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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Stingrays Game Day Snap Shot

May 20, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Double Digits in the Win Column

The Wheeling Nailers collected their tenth victory of the 2016 Kelly Cup Playoffs on Wednesday night, as they took a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final Series with a 2-1 triumph over the South Carolina Stingrays. After falling behind 1-0 in the middle frame, Wheeling rallied in the third period for the second consecutive contest. At the 6:36 mark of the stanza, Jarrett Burton drew the home team even, when his backhand attempt trickled over the right side of the goal line. Then, with 6:26 remaining, Derek Army rose to the occasion, drilling the eventual winning goal off of netminder Vitek Vanecek and the crossbar, putting the Nailers on top. Franky Palazzese made 18 saves to preserve his second straight win between the pipes. The ten playoff wins are a new team record for Wheeling, who had nine each in 1993 and 2011.

Another One Turns Around

The South Carolina Stingrays have now seen as many third period leads slip away in the current series as they did during the entire 2015-16 regular season and the first two rounds of the playoffs. Wednesday's result wasn't as dramatic of a comeback on Wheeling's part as game two was last weekend, but it still required a pair of tallies during the final 20 minutes. For the third consecutive tilt, Austin Fyten was the first player to leave his mark on the scoreboard, as he put the Stingrays ahead at the 13:10 mark of the second period, roofing a centering pass from Caleb Herbert. David Pacan also picked up a helper, giving him 11 in 15 games. Vitek Vanecek was perfect on 19 shots during the first two periods in goal, but was then beaten twice on 12 attempts in the third period, as he suffered the loss.

Check Game Three Off of the List

During the current series, the Nailers bucked their trend of losing games two and three, as they rallied back in both contests, grabbing a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference Final. Wheeling has now won all seven game numbers at least once each during the 2016 postseason. Games one, four, and six saw the best results against Florida and Reading, as the Nailers took both of those contests, before dropping the opener against South Carolina. Wheeling came out victorious in game five against the Everblades, then won its second ever game seven against the Royals. This is the first time that Wheeling has a victory in all seven game numbers, as in 2011, it won game seven, but failed to capture triumphs in games five and six. Game three has been the lone stick in the mud for the Stingrays, as they are now 0-3 in that tilt after Wednesday night. South Carolina had won each of the other six game numbers during its first two series against Kalamazoo (1, 2, 4, 5) and Adirondack (2, 4, 6, 7).

Fyten Likes to be First

All three games in the Eastern Conference Final have began in similar fashion, with Austin Fyten opening the scoring for South Carolina. Each first goal has come later than the previous tilt, as Fyten needed just 4:54 to light the lamp in game one, before squeezing a tally into the final minute of the first stanza of game two. On Wednesday night, it took 33:10 for one of the goaltenders to be solved, when the Sundre, Alberta native put the visitors ahead. Fyten has netted four opening goals during the playoffs, and the Stingrays are 2-2 when he does so. Jarrett Burton is the only other player who has found the back of the net multiple times in the series, as he scored Wheeling's last goal in game two and first marker in game three. Ten players have at least two points against each other, with Mathew Maione, Fyten, and David Pacan leading the way with four each.

The Middle Game of the Middle Portion

Friday night is game four of the Eastern Conference Final Series between the Nailers and Stingrays, as well as the second of three battles at WesBanco Arena. Wheeling recorded its third straight home triumph on Wednesday night in game three, improving to 6-2 in West Virginia during the playoffs, while South Carolina fell to 3-4 away from North Charleston Coliseum. The win was also the fourth in a row for the Nailers during the playoffs against the Stingrays, who won their first ever postseason clash in Downtown Wheeling in 2011, before the home team turned the success in its favor. Wheeling is in search of its tenth playoff win against South Carolina all-time, which would be the most against a single opponent. In order for the Eastern Conference Championship Trophy to be awarded in front of the ECHL's longest standing fanbase, the Nailers would have to win both games four and five, or else the series would shift back to the Lowcountry in North Charleston.

Wheeling Nailers (10-6) vs. South Carolina Stingrays (9-6)

WHEELING NAILERS

(10-6)

49 GF, 47 GA

PP: 18.6% (13-for-70), 4th

PK: 88.3% (68-for-77), 2nd

18-D-Mathew Maione (5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points in 16 games)

23-F-Riley Brace (4 goals, 12 assists, 16 points in 16 games)

25-F-John McCarron (6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points in 15 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points in 16 games)

19-F-Shane Bakker (4 goals, 7 assists, 11 points in 16 games)

24-F-Ty Loney (4 goals, 4 assists, 8 points in 16 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (4-2 record, 2.25 GAA, .913 Sv% in 7 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)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (20-15-3 record, 2.86 GAA, .906 Sv% in 39 games)

SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS

(9-6)

48 GF, 31 GA

PP: 16.9% (10-for-59), T-8th

PK: 89.2% (66-for-74), 1st

8-F-Joe Devin (10 goals, 5 assists, 15 points in 15 games)

21-F-Austin Fyten (7 goals, 8 assists, 15 points in 15 games)

23-F-Caleb Herbert (8 goals, 6 assists, 14 points in 15 games)

19-F-Kelly Zajac (2 goals, 12 assists, 14 points in 15 games)

61-F-David Pacan (1 goal, 11 assists, 12 points in 15 games)

13-F-Derek DeBlois (3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points in 10 games)

30-G-Vitek Vanacek (4-2 record, 1.97 GAA, .927 Sv% in 7 games)

(44-18-7-3, 98 PTS, 1st South, 2nd East)

224 GF, 162 GA

PP: 19.6% (51-for-260), 4th

PK: 87.5% (251-for-287), 1st

61-F-David Pacan (20 goals, 42 assists, 62 points in 69 games)

28-F-Stephan Vigier (24 goals, 26 assists, 50 points in 70 games)

10-F-Brett Cameron (20 goals, 28 assists, 48 points in 61 games)

8-F-Joe Devin (18 goals, 23 assists, 41 points in 55 games)

17-D-Bobby Shea (5 goals, 24 assists, 29 points in 64 games)

20-F-Jared Staal (12 goals, 12 assists, 24 points in 64 games)

30-G-Vitek Vanacek (18-7-6 record, 2.03 GAA, .917 Sv% in 32 games)

Head to Head

Playoff Series: Nailers 2, Stingrays 1

Playoff Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 1, Stingrays 0

Season Series: Nailers 1, Stingrays 1

Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 1, Stingrays 1

All-Time Series (Regular Season + Playoff): Nailers 20, Stingrays 14

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena (Regular Season + Playoff): Nailers 10, Stingrays 5

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from May 20, 2016


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