ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Stingrays Game Day Snap Shot

Published on May 21, 2016 under ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Turn the Page After That One

The Wheeling Nailers had a sour feeling after game four, as they were less than ten minutes away from taking a 3-1 stranglehold on the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Final Series against the South Carolina Stingrays. After a scoreless first period, South Carolina opened the scoring in the early stages of the middle frame, but the Nailers came back with a quick answer. Ty Loney set up Clark Seymour, who drove to the net, where he dished a pass to Riley Brace for his fifth goal of the playoffs. At the 48-second mark of the third period, Wheeling took its first lead of the evening. Loney and Brace were involved once again, as they battled through the defense, with Loney ultimately sliding in a wrist shot from the right side of the slot. Unfortunately, the 2-1 score didn't hold up, as the Stingrays rallied with three straight tallies, handing the Nailers a 4-2 setback. Franky Palazzese was the busier of the two goaltenders, making 21 saves.

The Comeback Went the Other Way

The South Carolina Stingrays suffered back-to-back losses after leading in games two and three, but on Friday night, they turned the trick on Wheeling, erasing a 2-1 deficit for a 4-2 triumph. For the fourth game in a row, the Stingrays opened the scoring, as Caleb Herbert raced down the right side of the ice, picking the top-left corner from the right circle. After allowing two straight goals to the Nailers to fall behind, South Carolina stormed back in the third period, first getting the tying goal from Marcus Perrier, who stole a clearing attempt at his offensive blueline at the 11:57 mark. 3:12 later, the Stingrays took the lead on a power play marker, when Kelly Zajac gave Brett Cameron a perfect pass on the right side of the net. David Pacan added insurance with a shorthanded empty net goal in the last two minutes for the 4-2 final score. In terms of numbers, Vitek Vanecek had a light night with 17 saves, but one save in particular was enormous, as he denied a third period breakaway with his squad trailing by a goal.

Tough Sledding at the Start

First periods in the Eastern Conference Final have been anything but fast-paced, exciting, and offensive. In fact, the two games played in Wheeling have both seen defensive struggles in which quality chances have been extremely difficult to find. In game three on Wednesday, the two teams played to a scoreless draw, with seven shots being attempted at each goaltender. At the end of twenty minutes on Friday, the score was also deadlocked 0-0, and there were even fewer chances, as shots on goal were tied, 5-5. The Nailers had a great chance to jump on South Carolina early, but were unable to cash in on 4:40 of power play time, which included 1:40 of a 5-on-3. During the series, there have been three goals scored in the first period, six in the second, nine in the third, and one after regulation. The progressive scoring has been a theme in the playoffs for Wheeling, who has combined with its opposition for 23 tallies in the first period, 37 in the middle frame, and 39 in third. The Nailers have gone five straight games without tallying in the first period.

Power Play Goals Have Been Clutch

After two very successful rounds on the man advantage, the Nailers and Stingrays have run into the top two penalty killing units in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, and the result has been frustrating for the two power play units. Wheeling has lit the lamp once on 14 chances in the series, with the goal coming courtesy of Jarrett Burton in double overtime of game two at North Charleston Coliseum. South Carolina's numbers are nearly identical, as they went 14 straight power plays without finding the net, prior to Brett Cameron's tally on Saturday night, which broke a 2-2 tie with 4:51 left in the third period. Both clubs were forced to kill off a 5-on-3 on Friday, and both completed the task, with the Stingrays denying 1:40 of that scenario, and the Nailers keeping the opposition at bay for 1:08. Games two and four each saw nine combined power plays to lead the series, which matches the lowest total from round one against Florida.

Lots on the Line

Saturday night is game five of the Eastern Conference Final Series between the Nailers and Stingrays, as well as the third and final battle at WesBanco Arena. This is obviously a key game, as the winner will take the series lead with them for the 641-mile overnight journey to North Charleston Coliseum. This is the third straight series for Wheeling that has gone 2-2, and the home team has taken each of the previous two, with the Nailers having to win both games six and seven to defeat the Royals in round two. South Carolina also lost game five on the road in the second round to Adirondack, before battling back to win twice on home ice, advancing to the current set. Regardless of the result, this will be the Stingrays' last trip to the Ohio Valley for a while, as they are not on Wheeling's regular season schedule at all in 2016-17. The Nailers will set two more team records on Saturday night, playing in their 18th playoff game of 2016, and 90th contest of the year overall.

Wheeling Nailers (10-7) vs. South Carolina Stingrays (10-6)

WHEELING NAILERS

(10-7)

51 GF, 51 GA

PP: 17.6% (13-for-74), 5th

PK: 87.8% (72-for-82), 2nd

23-F-Riley Brace (5 goals, 13 assists, 18 points in 17 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (5 goals, 13 assists, 18 points in 17 games)

25-F-John McCarron (6 goals, 8 assists, 14 points in 16 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (6 goals, 5 assists, 11 points in 17 games)

19-F-Shane Bakker (4 goals, 7 assists, 11 points in 17 games)

24-F-Ty Loney (5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points in 17 games)

31-G-Brian Foster (6-4 record, 2.76 GAA, .911 Sv% in 10 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)

SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS

(10-6)

52 GF, 33 GA

PP: 17.2% (11-for-64), 8th

PK: 89.7% (70-for-78), 1st

21-F-Austin Fyten (7 goals, 9 assists, 16 points in 16 games)

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

23-F-Caleb Herbert (9 goals, 6 assists, 15 points in 16 games)

19-F-Kelly Zajac (2 goals, 13 assists, 15 points in 16 games)

61-F-David Pacan (2 goals, 11 assists, 13 points in 16 games)

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

30-G-Vitek Vanacek (5-2 record, 1.98 GAA, .924 Sv% in 8 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 2

Playoff Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 1, Stingrays 1

Season Series: Nailers 1, Stingrays 1

Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 1, Stingrays 1

All-Time Series (Regular Season + Playoff): Nailers 20, Stingrays 15

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena (Regular Season + Playoff): Nailers 10, Stingrays 6

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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ECHL Stories from May 21, 2016


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