ECHL Wheeling Nailers

Wheeling Nailers Weekly Report

Published on February 17, 2014 under ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release


Last Week

Wed. 2/12 Toledo Walleye 1 @ WHEELING NAILERS 4

Bakker (Fernandez, Areshenko)

Ratchuk (Gill, MacKay)

Fernandez (Mulvey, Ratchuk)

Sylvester (Gill, MacKay)

Millan- 21/22

Fri. 2/14 Reading Royals 2 @ WHEELING NAILERS 4

Gill (Rowney, Stevenson)

Manderson (Torquato)

Rowney (Sylvester, Goers)

Manderson (Torquato)

Condon- 28/30

Sat. 2/15 Elmira Jackals 1 @ WHEELING NAILERS 2 (shootout)

Ratchuk (Manderson, Torquato)

Mannino- 26/27

SO: Rowney N, Manderson N, Ratchuk Y, MacKay N, Sylvester N, Torquato N, Gill Y, Goers Y. Mannino- 6/8.

Sun. 2/16 WHEELING NAILERS 3 @ Fort Wayne Komets 4

MacKay (Manderson, Torquato)

Ratchuk (Gill, Sylvester)

Torquato (Rowney, Manderson)

Mannino- 32/36

Last week, the Wheeling Nailers defended their home ice to perfection, winning all three of their games at WesBanco Arena, while posting a 3-1-0 record in four contests overall. All four games last week were won by the team with the greater number of shots on goal, as the Nailers are currently riding a six-game winning streak, when they outshoot their opponent. For the season, Wheeling is 9-4-0, when that scenario is presented. Forwards Zack Torquato and Denver Manderson both extended their point streaks last week, as Torquato's currently sits at seven games (longest by a Nailer this season), while Manderson's currently sits at six. Mike Ratchuk has points in eight of his nine games as well. In goal, all three netminders picked up a win, as Kieran Millan topped Toledo, Mike Condon bested Reading, and Peter Mannino edged Elmira.

On Wednesday night, Wheeling and Toledo battled to a scoreless draw, until Shane Bakker and Mike Ratchuk built a 2-0 lead for the Nailers, with less than ten minutes remaining in the second period. The Walleye cut the deficit to one with a power play goal later in the frame, but in the third period, Wheeling put the game away. Tyler Fernandez netted an insurance marker at the 5:46 mark, and Cody Sylvester iced the triumph, with his 12th goal of the season, into an empty net. On Friday night, the Nailers got the upper hand on the Reading Royals for the second time in three games, despite falling behind on Josh Brittain's power play goal, 3:39 in. Sahir Gill knotted the game in the first, setting up a dominant middle frame for Wheeling, which saw it score twice (Denver Manderson & Carter Rowney), while outshooting Reading, 20-7. Brittain closed the gap to one for the Royals with less than nine minutes remaining, but Mike Condon kept them at bay for the remainder of the night, before Manderson's shorthanded empty netter finished off the 4-2 victory. On Saturday night, goaltending was the story, as Wheeling's Peter Mannino and Elmira's Neil Conway combined to stop 58 of 60 shots during regulation and overtime. The game progressed to a shootout, which was decided in the eighth round, when Barry Goers converted for the Nailers, while Dane Walters came up empty for the Jackals. On Sunday afternoon, Max MacKay opened the scoring for Wheeling, before Matt Carter, Chris Auger, and Shawn Szydlowski built a 3-1 lead for Fort Wayne. Mike Ratchuk battled the Nailers back to a 3-2 deficit, before Carter's second of the day proved to be too much, as the Komets pulled away with a 4-3 win. Zack Torquato had the final Wheeling tally, giving him 14 multiple point games this season.

This Week

Wed. 2/19 WHEELING NAILERS @ Reading Royals, 7:05

Fri. 2/21 WHEELING NAILERS @ Elmira Jackals, 7:05

Sat. 2/22 WHEELING NAILERS @ Elmira Jackals, 7:05

Sun. 2/23 WHEELING NAILERS @ Elmira Jackals, 4:05

This week, the Wheeling Nailers will begin a stretch of six straight games against Atlantic Division opponents, while continuing their six-game road trip. On Wednesday night, Wheeling will return to Santander Arena in Reading, where it split a pair of games on February 8th and 9th. The Nailers will look to continue to turn the tide against the Royals, who have won seven of the ten games in the season series. Reading currently holds a four-point lead over Wheeling in the Eastern Conference Standings. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the Nailers will collide with the Elmira Jackals, who they defeated 2-1 in a shootout last Saturday. Wheeling has controlled the majority of the season series against Elmira, going 7-1-1 in the first nine games, including a 2-0-1 mark at First Arena. Although they are in consecutive positions in the standings, the Nailers carry a ten-point lead over the Jackals into the week.

Upcoming Home Games/Promotions

Sat. 3/1 vs. Reading - McDonald's FANtastic Night #5 - Appearance by Jerry "The King" Lawler; Youth Hockey Stick Giveaway to First 1,000 Kids

Sun. 3/2 vs. Cincinnati - Family Funday; Post Game Skate With the Team; $5 Kids Tickets

Wed. 3/12 vs. Toledo - WesBanco Winning Wednesday; $5 Kids Tickets

Fri. 3/14 vs. Reading - OVMC/CORE Weekend; St. Patrick's Day Jerseys; Frosty Friday; Player Poster Giveaway

Sat. 3/15 vs. Cincinnati - Gold Ball Cap Giveaway to First 2,500 Fans; OVMC/CORE Weekend, St. Patrick's Day Jerseys

Nailers Leaders

Goals: 12, Max MacKay & Cody Sylvester

Assists: 27, Sahir Gill

Points: 37, Sahir Gill

Penalty Minutes: 158, Patrick McGrath

Plus/Minus: +12, Sahir Gill

Wins: 15, Mike Condon

Goals Against Average: 2.57, Mike Condon

Save Percentage: .919, Mike Condon

Shutouts: 2, Mike Condon

Eastern Conference Standings

1. South Carolina Stingrays 64

2. Kalamazoo Wings 62

3. Orlando Solar Bears 59

4. Reading Royals 58

5. Cincinnati Cyclones 58

6. Fort Wayne Komets 57

7. Florida Everblades 57

8. Greenville Road Warriors 57

9. WHEELING NAILERS 54

10. Evansville IceMen 54

11. Elmira Jackals 44

12. Gwinnett Gladiators 40

13. Toledo Walleye 35

Check out the Wheeling Nailers Statistics

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