ECHL Wheeling Nailers

This Week in Nailers Hockey

Published on January 23, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


NAILERS VS. TRENTON (Friday, January 27): (SEASON SERIES: TRENTON 4-3-0)..The Wheeling Nailers return from the All-Star break opening a 3-game weekend home stand. The Trenton Titans make their 4th trip into Wheeling this year looking to avenge a 5-0 loss on January 15th. Trenton (20-16-2), the ECHL affiliate of Philadelphia and the New York Islanders, swept Dayton at home last weekend. The Titans are 6-4-0 in their last 10 and have scored a division low 94 goals but have also allowed a division low 105 goals. All-Star forward Scott Bertoli leads the way with 40 points in 38 games. Dustin Traylen is 9th in ECHL in goals against average (2.64). Bertoli has 8 points in 7 games against Wheeling while Traylen is a perfect 3-0-0 in net verse the Nailers. Brendon Hodge and Bo Cheesman each have 8 points in the 7 meetings against Trenton. Andy Franck picked up his 2nd professional shutout against the Titans in the last meeting between the two teams. Franck is 3-2-0 with a 1.59 goals against verses Trenton. After Friday night the two teams will see each other 5 more times.

NAILERS VS. JOHNSTOWN (Saturday, JANUARY 28): (SEASON SERIES: WHEELING 4-0-1)..The Wheeling Nailers look to continue their success against Johnstown in a televised game on Saturday night. The only blemish in 5 games against the Chiefs is an overtime loss in November. This is the first time Wheeling has seen Johnstown since December 17th. Johnstown (15-17-8) lost at Toledo and Reading last weekend to fall into 5th place in the North. The Chiefs, the ECHL affiliate of Tampa Bay, started the year 0-6-4 but have rebounded nicely going 15-11-4 since then. The Chiefs feature a tandem in net that is one of the best 1-2 punches in the ECHL. All-Star Jonathan Boutin is 15th in the ECHL in goals against (2.93) while former Notre Dame product Morgan Cey is 20th at 3.12. The Chiefs have only scored 10 goals in 5 games against the Nailers while Brendon Hodge has 5 points in 5 games against Johnstown including a hat trick on November 4th. Andy Franck loves Johnstown with a record of 4-0-1 and a 1.98 goals against verse Johnstown. This will be the second time this season the two teams have met on WTOV-9.

NAILERS VS. DAYTON (Sunday, JANUARY 29): (SEASON SERIES: WHEELING 6-0-0)..The Wheeling Nailers close the weekend with a chance to win their 7th in a row against Dayton. The Nailers are 3-0-0 against Dayton at home. Dayton, the ECHL affiliate of Columbus, is 6th in the North Division (12-24-3). The Bombers dropped two in Trenton last weekend and are only 3-14-3 away from Dayton. Dayton has been hurt by numerous call-ups to Syracuse but one consistent has been Scott Cameron with 43 points on the season. Dayton has only scored 12 goals against Wheeling but 8 of those have come on the power play. Sean Collins has 13 of his points this year against Dayton while Andy Franck is 3-0-0 and has only allowed 5 goals when the Bombers are on the schedule.

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.

NAILERS TELEVISION INFO: The Wheeling Nailers will appear for the second time this season on WTOV-9 on Saturday, January 28th against Johnstown. The game and telecast will begin at 8pm on the NBC affiliate. Gary Sharp and Brock Woods will handle the play-by-play and color, respectively. WTOV Sportscasters Don Sloan and Ryan Recker will provide rink side reports.

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 6 @ Reading 4 (Friday, January 20): The Nailers scored 4 goals in the 2nd period to take a 5-1 lead and then held on to win for the 3rd time in 4 trips to Reading. Eric Sonnenberg picked up his first professional hat trick (3+1).

Nailers 3 @ Toledo 4 (shootout) (Saturday, January 21): The Nailers trailed 2-0, ninety seconds into the game but before another 3 minutes had expired the game was tied at 2. Toledo would tie the game up with 30 seconds to go in regulation and won it in the 7th round of the shootout.

