ECHL Wheeling Nailers

This Week In Nailers Hockey

November 28, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


NAILERS VS. CHARLOTTE (Thursday, December 1-Saturday December 3): The Wheeling Nailers and the Charlotte Checkers meet for the first time this season for a Thursday-Saturday showdown in Wheeling. The Checkers from the South Division are 7-5-1 good for 15 points and 6th place in the 8 team division. The two teams didn't meet last year but have squared off 20 times with Wheeling holding a 10-9-1 advantage. Charlotte, the ECHL affiliate of the New York Rangers, have only played 3 home games at the new Charlotte Bobcats Arena. In between the stay in Wheeling, Charlotte will visit Trenton on Friday. The Checkers feature the New York Rangers number one draft pick in 2003, Forward Hugh Jessiman. Rookie Rory Rawlyk leads Charlotte in scoring with 12 points. Former Nailer Jake Ortmeyer is a defenseman on the Charlotte roster. Ortmeyer played the 2003-04 season in Wheeling recording 34 points in 72 games. The Nailers will play in Charlotte on February 11th.

NAILERS VS. TOLEDO (Friday, December 2): The Wheeling Nailers will take on the Toledo Storm for the 3rd time on Friday night. The two teams have split the first 2 meetings with each team grabbing 2 points on home ice. Toledo is currently third in the North Division trailing Wheeling and Reading by 4 points. Toledo has been tough in the tight quarters of the Sports Arena going 7-1-2 in the town made famous by *M*A*S*H* actor Jamie Farr. Scooter Smith (20) and Ken Magowan (18) are both in the top 20 in ECHL scoring. The Storm, the ECHL affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks, shutout the Nailers back on November 2nd, 3-0.

NAILERS BROADCAST INFO: Tune in as the voice of the Nailers, Gary Sharp delivers all of the Nailers action on The Mix WKWK 97.3 and selected games airing on ESPN Radio Pittsburgh 1250AM. Fans can also watch or listen in on the Nailers website. The broadcast begins 20 minutes prior to face-off.

THE COACH IS TALKING AND YOU CAN TO

Join Head Coach Glenn Patrick and Gary Sharp every Thursday for "Nail Talk" at Generations. The hour-long show will be carried on WWVA 1170AM beginning at 7pm. Players, coaches, special guests, phone calls, and more will highlight the fast paced 60 minute show. The shows for November 30th, December 7th, and December 14th will be heard on Wednesday's due to the Nailers game conflicts.

Pull Up a Chair: In conjunction with B2 Networks and the ECHL, live video of every Nailers game this season will be offered through a link at wheelingnailers.com. Any fan worldwide with a high-speed internet connection will be able to watch the action for just $6, while listening to Gary Sharp's play-by-play.

Get Your Tickets: Tickets for all 36 Nailers regular season home games can be purchased in person at WesBanco Arena and all Ticketmaster locations, by phone through the Nailers office at 304-234-GOAL/1-877-NAIL-TIX. Full season tickets, 18 and 10-game packages, and group ticket packages starting as low as $66 are available through the Nailers office at 304-234-GOAL.

NAILER ACTION LAST WEEK

Nailers 5 vs. Dayton 3 (Wednesday, November 23): Jordan Cameron scored 2 goals as the Nailers jumped out to a 5-0 lead early in the 3rd. Terry Virtue chipped in 3 assists to lead the Nailers in a game that started 80 minutes late due to travel difficulties.

Nailers 4 @ Dayton 2 (Friday, November 25): Wheeling scored the last 2 goals of the game to move there mark to 4-0 against Dayton this season. It was also Wheeling's 5th straight victory.

Nailers 3 vs. Johnstown 4 (overtime) (Saturday, November 26): Johnstown picked up there first win in Wheeling this year on Adam Henrich's game winning goal with a little under two minutes to go in the extra session.

