Nailers vs. Walleye Game Day Snap Shot
December 12, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
Another Game, Another Point
The Wheeling Nailers picked up at least one point for the third consecutive game, and fourth time in the last five tilts on Friday night, when 60 minutes weren't enough to settle their clash with the Toledo Walleye at Huntington Center. After falling behind 1-0 in the middle frame, the Nailers battled back to draw even on Riley Brace's power play goal at the 7:07 mark of the third period. Brace's tally marked the third time this season that Wheeling scored a tying goal to force extra hockey, and the second time it was accomplished in the third period. Unfortunately for the Nailers, the shootout didn't go their way, as all three shooters came up empty, meaning the Walleye needed only one goal for the win. Franky Palazzese was brilliant in goal, turning away 36 of 37 shots, bringing his record to 5-2-1 in his last eight starts.
Jenks is the Shootout Weapon
The Toledo Walleye went to their sixth shootout in 22 games this season on Friday night, and are beginning to figure out who their most lethal weapons are. After a failed attempt by the Nailers, AJ Jenks stepped up, and connected for his fourth successful shot in five tries, which includes two deciding goals. Shane Berschbach took the second shot for the Walleye, but came up empty for the fourth time in five chances, but Jeff Lerg took care of the rest of the work, stopping all three Wheeling attempts after a 33-for-34 performance during the game, including two breakaway saves in overtime. Austin Wuthrich netted his sixth goal of the season during regulation for Toledo at the 5:41 mark of the middle frame, leading to the teddy bear toss. Toledo has accumulated points in 11 of 12 games.
One-Third of the Way There
24 of 72 regular season games have been played by the Nailers, who reached the one-third mark of the campaign on Friday night, with a 12-9-3 record, good for 27 points, second place in the North Division, and the seventh spot in the Eastern Conference. 27 points means that Wheeling is on pace for an 81-point year, which would be five points better than 2014-15. At the moment, this season's club is three points ahead of last's, which was 12-12-0 after 24 tilts. The Nailers have hovered around the .500 mark on the road, going 5-5-1, while racking up seven wins and 16 points in 13 contests at WesBanco Arena. Wheeling will need to win 13 of its final 23 home games in order to collect its sixth straight season with at least 20 victories on home ice. The second third of the season will also feature 13 of 24 games in the Ohio Valley, meaning there will be only be ten of 24 games at home in the final third of 2015-16.
Winner Takes Top Spot
Wheeling and Toledo were separated by 31 points last season, leading to their North Division Semi-Final Playoff Series, which needed seven games and an overtime session to decide. Thus far this season, the two rivals are locked in a tight battle, as the Walleye lead the Nailers by one mere point, while holding two games in hand. One potentially scary note to consider is that Toledo has achieved that success while hardly playing any games at home, where it captured 26 of its league-leading 50 victories a year ago. Friday night was only the sixth home tilt of the year for the Walleye, who have manufactured a 9-4-3 record away from Huntington Center. Wheeling currently owns a seven-point lead over Kalamazoo and a ten-point advantage over Brampton, after the Wings blanked the Beast 4-0 on Friday, in the first of back-to-back games between those two squads.
We Want a Re-Match
Saturday night marks the second of seven head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Walleye this season, as well as the first of three battles at WesBanco Arena. After April's classic playoff series, it didn't take the two division rivals long to spark the dislike between each other, as 56 total penalty minutes were assessed, including four sets of matching minors. Toledo got a slight upper hand in the series opener on Friday night, thanks to AJ Jenks' goal in the first round of the shootout. The Walleye have now won four of five shootouts all-time against Wheeling, including both in Northwest Ohio. Wheeling will try to build on its 18-11 historical edge at home on Saturday, after Toledo won three of four regular season clashes in 2014-15, as well as two of three playoff games.
Wheeling Nailers (12-9-1-2, 27 Pts.) vs. Toledo Walleye (12-6-1-3, 28 Pts.)
WHEELING NAILERS
(12-9-1-2, 27 PTS, 2nd North, 7th East)
69 GF, 71 GA
PP: 15.5% (16-for-103), 21st
PK: 80.4% (74-for-92), 18th
23-F-Riley Brace (9 goals, 13 assists, 22 points in 24 games)
20-F-Jarrett Burton (9 goals, 11 assists, 20 points in 24 games)
21-F-Sahir Gill (3 goals, 14 assists, 17 points in 23 games)
15-F-Zack Torquato (10 goals, 4 assists, 14 points in 18 games)
16-F-Derek Army (5 goals, 9 assists, 14 points in 17 games)
18-D-Mathew Maione (4 goals, 10 assists, 14 points in 22 games)
31-G-Brian Foster (5-5-1 record, 2.92 GAA, .911 Sv% in 11 games)
TOLEDO WALLEYE
(12-6-1-3, 28 PTS, 1st North, 3rd East)
64 GF, 56 GA
PP: 18.8% (15-for-80), 14th
PK: 82.2% (60-for-73), 16th
23-F-Alden Hirschfeld (10 goals, 10 assists, 20 points in 21 games)
26-F-Marek Tvrdon (8 goals, 11 assists, 19 points in 20 games)
10-F-Shane Berschbach (5 goals, 12 assists, 17 points in 21 games)
27-F-AJ Jenks (7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points in 22 games)
16-F-Tyler Sikura (6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points in 22 games)
72-D-Joel Chouinard (3 goals, 9 assists, 12 points in 16 games)
1-G-Jeff Lerg (7-2-2 record, 1.94 GAA, .929 Sv% in 11 games)
Head to Head
Season Series: Walleye 1, Nailers 0
2014-15 Regular Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Walleye 3, Nailers 1
All-Time Series: Walleye 26, Nailers 25
All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 18, Walleye 11
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