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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Royals Game Day Snap Shot

May 11, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


A Huge Win in More Ways Than One

The Wheeling Nailers forced a decisive seventh game on Wednesday night, thanks to a downright dominant performance in game six on Monday evening. Wheeling and Reading battled to a 2-2 draw after forty minutes, with the Nailers getting their goals from Ty Loney and Brett Stern. The floodgates then opened up in the third period, as Wheeling tied a league record with six tallies in the third period, opening up an 8-2 advantage in what turned out to be an 8-3 final score. John McCarron snapped the original deadlock at the 33-second mark, banging in the rebound of Mathew Maione's shot. Maione had three helpers, giving him 13 points to lead the squad. That was followed by Jarrett Burton's first of the postseason, Clark Seymour's third, Dan O'Donoghue's first and second, and Derek Army's first. Brian Foster was the beneficiary of all of the offensive support, as he nailed down his fifth victory of the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs and second of the current series, making 32 saves.

That Trend Came to a Loud Halt

The Reading Royals had seen the team that scored the opening goal win all 12 of their games in the postseason prior to Monday night. In game six, Reading netted the first marker, when Ian Watters had his shot from the right point deflect off of Scott Tanski and tumble into the net at the 2:38 mark. After a pair of tallies put Wheeling ahead, the Royals battled back to even the score with another strange play. Cam Reid wired a shot off of the post from the right circle with his team on the power play. The rebound came out to Adam Comrie, who fed Maxim Lamarche for a shot before the defense and goaltending could recover. Reading was then forced to endure six consecutive celebrations by the home squad, before Nikita Kashirsky ended the goals parade in the 8-3 slugfest at 18:13 of the third period. Adam Morrison suffered his first setback of the series, allowing seven goals on 46 shots.

Seven Played in Seven

While Wednesday will serve as the first ever game seven in the 24-year history of professional hockey at WesBanco Arena, it will not be the first experience for seven of the players who will be in the lineup. Zack Torquato, who scored Wheeling's lone goal in game seven at Toledo in 2015, would create an eighth, but he will be on the bench assisting Jeff Christian for the seventh straight game. Derek Army, Shane Bakker, Riley Brace, Jarrett Burton, Paul Cianfrini, Clark Seymour, and Cody Wydo are the other seven who suited up in last season's decisive contest. This is the second round in a row that features a game seven for the Royals, as their series with the Walleye went the distance, ending with a 4-1 result at Huntington Center. Martin Ouellette is expected to get the nod in goal for winner take all affair, just as he did in the first series. Out of all of the players who played in that game for Reading, Kevin Sundher is the lone one who has yet to appear in a game in the current series.

Records are Meant to be Broken

One team will still have lots of hockey to play after Wednesday night, and if it's the Nailers, they will add more notes to what has already been a memorable and historical postseason run. Last Thursday, Wheeling played its longest game in team history, when Cody Wydo broke a 1-1 tie at 4:22 of triple overtime. On Monday, the Nailers set a team record for the most goals in a single playoff contest, as they lit the lamp eight times. Six of those markers came in the third period, matching the league's mark for the most in a single playoff period. There have also been three individual milestones shattered. Shane Bakker drove past Peter Merth in career playoff games, and will appear in his 30th on Wednesday. Additionally, Mathew Maione set new standards for career points by a defenseman and points in a single playoff year by a defenseman, as he enters game seven with 13. Wheeling will attempt to rally from a 3-2 series deficit for the first time in its history. All nine prior series had been won by the team leading 3-2, either in game six or seven.

