Sports stats

ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers Week in Review

January 9, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Last Week

Fri. 1/6 - Cincinnati Cyclones 2 @ WHEELING NAILERS 5

Sat. 1/7 - South Carolina Stingrays 3 @ WHEELING NAILERS 1

Sun. 1/8 - Greenville Road Warriors 3 @ WHEELING NAILERS 5

Last week, the Wheeling Nailers opened the 2012 calendar year with three exciting and emotional games at WesBanco Arena, as they took four of six possible points against the Cincinnati Cyclones, South Carolina Stingrays, and Greenville Road Warriors. The 2-1 week gave the Nailers an 18-12-1-1 record overall, which is good for 38 points, second place in the Atlantic Division, and sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

The week began on Friday night, when Wheeling played their first game of the season against nearby rival Cincinnati. The Nailers came out of the gates flying, as Chris Barton and Scooter Vaughan put the home team ahead 2-0 by the 6:19 mark of the opening stanza. Chris Cahill brought the Cyclones within one at the midway mark of the first, before Wheeling regained their two-goal edge on Barton's second tally of the evening. Matt Pelech made the score 3-2 at the end of the first, and it remained that way until the 12:20 mark of the third period, when Cody Chupp added an insurance marker for the Nailers. Matt Lombardi iced the victory with an empty netter in the final minutes, while Peter Delmas made 29 saves in his first appearance in goal since December 16th.

On Saturday night, a solid crowd of 3,931 fans made their way to WesBanco Arena, and watched the Nailers take a 1-0 lead on Mickael Bedard's goal at the 30-second mark of the second period. The first two frames of the contest featured a plethora of defense, as Bedard's tally was the only one on the board at the end of 40 minutes of play. Unfortunately for Wheeling, the Stingrays turned it around in the third, scoring three unanswered goals for a 3-1 win. Philipp Grubauer stopped 28 shots for South Carolina, defeating Peter Delmas, who made 23 saves for the Nailers.

Less than one day later, the Nailers had an opportunity to bounce back, and they did just that, as the Greenville Road Warriors made their lone visit of the season to the Ohio Valley. For the second time on the weekend, Chris Barton opened the scoring, as part of a two-goal performance, as he also scored at the eight-second mark of the middle period. The score at that point was 2-1 in Wheeling's favor, before Mickael Bedard made it 3-1 with 5:01 left in the second. Matt Lombardi's goal at the 13-second mark of the third put the Nailers up by three, in what turned out to be a vital goal, as the Road Warriors responded with a pair of power play goals, making the score 4-3. With 1:09 left in the third period, Cody Chupp buried an empty netter, as well as Greenville's hopes for a comeback, as Wheeling went on to the 5-3 triumph. Peter Delmas set a season-high with 40 saves, giving him 92 on the weekend.

Notable Statistics

- Chris Barton had a pair of three-point games last weekend, registering four goals and two assists, as he added to his goal total (19), which is the highest among rookies, and is tied for third overall in the ECHL.

- Kyle Bushee picked up six assists in three games last weekend, while posting a plus-7 rating, giving him nine points and a plus-10 rating in his last six contests.

- After missing seven games due to injury, Peter Delmas returned to the crease, stopping 92 of 100 shots in three games last weekend, including a season-high 40 saves on Sunday.

- Scooter Vaughan netted his first professional goal on Friday night, as part of a two-point effort.

- The Nailers have now completed three out of four season series against the South Division, winning two (Greenville, Gwinnett), and tying one (South Carolina).

- Three of Wheeling's goals last weekend came during the first minute of a period, including two in Sunday's contest.

- On Wednesday night, the Nailers will have played against every team in the Eastern Conference, when they welcome the Toledo Walleye to WesBanco Arena.

This Week

Wed. 1/11 - Toledo Walleye @ WHEELING NAILERS 7:00 PM at WesBanco Arena

Fri. 1/13 - WHEELING NAILERS @ Toledo Walleye 7:00 PM at Huntington Center

Sat. 1/14 - WHEELING NAILERS @ Cincinnati Cyclones 7:35 PM at U.S. Bank Arena

Sun. 1/15 - Cincinnati Cyclones @ WHEELING NAILERS 4:05 PM at WesBanco Arena

This week, the Nailers' schedule is all about the state of Ohio, as they will play a pair of home-and-home series against the Toledo Walleye and Cincinnati Cyclones.

The Toledo Walleye are first up on the docket, as they will face the Nailers first on Wednesday night at WesBanco Arena, before the two squads travel out to Toledo's Huntington Center for the second half of their home-and-home series on Friday night. The Walleye have been struggling as of late, dropping five straight games, as they enter the week in fourth place in both the North Division, as well as the Eastern Conference. Toledo's record currently stands at 13-18-0-1, which is good for 27 points. At the beginning of the season, the Walleye turned to Evan Rankin as their leading scorer, before he was recalled to the AHL, after posting 18 points in 15 games. Kyle Rogers has since slipped by Rankin as the leading scorer, as he has 19 points in 32 games. Toledo's top defensive scorer is also their leading goal scorer, as Bryan Rufenach has nine goals and 17 points in 28 contests. Between the pipes, the Walleye recently acquired Rob Nolan from the Chicago Express, who has appeared in 19 games this season, going 6-11-1, with a 3.11 GAA, and an .892 Sv%. Nolan is 0-3 since switching teams in the North Division.

Once Friday night's tilt concludes, the Nailers will leave the North Division's aquatic team for a club more closely related to the weather, when they will play two straight games against the Cincinnati Cyclones on Saturday and Sunday. The Cyclones are joined with the Reading Royals, as the two teams in the ECHL with the most drastic home/road splits. Cincinnati is 11-1-0-2 on their home ice at U.S. Bank Arena, but only 3-10-0-2 when playing on the road. With Mathieu Aubin and his 27 points still on recall to the AHL, Michael Pelech has accepted the role as the Cyclones' active leading scorer, having produced 19 assists and 25 points in 27 points. Anthony Luciani's 11 goals are the most on Cincinnati's active roster, while David Leaderer's 11 points are the most among the club's blueliners. With Chet Pickard nursing an injury and Brian Foster on recall to the AHL, Brad Fogal has been given the responsibility in goal, making four appearances, going 1-2-1, with a 3.43 GAA, and an .882 Sv%.

Atlantic Division Standings

1- Elmira Jackals 23-11-0-0, 46 pts

2- WHEELING NAILERS 18-12-1-1, 38 pts

3- Reading Royals 14-14-3-3, 34 pts

4- Trenton Titans 12-15-3-3, 30 pts

The Nailers will be back in action on Wednesday night, when they play host to the Toledo Walleye at WesBanco Arena, with opening face-off scheduled for 7:00. For ticket information or to purchase tickets call 304-234-GOAL (4625) or online at shop.wheelingnailers.com. You can now purchase Nailers game tickets on your smartphone by visiting m.wheelingnailers.com.

NEXT HOME GAME: Wed. Jan., 11th - 7:05PM

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 9, 2012


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