ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers vs. Wings Game Day Snap Shot

January 23, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Cerretani Starts the Celebration

The Wheeling Nailers brought their six-game losing streak to an end on Friday night in dramatic fashion, picking up their first overtime win of the season - 2-1 over the Kalamazoo Wings at WesBanco Arena. After a scoreless first period, Kalamazoo got on the board first with four minutes left in the middle frame, thanks to a big rebound off of the end boards. However, at the 4:14 mark of the third period, the Nailers pulled even, as a pair of former University of Maine Black Bears connected, with Andrew Cerretani set up Connor Leen. The game stayed tied into overtime, and that's when Cerretani rose to the occasion again, flipping in the rebound of Cody Wydo's initial shot. Casey DeSmith earned his first victory in a Wheeling uniform, stopping 27 of the 28 shots he faced between the pipes.

Friday Night is Extra Hockey Night

The Kalamazoo Wings played in a game that went past regulation for the fourth time in the last three weeks on Friday night, as they now have a 2-4 record in contests decided during the five-minute extra session. Interestingly enough, three of those instances have taken place on consecutive Friday nights, as the Wings defeated Brampton 4-3 on January 8th, fell to Quad City 3-2 on January 15th, and lost 2-1 in Wheeling on January 22nd. Kalamazoo opened the scoring in all three games that required bonus hockey, including Friday at WesBanco Arena, as Dane Fox potted the rebound of Anton Cederholm's shot that went wide of the cage. That was the only time the Wings were able to light the lamp, as they were unable to give much offensive support for Joel Martin, who made 36 of 38 saves in the overtime loss. Martin has registered at least 34 stops in four of his five defeats after regulation.

Fifth Time is the Charm

Prior to Friday night, the Nailers were the only team in the ECHL that had yet to pick up a victory in a game decided after sixty minutes. At the 2:17 mark of overtime, Andrew Cerretani changed that stat, bringing Wheeling's record in the five-minute period to 1-2, going along with an 0-2 mark in shootouts. Even though Friday was the lone positive result, the Nailers have been the resilient ones that have forced overtime, as they have scored the tying goal in all five games that have required extra hockey. Four of those tallies have come during the third period, including Connor Leen's to deadlock Kalamazoo. The win was Wheeling's second of the year when trailing after two periods, and the first since the Education Day Comeback against Cincinnati on November 10th. It was also the fifth time that the Nailers won in comeback fashion - the first triumph of that variety since December 12th against Toledo.

DeSmith Earns Another Start

The first two months of the season proved to be challenging for Casey DeSmith, as it took until December 5th for the rookie netminder to make his professional debut, coming off of the bench for a relief appearance. DeSmith then got the start the following afternoon, picking up a point for his team, but suffering a 3-2 shootout loss to the Elmira Jackals. In late December, Casey signed a PTO with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and went on to appear in a couple of AHL games, including his first career win - a 22-save effort against the Hartford Wolf Pack on January 3rd. While he was bested in his first start back with Wheeling, DeSmith got a better result on Friday, turning away 27 of 28 shots for his first ECHL triumph. DeSmith is expected to make his second straight start on Saturday, and could once again stare down Joel Martin, who was equally impressive on Friday with 36 saves. Martin has played 35 of 39 games in goal for Kalamazoo.

They Usually Go Longer

Saturday night marks the fourth of eight head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Wings this season, as well as the fourth of five battles at WesBanco Arena. Friday night's win was the first of the year for Wheeling, and it came in the second of three games that have been decided by one goal. While the historical series has been very close (10-9 KAL), featuring eight games that have gone past regulation, that was only the second time that a winner was decided during the five-minute overtime session. The lone previous scenario was also a home win for the Nailers, as Jordan Fox broke a 3-3 tie with one second left on March 26, 2010. One recurring note in the North Division rivalry has been Joel Martin in goal for Kalamazoo, as Friday night was his eighth straight start against Wheeling. The last time the Nailers faced a different Wings goalie was February 1, 2014, when Jordan Binnington was in the crease. Friday was the first time in those eight games that Martin did not go up against Franky Palazzese. The two clubs won't see each other again until March, when they will hit the ice four more times.

Wheeling Nailers (16-18-2-2, 36 Pts.) vs. Kalamazoo Wings (15-19-4-1, 35 Pts.)

WHEELING NAILERS

(16-18-2-2, 36 PTS, 2nd North, 12th East)

112 GF, 122 GA

PP: 16.8% (26-for-155), 14th

PK: 82.9% (126-for-152), 18th

20-F-Jarrett Burton (14 goals, 19 assists, 33 points in 38 games)

18-D-Mathew Maione (5 goals, 22 assists, 27 points in 36 games)

25-F-John McCarron (8 goals, 12 assists, 20 points in 33 games)

17-F-Anton Zlobin (7 goals, 11 assists, 18 points in 22 games)

11-F-Cody Wydo (8 goals, 6 assists, 14 points in 25 games)

27-D-Brett Stern (5 goals, 9 assists, 14 points in 38 games)

30-G-Casey DeSmith (1-1-1 record, 2.28 GAA, .921 Sv% in 4 games)

KALAMAZOO WINGS

(15-19-4-1, 35 PTS, 3rd North, 13th East)

107 GF, 132 GA

PP: 14.5% (23-for-159), 23rd

PK: 84.4% (124-for-147), 12th

74-F-Dane Fox (16 goals, 16 assists, 32 points in 37 games)

23-F-Ludwig Blomstrand (10 goals, 17 assists, 27 points in 38 games)

19-F-Alex Mallet (12 goals, 13 assists, 25 points in 39 games)

21-F-Lane Scheidl (6 goals, 14 assists, 20 points in 39 games)

7-D-Cory Pritz (2 goals, 18 assists, 20 points in 31 games)

93-F-Justin Taylor (10 goals, 6 assists, 16 points in 39 games)

49-G-Joel Martin (15-14-5 record, 2.92 GAA, .919 Sv% in 35 games)

Head to Head

Season Series: Wings 2, Nailers 1

Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Wings 2, Nailers 1

All-Time Series: Wings 18, Nailers 17

All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Wings 10, Nailers 9

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 23, 2016


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