A First Time Event

Wednesday night is game seven of the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series between the Nailers and Royals, as well as the fourth and final battle at WesBanco Arena. This marks the first time ever that a game seven is played in Wheeling, and also the first time in which the Nailers have played four home games in a single series. Wheeling will be playing in its fourth game seven in team history, entering with a 1-2 mark, after defeating Greenville in 2011, and falling to Cincinnati in 2009 and Toledo in 2015. Reading will be playing in its sixth game seven in team history, and the Royals are also below .500, having gone 2-3, including last round's upset win over the Walleye. Although Wheeling and Reading have yet to play a seventh game against each other, they have gone head-to-head in a winner take all game, as the Royals won the deciding game in a best-of-five set in West Virginia during the 2004 playoffs. The Nailers are 1-1 in deciding games at home, as they defeated the Dayton Bombers in game five of the 1998 opening round. Wednesday's winner will be triumphant in the series, while taking a 2-1 lead in all-time postseason sets.

Wheeling Nailers (7-5) vs. Reading Royals (7-6)

WHEELING NAILERS

(7-5)

39 GF, 37 GA

PP: 20.0% (11-for-55), 5th

PK: 86.4% (57-for-66), 3rd

18-D-Mathew Maione (5 goals, 8 assists, 13 points in 12 games)

25-F-John McCarron (5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points in 12 games)

23-F-Riley Brace (3 goals, 9 assists, 12 points in 12 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points in 12 games)

19-F-Shane Bakker (3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points in 12 games)

24-F-Ty Loney (4 goals, 3 assists, 7 points in 12 games)

31-G-Brian Foster (5-3 record, 2.81 GAA, .912 Sv% in 8 games)

(37-26-5-4, 83 PTS, 2nd North, 5th East)

214 GF, 211 GA

PP: 17.8% (48-for-269), 9th

PK: 83.6% (225-for-269), 15th

23-F-Riley Brace (26 goals, 41 assists, 67 points in 56 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (11 goals, 43 assists, 54 points in 70 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (23 goals, 27 assists, 50 points in 59 games)

25-F-John McCarron (14 goals, 17 assists, 31 points in 51 games)

17-F-Jordan Kwas (9 goals, 20 assists, 29 points in 60 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (7 goals, 17 assists, 24 points in 72 games)

31-G-Brian Foster (10-8-3 record, 2.70 GAA, .908 Sv% in 22 games)

READING ROYALS

(7-6)

38 GF, 37 GA

PP: 15.7% (8-for-51), 10th

PK: 78.2% (43-for-55), 14th

17-F-Kevin Goumas (5 goals, 9 assists, 14 points in 13 games)

18-F-Brandon Alderson (8 goals, 4 assists, 12 points in 13 games)

28-F-Cam Reid (5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points in 13 games)

4-D-Maxim Lamarche (3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points in 13 games)

19-F-Justin Crandall (3 goals, 5 assists, 8 points in 13 games)

26-F-Nikita Kashirsky (2 goals, 6 assists, 8 points in 11 games)

1-G-Martin Ouellette (4-3 record, 2.53 GAA, .917 Sv% in 8 games)

(36-26-6-4, 82 PTS, 3rd East, 8th East)

222 GF, 194 GA

PP: 18.6% (51-for-274), 6th

PK: 83.5% (203-for-243), 16th

19-F-Justin Crandall (17 goals, 38 assists, 55 points in 54 games)

28-F-Cam Reid (18 goals, 30 assists, 48 points in 58 games)

10-F-Yannick Tifu (19 goals, 26 assists, 45 points in 66 games)

55-F-Michael Pelech (11 goals, 33 assists, 44 points in 70 games)

14-F-Mike Pereira (19 goals, 24 assists, 43 points in 47 games)

11-D-Adam Comrie (15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points in 39 games)

1-G-Martin Ouellette (17-10-3 record, 2.10 GAA, .922 Sv% in 31 games)

Head to Head

Playoff Series: Nailers 3, Royals 3

Playoff Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 2, Royals 1

Season Series: Nailers 7, Royals 4

Season Series at Santander Arena: Nailers 3, Royals 2

All-Time Series (Regular Season + Playoff): Royals 87, Nailers 73

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena (Regular Season + Playoff): Nailers 41, Royals 38

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from May 11, 2016


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