Nailers 2 vs. Trenton 3 (Sunday, November 27): For the first time all season the Nailers failed to post a win after a loss. Trenton's Dusten Traylen made 30 saves in his first ever ECHL start to slow down Wheeling.

November was good to wheeling: The Nailers just wrapped up there best November ever compiling a record of 8-1-1. The month saw the Nailers post a 5-game winning streak and vault into first place. Brendon Hodge scored 12 of his current 13 points in the month while the Nailers were a combined +51 in the +/- category. Andy Franck in net started the last 8 games of the month and posted a 6-2-1 record with a .910 save percentage.

Streaker outbreak in wheeling: So far in the early part of the season the Nailers have put together a 6-game winning streak and a 5-game winning streak. The 9-2 start was the best 11 game start ever in Wheeling's ECHL hockey history. The current winless streak of 2 games is the longest of the season.

WHEELING PLUS WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON EQUALS DOMINATION: The Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL, are off to great starts. Combined the two are 29-3-3. Wheeling is 11-3-1 while Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 18-0-2.

Comparing 2004 to 2005: Last year thru the first 15 games the record was 7-7-1, this year 11-3-1.

Frankly speaking: Goaltender Andy Franck is making the most of his opportunity. With Andy Chiodo being called up to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and now returning, Franck has started the last 8 games. Franck, a native of Lakewood, Ohio, won a roster spot with a strong training camp and has 9 professional starts under his belt. Franck, 6-2-1 on the year, has a 2.30 goals against average good for 8th in the ECHL. In only 9 games Franck has allowed 21 goals with a .910 save percentage.

Collins off to fast start: Forward Sean Collins was named the ECHL Offensive Rookie of the Month for October. Collins is the leading scorer among rookies with 20 points. Overall he is tied for 6th in ECHL scoring. His 10 assists also are tied for the top spot among rookies. Collins continues to be a dead-eye shooting the puck with 9 goals on only 29 shots for a .310 percentage.

Consistent kurtis: All rookie forward Kurtis McLean does is score. An All-American at Norwich University, McLean totaled 212 points in 115 games. He then had 3 points in 4 pro games last year with Richmond (UHL). In his first 11 games with Wheeling McLean has 7 goals to go along with 14 points. Over the last 134 games he has played, McLean has 233 points. McLean's 16 points is 4th best in rookie scoring. McLean has been good on the power play with 9 of his 16 points coming from the man advantage. McLean recently had his 7-game home point streak snapped.

Virtue (al) guarantee: Defenseman Terry Virtue is spreading the wealth this holiday season. Virtue is now among the top scoring defenseman with 11 points which includes 9 assists. Virtue has 10 points in his last 10 games (1+9).

It is a black sweater and white sweater thing: The best way to break down the hot start by Wheeling is to check out what sweater they are wearing. If Wheeling wears black they are 2-2 if they were white they are 9-1. The Nailers wore there special 3rd jersey on Saturday night.

Nail bits: Wheeling is 7-2-1 in the last 10 games...Kurtis McLean took the first penalty shot of the season at Dayton on Friday... The Nailers .767 winning percentage is 3rd best in the ECHL....Wheeling has outscored the opposition 19-8 in the first period....Tim Verbeek has an assist in 4 straight games...The Nailers are 8-1-0 when they lead after the second period....The Nailers have allowed the second fewest shots on average per game at 26.27... Wheeling is 2-0 in shootouts and Tim Verbeek has been the man to decide it with a goal...Wheeling has won 3 straight on the road...With two wins this past weekend the Nailers have 600 in team history.

WesBanco been very good to Nailers: Since the 2003-04 season the Nailers have gone 57-17-6 on home ice. Wheeling is 6-1-1 this year outscoring the opposition 37-25.

Next Week: The Nailers will travel to Columbia on 12/9, Greenville 12/10, and return home on 12/11 to face Las Vegas. The month of December will see Wheeling play 15 games in 31 days.

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics



ECHL Stories from November 28, 2005


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