Nailers Thumbnails

1 Mike Betz signed contract on 1/12...all-time career wins leader at Ohio State (73)

2 Cliff Loya recorded his first multi-assist game (2) on 1/13 against Toledo

3 Terry Virtue 17 of his 27 assists have come on the power play...4th among defenseman scoring (31)...19 power play points..+17

4 Bill Downey is a +5 in 16 games

7 Sean Collins a starter on the American Conference All-Star team...has had streaks of points in 7 straight games and 12 straight games with a point at home... 2nd in ECHL scoring and leading rookie scorer (50)..3rd in the ECHL with 34 assists.....13 power play assists...22 power play points...+18....has picked up a point in 6 straight road games...

8 Brendon Hodge has 47 career goals as a Nailer...his last 3 goals have been: shorthanded, penalty shot, and power play

9 Drew Fata missed 3 of the last 4 games due to injury...has picked up a penalty in 8 straight games..has a career pro high of 8 goals..

10 Curtiss Patrick scored his first goal of the season in Reading on 1/20...

11 Cam Paddock 6 points in last 5 games...

14 Bo Cheesman had a 9-game point streak recently snapped...3 goals in last 5 games

16 Mike Doyle has 10 points in his rookie season...took a penalty shot on 1/10 @ Reading...

18 Pascal Morency hasn't played a game in 2006 due to injury...due to injuries has only played in 15 games

19 Jordan Cameron 15 goals are 2 shy of professional career high set in 2003-04 with Alaska..

20 Eric Sonnenberg recorded his first professional hat trick on 1/20 @ Reading...7 points in last 5 games

21 Tim Verbeek returned to action last weekend after missing 12 games due to injury

22 Luis Tremblay had only 2 goals last season in Bakersfield as a rookie...this year he has 9 on 68 shots..

23 Alex Rouleau 3rd year Nailer...has played in every game and is a +3

30 Andy Franck reserve on American Conference All-Star team..has 2 professional shutouts against Trenton and Dayton......5th best GA in ECHL (2.30)...tied for 2nd overall in wins (17)...

On the road again: The Nailers have taken a liking to life on the road. Wheeling is 12-6-1 this year away from the Ohio Valley with 2 of the losses coming in Toledo and Trenton. The Nailers have won 7 of their last 11 in opposing rinks. The month of February will see the Nailers play 8 of their 11 games on the road.

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 9-6-1 if they were white they are 16-4-1. The Nailers have worn their special 3rd jersey three times this season. The Nailers will wear a special Pittsburgh Pirate sweater on Saturday.

Nail bits: Wheeling is 5-4-1 in the last 10 games...When the Nailers score 4 or more goals they are 19-0-0...Overall the Nailers are 1 for 3 in penalty shots......The Nailers point total is tied for 5th overall in ECHL....Wheeling has outscored the opposition 43-29 in the first period...The Nailers are 18-3-1 when they lead after the second period and 14-2-1 when they score first....Against division opponents the Nailers are 20-9-2 and play all but 2 of their remaining games in the division....The Nailers have allowed the fewest shots on average per game at 26.62...Wheeling has only allowed an average of 2.72 goals per game...The Nailers have allowed 3 shorthanded goals in the last 2 games.....Wheeling is 2-2 in shootouts and Tim Verbeek is 4 for 4...The Nailers are 6-0 against Dayton and 4-0-1 against Johnstown...Kurtis McLean was named an All-Star starter for the American Conference but is currently in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and won't be able to participate...

WesBanco been very good to Nailers: Since the 2003-04 season the Nailers have gone 64-21-7 on home ice. Wheeling is 13-5-2 this year.

Streaker outbreak in wheeling: So far in the early part of the season the Nailers have put together a 6-game winning streak and two 5-game winning streaks. The 6-1-0 start was the ever in Wheeling's ECHL hockey history and the 11-2-0 start was the best 13 game stretch to begin a year. The current streak for Wheeling is a 2-game winning streak at home.

Next Week: The Nailers take on Reading next weekend in a home and home. The Nailers and the Royals play in Wheeling on Friday and then make the trip across the commonwealth for Saturday's game.

