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ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Swamp Rabbits Game Day Snap Shot

February 26, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


The Road Treated Us Well

The Wheeling Nailers will be back in familiar territory on Friday night, as they return to WesBanco Arena for their first home game in 20 days, following an extremely successful road trip, which saw them post a 5-1-0 record in six games against four teams. The final game of the journey was certainly the most dramatic one, although it didn't start out that way, as the Brampton Beast took a 3-0 lead before the contest was 12 minutes old. The Nailers took their comeback step-by-step, first pulling within a goal in the second period, courtesy of tallies by Adam Krause and Connor Leen. Wheeling then went ahead in the third period, when Ty Loney and Paul Cianfrini lit the lamp. Brampton managed to pull even in the final second of regulation, but at the 2:08 mark of overtime, the visitors had the final say, as Krause completed a 3-on-1 break with Riley Brace and Clark Seymour. Franky Palazzese made 19 saves for the win, giving him a perfect 4-0-0 mark on the trip.

That Week Was a Stinger

The Greenville Swamp Rabbits will be excited to face some different competition this weekend, after playing four games in six days last week - all against the South Carolina Stingrays. The week started in positive fashion for the Swamp Rabbits, who won the opening tilt, 4-2 at North Charleston Coliseum. However, things went the opposite direction from there, as South Carolina rebounded to win the final three games, including two on Greenville's home ice at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. A four-goal first period helped the Stingrays to their first win of the week on Friday, then on Saturday, Brett Cameron snapped a 3-3 deadlock at 58 seconds of overtime for South Carolina. On Sunday, the Swamp Rabbits took another one on the chin in heartbreaking fashion, as Stephane Vigier's power play goal with 1:27 left in regulation broke a 1-1 tie. Darian Dziurzynski led the way with five points in the Palmetto State Battle.

Time to Roll at Home

Thanks to their 5-1-0 record on the recent road trip, the Nailers have put themselves in great position away from home, as they are four games over .500 with contests remaining away from WesBanco Arena. Saturday's victory was Wheeling's 14th of the year on enemy ice, which is one fewer than last season's 36-game total. While the tides have certainly turned in a positive direction on the road, the Nailers would like to get that ball rolling in the Ohio Valley, where they have gone 11-11-3 in 25 tilts. Wheeling has split each of its last two weekend sets at home, when it faced Kalamazoo in late January and Reading in early February. Those performances came on the heels of a 1-5-1 homestand, which followed an 8-6-2 run to start the campaign. Both opponents this weekend have played better on the road as well, as Greenville is two games over .500 on the road and one game over .500 at home, while Elmira has an even more drastic split of five games over .500 on the road and three games under .500 at home. 11 of 28 teams in the ECHL have higher win totals in opposition territory.

As Tight as Can Be

Two enormous points will be on the line on Friday night, when Wheeling and Greenville take the ice, as the two Eastern Conference clubs enter the weekend tied with 55 points each. The Nailers have played in one fewer game than the Swamp Rabbits, and have also collected 25 regulation/overtime wins, compared to Greenville's 20, which is the first tiebreaker used to determine postseason positioning. With less than 25 games remaining for all clubs, the race for the Eastern Conference Playoffs has certainly heated up, as five teams are separated by five points, with the top two squads earning spots. The eighth and final position is currently occupied by the Elmira Jackals, who have 56 points, but have also played in three more games than Wheeling. The Nailers and Jackals will collide on Saturday and Sunday. Wheeling will travel to Reading next weekend, where the Royals are in seventh place with 58 points, while the season series has been completed with the 11th place Orlando Solar Bears, who have 53 points.

One Game to Decide It

Friday night marks the first and only meeting between the Nailers and Swamp Rabbits this season, which of course take place at WesBanco Arena. Greenville is becoming foreign territory for Wheeling, who hasn't visited Bon Secours Wellness Arena since the second round of the 2014 Kelly Cup Playoffs. The two squads clashed on five occasions last season, with the Nailers taking the first game, 4-2, before four consecutive wins went the other way to the then Road Warriors. Greenville changed its name this summer from the Road Warriors to the Swamp Rabbits, which is now the third team name used by an ECHL team based out of that city (Grrrowl was the first). Although the Road Warriors were only in the league for five seasons before the name change, two of those campaigns featured playoff series against Wheeling - one of each was won by each team. Paul Cianfrini is the lone current Nailer who played in the 2014 playoff series, while Michael St. Croix and Josh Nicholls are the two remaining players on Greenville's roster. Bretton Cameron was on the team, but did not play. Greenville has bookended the all-time series with winning streaks of six and four, sandwiched around a run of nine wins in 12 games by Wheeling.

Wheeling Nailers (25-21-2-3, 55 Pts.) vs. Greenville Swamp Rabbits (24-21-7-0, 55 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(25-21-2-3, 55 PTS, 2nd North, T-9th East)

152 GF, 158 GA

PP: 16.7% (33-for-198), 17th

PK: 83.6% (168-for-201), 16th

23-F-Riley Brace (17 goals, 23 assists, 40 points in 35 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (6 goals, 30 assists, 36 points in 49 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (14 goals, 13 assists, 27 points in 38 games)

4-D-Paul Cianfrini (3 goals, 16 assists, 19 points in 50 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (5 goals, 13 assists, 18 points in 51 games)

26-F-Adam Krause (10 goals, 7 assists, 17 points in 30 games)

31-G-Brian Foster (6-7-1 record, 3.12 GAA, .899 Sv% in 14 games)

GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS

(24-21-7-0, 55 PTS, 4th South, T-9th East)

151 GF, 169 GA

PP: 14.1% (27-for-191), 23rd

PK: 79.3% (153-for-193), 27th

9-F-Scott Fleming (14 goals, 24 assists, 38 points in 51 games)

17-F-Jordan Knackstedt (12 goals, 19 assists, 31 points in 42 games)

11-F-Bretton Cameron (12 goals, 17 assists, 29 points in 48 games)

18-F-Michael St. Croix (8 goals, 21 assists, 29 points in 50 games)

20-F-Darian Dziurzynski (14 goals, 13 assists, 27 points in 41 games)

4-D-Rob Kwiet (5 goals, 16 assists, 21 points in 44 games)

30-G-Mackenzie Skapski (4-8-2 record, 3.29 GAA, .900 Sv% in 15 games)

Head to Head

2014-15 Season Series: Greenville 4, Nailers 1

2014-15 Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Greenville 4, Nailers 1

All-Time Series: Greenville 13, Nailers 9

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Greenville 6, Nailers 4

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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