAA, .852 Sv% in 2 games)

READING ROYALS

(14-10-1-0, 29 PTS, 2nd Atlantic, 9th East)

70 GF, 65 GA

PP: 14.7% (15-for-102), 11th

PK: 86.4% (76-for-88), 9th

9-F-Louie Caporusso (7 goals, 21 assists, 28 points in 24 games)

14-F-TJ Syner (7 goals, 11 assists, 18 points in 20 games)

18-F-Domenic Monardo (9 goals, 5 assists, 14 points in 24 games)

10-F-Yannick Tifu (6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points in 25 games)

4-D-Marvin Degon (1 goal, 9 assists, 10 points in 21 games)

1-G-Josh Watson (first professional game)

Head-to-Head

Season Series: Royals 4, Nailers 1

Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Stingrays 1, Nailers 0

All-Time Series: Royals 70, Nailers 51

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Royals 33, Nailers 27

Back to More Familiar Territory

After a brief two-game set on the road against South Division foes, the Wheeling Nailers return to WesBanco Arena, where they will battle their Atlantic Division counterparts, the Reading Royals. While on the road, Wheeling fell 4-1 to the Gwinnett Gladiators and 3-0 to the South Carolina Stingrays, dropping to 1-2-2 against the South Division. On Friday night, the Nailers will look to improve on their 6-4-1 mark against the Atlantic Division, while also looking for their second straight victory against the Royals. In addition, Wheeling is 8-4-3 on home ice.

Royal Ups and Downs

In the early part of the season, the Reading Royals have experienced a pair of successful stretches of play, while also having to battle through a bit of a slump. From November 1st-27th, the Royals posted an 8-2 record, which included a 6-0 mark within the Atlantic Division. Shortly after that, Reading experienced a skid, going 0-4-1 from November 29th-December 15th, with four of those games taking place at Santander Arena. Lately, the Royals have responded, and are headed back in a positive direction, as they have won four of their last five tilts.

Our "O" Will Try to Shut Down Their "O"

Former Robert Morris University Colonial Brooks Ostergard will make his first start between the pipes as a member of the Nailers, after being acquired from Cincinnati over the weekend. In parts of three seasons, Ostergard has appeared in at least one game with six different ECHL teams, with the majority of his success coming last year with the Trenton Titans. The Cleveland, OH native went 5-1-0 with the Titans, with three of his wins coming against teams that reached the playoffs. On the other end of the ice, the Royals are expected to turn to rookie Josh Watson for his first professional start, after attending RIT for the last three years.

Plenty of Power Plays

On Saturday night, the Royals defeated the Kalamazoo Wings, 5-2, opening and closing their scoring on the man advantage. Over the course of the contest, Reading received 12 power plays, as Kalamazoo was whistled for 70 penalty minutes. Power plays have had a significant impact on the Nailers in recent games, as Wheeling has surrendered at least one power play goal in six of its last seven games, with three of the seven opposition tallies on the road trip coming on the man advantage. The Nailers are 7-2-2 when scoring on the power play and 10-3-2 when they blank the opposition.

On the Board in the Season Series

Reading came away victorious in each of the first four games during the 2013-14 season series, picking up 6-2, 2-0, 2-1, and 3-2 wins, with the Nailers getting progressively closer in each of the four clashes. After falling in a shootout during the last of the four setbacks, Wheeling finally got the upper hand in the fifth head-to-head meeting, which took place at WesBanco Arena on December 6th. The Nailers took three separate one-goal leads, only to see the Royals battle back each time, ultimately forcing overtime. During the extra session, Wheeling got the final say, as Mike Ratchuk netted the winning goal at the 1:59 mark. The overtime win was the Nailers' first in 60 home games against Reading all-time.

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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