VIRTUE MILESTONE: It took awhile but it was well worth the wait for Defenseman Terry Virtue. On October 29th, Virtue scored his 100th career professional goal. Virtue's career has spanned over 15 years and 1,000 professional games including 5 in the NHL. Virtue is currently among the top 20 scoring defenseman in the ECHL with 3 goals and 20 points.

WEARING THE "C": Brendon Hodge has been appointed the Captain for the Nailers. Hodge is in his third year in Wheeling and the team's leading returning scorer with 42 points. The Assistant Captains are: Tim Verbeek, Cam Paddock, Curtiss Patrick, Drew Fata.

Patrick behind bench: The 2005-06 season will feature a new face guiding the Nailers. Glenn Patrick was hired in August to replace Pat Bingham. Bingham has moved on to the AHL as an assistant coach with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Patrick most recently was a scout in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. His last time behind the bench was in the AHL where he guided Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to a 2001 appearance in the Calder Cup Finals. Glenn is surrounded by family in Wheeling. His son, Curtiss, will play for him while his nephew Ryan is the Nailers Director of Public Relations. Patrick's brother Craig is the General Manager of the Penguins.

Virtue Is Back: Defenseman Terry Virtue took a roundabout way to return to Wheeling but he's back. Virtue will also act as a player/assistant coach. Virtue played in Wheeling for the Thunderbirds in the 90's. Overall, Virtue has logged more than 1,000 professional games from coast to coast. Last year he laced up the skates in the AHL with Springfield and Utah. Virtue resides in Wheeling and will be honored later this year with "Terry Virtue Bobblehead Night." Virtue's former teammate in Wheeling Brock Woods is the radio color analyst.

The New ECHL: As the ECHL Hockey League begins its 18th season, the Nailers find themselves in the Northern Division, alongside Johnstown, Trenton, Reading, Dayton and Toledo. Due to Hurricane Katrina and Rita; Mississippi and Texas have suspended play for 2005-06 season. The ECHL has added three new teams (Stockton, Phoenix, and Utah) and several new rules for the 2005-06 season, including: permission of two-line passes, reducing the maximum dimensions of goaltender equipment, the addition of the trapezoid area behind the net limiting the area in which goalies can play the puck, and any player who shoots the puck directly over the glass in his defending zone will be penalized for delay of game.

You Look So Familiar: Nine Nailers return from last year, including forwards Bo Cheesman, Brendon Hodge, Pascal Morency, Cam Paddock, Curtiss Patrick; defensemen Drew Fata, Cliff Loya, and Alexandre Rouleau.

Welcome to the Friendly City: Sean Collins (NCAA New Hampshire), Mike Doyle (NCAA St. Cloud State), Kurtis McLean (NCAA Norwich), Tim Verbeek (ECHL Idaho), Paul Bissonnette (OHL), Terry Virtue (AHL), Daniel Fernholm (AHL), Luis Trembley (ECHL Bakersfield), Andy Franck (NCAA Mercyhurst).

Who's Up in the A?: Eleven players from last year's roster now find themselves in the AHL, most notably Mike Sgroi (Albany), Ray DiLauro (Cleveland), Jason Jaffray (Manitoba), T.J. Reynolds (Milwaukee), Steven Crampton (Norfolk), Jake Riddle (Portland), Ben Eaves (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), Kenny Corupe (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton), and Dany Sabourin (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)). Former Head Coach Pat Bingham is an assistant with Bridgeport.

How Fast Can You Get Here? The Wheeling Nailers had their first player re-called to the NHL directly. Goaltender Andy Chiodo was summoned to Pittsburgh to dress as the backup goalie for the Penguins home opener on October 15th. Chiodo was needed due to an injury to Jocelyn Thibault.

Nailers History: The Nailers finished the 2004-05 season in sixth place in the Northern Division with a 38-29-5- mark (81 pts.) The Nailers allowed only 2.40 goals per game, second best in the ECHL. The team has 600 career wins.

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from January 23, 2006


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.

OurSports Central