ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Nailers Win 3-2 Thriller at Elmira

March 28, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Elmira, NY - Curtis Darling made several fantastic saves and the Wheeling Nailers hung on at the end for an important 3-2 triumph at the Elmira Jackals Saturday night at First Arena in Elmira, NY. The win puts the Nailers back into a 4th place tie with the Johnstown Chiefs with just 4 games remaining in the regular season. The top 4 teams out of the 5-way jam in the North Division advance to the Kelly Cup Playoffs and the Nailers worked their way right back into the race with their pivotal win to even up the 3-game series at Elmira at one game apiece.

Chaz Johnson gave the Elmira Jackals the early lead at 2:33 of the 1st period but Wheeling got it right back a few minutes later on the power play as Tommy Goebel and Bryan Ewing smartly worked the give-and-go with Ewing the last one to handle it slamming it past Jackals netminder Michael Teslak to even the score at 1-1.

Bryan "Boomer" Ewing established a new rookie record for the Nailers with his 43rd goal of the year. The old record for a Nailers rookie was 42 goals by Steve Gibson in 1995-96. Ewing is 5th all-time on the Nailers single-season goal-scoring chart and 3 goals shy of Devin Edgerton for 4th place. Ewing is the first Wheeling native and WAHA product ever to play professional hockey. He became the first Wheeling Nailer in 12 years to reach the 40 goal club.

Wheeling took a 2-1 lead 18:26 of the 1st period as newcomer Chris Margott was turned away by Teslak on a wrap-around try allowing Andrew Lord to pounce on the rebound between the circles slamming it in for his 18th goal of the year. It was the first time on the weekend the Nailers had taken the lead and they held onto the advantage for the rest of the night.

Both teams raced back and forth in an exciting 2nd period albeit one that saw no scoring. Darling made several fine saves and continued his performance into the 3rd to help Wheeling's slim one goal advantage hold up. Most of his best saves were kicking it away off his leg-pads or his skates as Elmira appeared to be trying to shoot it low on the Nailers netminder.

Jordan Morrison got a crucial insurance goal at 14:17 of the 3rd when he fired home a rebound off a Bryan Ewing shot. Morrison has 24 on the year, 2nd most on the Nailers behind Ewing, and that made it 3-1 and proved to be the difference after Colton Yellow Horn's backhander between the circles got past Darling at 17:21 to make it a one goal difference again at 3-2.

Billy Ryan assisted on the Morrison goal to extend his point streak to 11 games. Ryan has 7 goals and 13 assists in the 20 game streak as the University of Maine product and former 3rd round pick of the New York Rangers has been a valuable addition to the Nailers since being acquired a little over a month ago.

The Nailers defense was able to bear down and hold off the desperate attack of the Jackals in the closing moments to preserve the victory.

Newcomer Chase Watson made his Nailers debut. He didn't appear in the scoring column but made several smart plays with the puck. Watson is a Providence College product who played last year and the beginning of this season with Augusta, GA before they disbanded. It was Watson's first game since Thanksgiving as he had been recovering from a shoulder surgery.

Wheeling improves to 35-25-8 on the season with 78 points to tie the Johnstown Chiefs for 4th place. Cincinnati overcame a 3rd period deficit for a 2-1 win at Johnstown to help the Nailers cause. Wheeling is only 1 point back of 3rd place Elmira and only 2 points behind 2nd place Cincinnati.

The Sunday series finale at Elmira is at 4:05. If Wheeling wins the rubber game of the 3-game series they will be in a 2nd place tie in the North Division with one or more teams.

Wheeling is 4-3-1 against Elmira on the regular season with a one more game remaining in this big 3-game North Division showdown series.

The Nailers last home games of the regular season are on Wednesday, April 1st and Friday, April 3rd.

The Wednesday game against the Trenton Devils at 7:05 is the last WesBanco Wednesday of the year. Get 2-for-1 tickets when you show your WesBanco checkbook or debit card or coupon available at participating WesBanco locations. Also get $1 drink specials through the first intermission. The first 1000 kids age 14 and under will receive a special giveaway courtesy of the Nailers Spring Cleaning promotion. Sidney Crosby mini-sticks, Nailers Youth Backpacks and Moondog Bobbleheads will be among the random giveaway items. Wednesday is also biker night with $10 parking and admission packages available.

Friday, April 3rd the Nailers take on the Dayton Bombers at 7:35 on Fan Appreciation Night. The Nailers will give away special prizes to several fans in attendance and one lucky fan will win the chance to shoot for a new car courtesy of Doan Ford. It's also Little League night. All Little Leagues can get a special $10 Nailers and Wild Things combo ticket. And one lucky Little League organization will win $500 for their program for uniforms and equipment. It's also a Friday Family Four-Pack night. Get 4 tickets, 4 sodas, 4 hotdogs and a large popcorn all for just $44.

Post-season playoff packages are available now. Purchase your 6-game playoff package that is good for the entire post-season. You get a discount vs. the gate price and any unused playoff credits are forwarded to the following season.

Season tickets are on sale now for the 2009-10 campaign. Reserve your season ticket for as low as $50. There are some great incentives to reserve your season ticket ahead of time. If you pay for your season ticket in full by May 1 the Nailers will give you free parking in the back lot for the season. Those who deposit $100 by May 1 will have the $18 arena fee waived.

For more information contact the Nailers at 304-234-GOAL (that's 234-4625) or log on at wheelingnailers.com.

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 28, 2009


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