ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers Week in Review

December 5, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Last Week

Fri. 12/2 - WHEELING NAILERS 5 @ Reading Royals 1

Sat. 12/3 - Trenton Titans 5 @ WHEELING NAILERS 3

Last weekend, the Wheeling Nailers began the month of December with a pair of divisonal contests against the Reading Royals and Trenton Titans. Wheeling started the weekend strong, taking out the Royals, 5-1 on Friday night, before coming up short in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Titans.

On Friday night, the Nailers were in control from start to finish. Chris Barton and Patrick Johnson gave the visitors a 2-0 lead in the first period, when they scored 24 seconds apart from each other midway through the frame. Early in the second period, Barton continued the offensive attack, netting his second of the game and 14th of the season, knocking Reading goaltender Joe Palmer out of the game. Barton's college roommate, Adam Ross, greeted backup netminder Karel St. Laurent, ripping in a shorthanded tally for his first professional goal, making it 4-0 in favor of the Nailers. Christiaan Minella completed Wheeling's scoring with his third goal of the season, as the Nailers cruised to a 5-1 victory. Patrick Killeen picked up his sixth win of the year, making 20 saves on 21 shots.

One night later, the visiting Trenton Titans got off to the fast start, as Jean-Sebastien Berube started the scoring just 13 seconds into the evening. Christiaan Minella evened the score midway through the first, before Rob Bordson put Trenton back on top later in the frame. Denver Manderson tied the game at the 10:10 mark of the second period, but once again, the Titans answered, as Berube notched his second of the game with 4:46 left in the frame. Adam Presizniuk and Mitch Versteeg tallied in the third for the visitors, before Manderson added his second of the night, giving the game a 5-3 final score in favor of Trenton. Dave Caruso made 41 saves in the win, beating Peter Delmas, who made 15 in the defeat.

Notable Statistics

- Chris Barton netted two goals this weekend, raising his season totals to 14 goals and 23 points - the most for a rookie in the ECHL.

- Adam Ross became the third Nailer (Plastino, Manderson) to score a shorthanded goal for his first professional goal this season, when he lit the lamp on Friday night.

- Denver Manderson set career highs on Saturday night with two goals and three points.

- The Nailers have the second best goals against average in the Eastern Conference (2.76).

- Wheeling's power play has scored at least one goal in three of the last four games, improving to 16.4% on the season.

This Week

Wed. 12/7 - WHEELING NAILERS @ Trenton Titans 7:05 PM at Sun National Bank Center

Fri. 12/9 - Reading Royals @ WHEELING NAILERS 7:35 PM at WesBanco Arena

Sat. 12/10 - Trenton Titans @ WHEELING NAILERS 7:35 PM at WesBanco Arena

Sun. 12/11 - WHEELING NAILERS @ Reading Royals 4:05 PM at Sovereign Center

For the second week in a row, the opposition will be the same, as the Nailers will take on the Reading Royals and Trenton Titans. Wheeling will face both teams twice this week, with one meeting taking place at WesBanco Arena, and the other meeting taking place on the road.

The first matchup takes place on Wednesday night, when Wheeling visits the Trenton Titans, who they will also play host to on Saturday night. Thanks to a weekend in which they were able to accumulate four out of six possible points, the Titans have climbed into third place in the Atlantic Division. Trenton has earned at least one point in seven of their last ten games, and enter the week with an 8-10-1-2 record overall, which is good for 19 points. Rob Bordson saw an eight-game point streak come to an end on Sunday against Elmira, but not before he passed Andy Bohmbach for the team's scoring lead, having recorded 21 points in 16 contests. Bohmbach trails his teammate by one point, picking up 12 goals and 20 points in 17 games. Dave Caruso has continued to see the majority of the action in the Trenton crease, as he is now 6-6-2, with a 3.48 GAA, and an .893 Sv% in 14 games.

After a day off on Thursday, the Nailers will take the ice again on Friday, when they welcome the Reading Royals to WesBanco Arena. Wheeling will also travel to Reading on Sunday afternoon. Because of an eight-game losing streak, the Royals have fallen into the basement of the Atlantic Division, as they currently have a record of 7-11-2-2, which is good for 18 points. Reading was able to pick up one point last week, thanks to a shootout loss to Elmira, before losing back-to-back games in regulation to the Nailers and Jackals. Despite scoring just one point in his last four games, Olivier Labelle continues to lead the Royals with 11 goals and 19 points in 22 games this season. Reading's captain and fourth-leading scorer, Ryan Cruthers, will miss both games this week, as he received a six-game suspension from last Friday's meeting between the two clubs. Joe Palmer has made 14 appearances in goal, going 4-5-3, with a 3.10 GAA, and a .915 Sv%.

Atlantic Division Standings

1- Elmira Jackals 12-9-0-0, 24 pts

2- WHEELING NAILERS 11-6-0-0, 22 pts

3- Trenton Titans 8-10-1-2, 19 pts

4- Reading Royals 7-11-2-2, 18 pts

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 5, 2011


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