Sports stats

ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Walleye Game Day Snap Shot

April 22, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Nailers vs. Walleye Game Day Snap Shot

Best-of-Seven North Division Semi-Final Series Tied, 1-1

WHEELING NAILERS

(1-1)

4 GF, 4 GA

PP: 10.0% (1-for-10), T-11th

PK: 80.0% (8-for-10), T-13th

12-F-David Gilbert (2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points in 2 games)

21-F-Sahir Gill (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points in 2 games)

9-D-David Makowski (2 assists, 2 points in 2 games)

11-F-Adam Krause (1 goal, 1 point in 2 games)

16-F-Derek Army (1 assist, 1 point in 2 games)

18-D-Mike Slowikowski (1 assist, 1 point in 2 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (1-1 record, 1.98 GAA, .929 Sv% in 2 games)

(37-33-1-1, 76 PTS, 4th North)

210 GF, 213 GA

PP: 16.2% (44-for-272), 18th

PK: 83.4% (247-for-296), 12th

23-F-Riley Brace (18 goals, 49 assists, 67 points in 61 games)

16-F-Derek Army (29 goals, 37 assists, 66 points in 72 games)

15-F-Zack Torquato (19 goals, 40 assists, 59 points in 57 games)

12-F-David Gilbert (19 goals, 21 assists, 40 points in 64 games)

98-F-Chaz Johnson (18 goals, 11 assists, 29 points in 64 games)

21-F-Sahir Gill (9 goals, 20 assists, 29 points in 26 games)

9-D-David Makowski (8 goals, 11 assists, 19 points in 44 games)

29-G-Franky Palazzese (20-19-1 record, 2.88 GAA, .911 Sv% in 41 games)

TOLEDO WALLEYE

(1-1)

4 GF, 4 GA

PP: 20.0% (2-for-10), T-3rd

PK: 90.0% (9-for-10), T-5th

9-F-Troy Schwab (2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points in 2 games)

10-F-Shane Berschbach (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points in 2 games)

32-D-Cody Lampl (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points in 2 games)

7-F-Tyler Barnes (1 assist, 1 point in 2 games)

24-D-Shane Sims (1 assist, 1 point in 2 games)

1-G-Jeff Lerg (1-1 record, 2.00 GAA, .932 Sv% in 2 games)

(50-15-5-2, 107 PTS, 1st North)

281 GF, 182 GA

PP: 24.7% (64-for-259), 1st

PK: 87.1% (202-for-232), 2nd

7-F-Tyler Barnes (34 goals, 40 assists, 74 points in 71 games)

10-F-Shane Berschbach (15 goals, 48 assists, 63 points in 65 games)

9-F-Troy Schwab (19 goals, 41 assists, 60 points in 70 games)

28-F-Kyle Bonis (36 goals, 23 assists, 59 points in 65 games)

16-F-Justin Mercier (22 goals, 21 assists, 43 points in 46 games)

24-D-Shane Sims (7 goals, 24 assists, 31 points in 65 games)

32-D-Cody Lampl (8 goals, 22 assists, 30 points in 62 games)

1-G-Jeff Lerg (32-9-3 record, 2.37 GAA, .920 Sv% in 45 games)

Head-to-Head

Playoff Series: Nailers 1, Walleye 1

Playoff Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 0, Walleye 0

Season Series: Walleye 6, Nailers 1

Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Walleye 3, Nailers 1

All-Time Series (Regular Season + Playoff): Nailers 26, Walleye 26

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena (Regular Season + Playoff): Nailers 18, Walleye 11

All Square as the Scene Shifts

The Wheeling Nailers and Toledo Walleye have packed up their equipment and made the move from Northwest Ohio to the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, after the two sides split the first two games of the best-of-seven series at Huntington Center. David Gilbert netted two goals and added an assist in a 3-2 win in game one for Wheeling, which also featured a goal and a helper from Sahir Gill. Adam Krause opened the scoring in game two, with a power play goal for the Nailers, but unfortunately, that lead slipped away in the third period. Troy Schwab's redirection knotted the score with 12:34 left in regulation, before snapping that tie at the 1:35 mark of overtime for a 2-1 final score.

Overtime Spoiler

During the regular season, the Nailers suffered only two losses when games went beyond regulation, posting an overall mark of 5-2. One of those setbacks was a March 17th shootout loss to the Walleye, who gained the upper hand in Saturday night's game with Shane Berschbach's tally at 1:35 of the extra session. Although Toledo was victorious ten times after regulation in 2014-15, only one of those wins came during the overtime session. Sure enough, the winning goal came from Berschbach, who broke a 4-4 tie at Fort Wayne on December 14th. Wheeling now owns an 11-11 record in postseason overtime, while Toledo is 2-3 since rejoining the ECHL in 2009. Both of the Walleye's previous playoff series ended on an overtime goal by the opposition.

Defying the Odds

Two areas that tend to lead to success during hockey games are scoring the first goal, and scoring on the power play. However, through the first two tilts of the current series, both of those statistics have defied the odds, leading to losses. Toledo netted a pair of power play goals on Thursday night, building 1-0 and 2-1 leads, only to see the Nailers rally back twice, before pulling ahead in the third period for a 3-2 victory. On Saturday night, Wheeling struck first with a power play goal, but it was the Walleye who prevailed, scoring once in the third period and once in overtime for a 2-1 win. During the regular season, the two squads combined to win 66 of 84 games when scoring the first goal.

Both Goaltenders Turning in "A"s

Franky Palazzese and Jeff Lerg have both been major parts of the storylines during the first two contests between the Nailers and Walleye, as only eight of 115 shots taken in the series have found their way into the backs of the nets. Palazzese has turned in back-to-back 26 save efforts in the Wheeling cage, giving him a 1.98 goals against average and .929 save percentage, while Lerg stopped 27 shots in the opening game and 28 shots in the second game, putting his goals against average at 2.00, and his save percentage at .932. Both netminders are experiencing their first tastes of professional playoff hockey, as Franky is a rookie, while Jeff's 2010-11 Trenton Devils team missed the postseason.

Home is a Familiar Setting

Wednesday night will mark the 23rd time in team history that Wheeling will play game three of a series, as well as the 15th time that game three will take place at WesBanco Arena. Home ice has been extremely helpful in that scenario, as the Nailers are 11-3 in West Virginia, compared to a 1-7 mark on enemy ice. Last spring, Wheeling won both of its game three's, edging South Carolina 1-0 at home in the opening round, before utilzing overtime for a 3-2 victory at Greenville in round two. Toledo is 0-2 as the Walleye in game three's in its history, with both tilts taking place away from home. Historically, the Nailers have a 29-23 record at home during the playoffs, while the Walleye are 2-3 away from Huntington Center.

The Nailers will play three home games during their opening round playoff series against Toledo. Fans can get a free kids ticket with the purchase of an adult ticket at the Nailers office for game three on April 22nd . McDonald's Friends & Family Tickets will be available for games four and five (if necessary) on April 24th and 25th, giving fans the opportunity to receive four tickets, four hats, and four McDonald's Value Meal coupons for $39.99. April 24th will also be a Frosty Friday .

Wheeling Nailers 2015-16 season tickets, as well as flex tickets, group tickets and single-game tickets for 2014-15 are on sale now. For more information, call 304-234-GOAL or visit wheelingnailers.com.

Listen to all Nailers regular season and post-season games live on the Valley's rock station EAGLE 107.5 FM, on www.iheartradio.com or watch live on www.echl.tv. Catch every road game live on WLUTV on Comcast Cable 14.

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from April 22, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Wheeling Nailers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central