ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers Week in Review

Published on October 31, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Last Week

Fri. 10/28 - Gwinnett Gladiators 2 @ WHEELING NAILERS 3 (OT)

Sat. 10/29 - Trenton Titans 4 @ WHEELING NAILERS 6

Fans at WesBanco Arena were treated to a pair of victories this past weekend, as the Wheeling Nailers took care of business against the Gwinnett Gladiators and Trenton Titans.

On Friday night, the Nailers hosted the Gladiators, in a battle of division leaders. Chris Kushneriuk opened the scoring late in the first period, deflecting in Olivier Dame-Malka's shot from the left point for his first goal of the season. Corey Fienhage evened the score early in the second with a shorthanded goal, before Andrew Hotham regained the lead for Wheeling with his first professional goal. Chris Clackson's goal for Gwinnett sent the tilt into overtime, but in the extra session, the Nailers had the final say. With 42 seconds left in overtime, Zack Torquato netted a power play goal, giving the home team the 3-2 victory. Peter Delmas picked up the win with 21 saves in his first start of the year.

Saturday night's game against the Titans had more of an offensive flavor, despite another 1-0 Wheeling lead after one period of play on Chris Barton's goal. Matt Lombardi extended the lead early in the second, before Trenton battled back with power play goals by Tyler Hostetter and Andy Bombach. Lombardi's second of the night put the Nailers back on top late in the middle frame, giving them momentum into the third. In the final stanza, Barton added two more tallies to the board, grabbing his first career hat trick, while giving his squad a 5-2 advantage. Jordan Pietrus brought the Titans within two, before Devin DiDiomete and Eric Baier exchanged markers in the final two minutes for the 6-4 final. Patrick Killeen notched his fourth win of the season, stopping 18 shots.

Notable Statistics

Chris Barton picked up the Nailers' first hat trick of the season with his three goals on Saturday night.

Andrew Hotham netted his first professional goal in the second period of Friday's game.

Olivier Dame-Malka (assist on Friday) and Joe Tolles (assist on Saturday) each recorded their first professional points this weekend.

Patrick Killeen improved his season record to 4-0 on Saturday, and has won six straight games, dating back to last season.

Zack Torquato, Patrick Johnson, Matt Lombardi, Zach Hansen, and Mickael Bedard all have points in four of Wheeling's five games.

The Nailers have outshot all five of their opponents this season, averaging 37.8 shots for and 20.6 shots against.

After starting the season 1-for-23 on the power play, the Nailers have scored on three of their five most recent opportunities, starting with Zack Torquato's overtime winner on Friday.

This Week

Fri. 11/4 - Kalamazoo Wings @ WHEELING NAILERS 7:35 PM at WesBanco Arena

Sat. 11/5 - WHEELING NAILERS @ Trenton Titans 7:00 PM at Sun National Bank Arena

The Nailers will conclude their four-game homestand on Friday night, when they welcome the Kalamazoo Wings to town for a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference Final. The Wings are off to a strong start this season, as they currently lead the North Division with four wins in their first five games. Kalamazoo has a perfect 3-0 record at home, and a 1-1 mark on the road, after splitting a pair of games in Chicago. Patrick Asselin (5g, 2a), Brandon Svendsen (4g, 3a), and Trent Daavettila (0g, 7a) have paced the Wings' offense with seven points each, while Sam Ftorek (0g, 5a) has chipped in with five points to lead their blueliners. Riley Gill has been the starting netminder in all five games for Kalamazoo, going 4-1, with a 2.60 GAA, and a .919 Sv%.

On Saturday night, Wheeling will play their first road game in three weeks, when they visit the Trenton Titans. This will be the second meeting in as many weeks for the Nailers and Titans, as Wheeling knocked off Trenton 6-4 this past Saturday at WesBanco Arena. The Titans have gotten off to a tough start this season, dropping six of their seven games, with the lone win coming on October 22nd against Florida. Despite the club's record, Randy Rowe (3g, 4a) and Dustin Cameron (1g, 6a) both have seven points for Trenton, while Andy Bombach is tied for the lead in the Eastern Conference with six goals. In goal, Dave Caruso is 1-3, with a 5.31 GAA, and an .828 Sv%, while Brad Phillips is 0-3, with a 3.40 GAA, and an .894 Sv%.

Atlantic Division Standings

1- WHEELING NAILERS 5-0-0-0, 10 pts

2- Reading Royals 3-3-1-0, 7 pts

3- Elmira Jackals 3-3-0-0, 6 pts

4- Trenton Titans 1-6-0-0, 2 pts

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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