Nailers at Beast Game Day Snap Shot

WHEELING NAILERS(5-3-1-0, 11 PTS, 5th North, T-8th East)30 GF, 21 GAPP: 24.2% (8-for-33), 4thPK: 80.6% (25-for-31), T-21st

25-F-Josh Shalla (7 goals, 5 assists, 12 points in 9 games)8-F-Nick Sorkin (4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points in 9 games)17-F-Jordan Kwas (4 goals, 3 assists, 7 points in 9 games)23-F-Garrett Meurs (3 goals, 3 assists, 6 points in 9 games)11-F-Cody Wydo (1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points in 9 games)26-D-Kevin Schulze (1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points in 9 games)30-G-JP Anderson (1-0-0 record, 0.00 GAA, 1.000 Sv% in 1 game)

BRAMPTON BEAST(5-1-1-2, 13 PTS, T-3rd North, T-6th East)37 GF, 35 GAPP: 13.2% (5-for-38), 19thPK: 83.3% (40-for-48), 15th

61-F-David Pacan (5 goals, 8 assists, 13 points in 9 games)13-F-Brandon Marino (3 goals, 10 assists, 13 points in 9 games)38-F-Yannick Veilleux (4 goals, 7 assists, 11 points in 9 games)97-F-David Vallorani (4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points in 9 games)11-F-Luke Pither (3 goals, 5 assists, 8 points in 9 games)25-D-Jordan Henry (1 goal, 3 assists, 4 points in 9 games)31-G-Zachary Fucale (2-1-0 record, 3.24 GAA, .870 Sv% in 3 games)

Head to HeadSeason Series: Beast 1, Nailers 02015-16 Season Series at Powerade Centre: Nailers 4, Beast 0All-Time Series: Nailers 10, Beast 4All-Time Series at Powerade Centre: Nailers 7, Beast 1

Blending in as WinnersThe Wheeling Nailers celebrated Veterans Day by wearing camouflage jerseys in their game against the Reading Royals on Friday night. The Royals may have struggled to see what hit them, as the Nailers played a terrific game, especially in the third period. The two sides exchanged goals during a 43-second span in the second period, with Adam Krause opening the scoring for Wheeling, before Robbie Czarnik answered for Reading. However, the third period belonged solely to the home team, who lit the lamp three times, sending the road weary Royals away empty-handed. Jordan Kwas snapped the one-all tie, when he banged in the deflection of Brett Stern's point shot. Then, Josh Shalla slipped in a power play goal, and Derek Army sniped a shot off of a face-off for a 4-1 final score. Nick Sorkin assisted on each of the last two markers, and has points in six straight contests. Doug Carr made 25 saves for his fourth win of the year.

Seeing Double in ElmiraThe Brampton Beast will be playing their third game in three days on Sunday, after sweeping a pair of tilts from the slumping Elmira Jackals at First Arena. Funny enough, both games had identical 4-2 final scores, in favor of the team from Canada. On Friday night, Luc-Olivier Blain broke a 2-2 deadlock with 14:57 left in the third period, then Yannick Veilleux tacked on an empty netter. Mike Vernace and David Pacan had scored earlier in the night, and Zach Fucale was the winning goaltender, needing only 17 saves. On Saturday night, Brampton jumped ahead on goals by Garrett Clarke and Connor Crisp, then proceeded not to look back. Veilleux netted what turned out to be the game winning goal at the 7:28 mark of the second period, which was followed 72 seconds later by Brandon MacLean. Bryan Pitton faced one of the larger shot outputs by Elmira this season, as he was forced to make 33 saves in order to earn the victory.

It's All About How You FinishThe difference in Friday night's game was the third period, as the Nailers put three pucks in the back of the net, defeating the Royals, 4-1 at WesBanco Arena. After a bit of a slow start in its first three games of the year, Wheeling has been dominant during the final 20 minutes of regulation. As they enter Sunday, the Nailers have a -2 goal differential in the first period (6-4), a +2 goal differential in the second period (10-8), and a +9 goal differential in the third period (15-6). In case that number wasn't already impressive to begin with, Wheeling's third period goal differential in wins is +11, as it has outscored the opposition 12-1. Jordan Kwas became the third different Nailer to pot a game winning goal with his strike on Friday, and Josh Shalla recorded his third insurance tally, helping the home team capture the two points.

No More Basement BeastAfter struggling through their first two seasons in the ECHL, the Beast have been one of the stronger teams to start 2016-17, as they have received one regulation loss in their first nine games of the campaign. That came last Friday night, when the Kalamazoo Wings recorded a 5-3 triumph at Powerade Centre. Brampton rebounded two days later to edge Fort Wayne, 5-4 in overtime, which has been a major theme in the early goings of the season. In fact, the Beast have already needed extra hockey in six contests. They have won three of those, with two coming in overtime and one in a shootout, while two of their three bonus time setbacks have come during shootouts. One of the keys to Brampton's success has been the offense, as the club's 37 goals scored rank tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference, despite being tied for the second fewest games played. David Pacan and Brandon Marino have both registered 13 points, and the Beast recently received Canadiens draft pick Connor Crisp, who has a goal and an assist in his first two games at the ECHL level.

Friendly Neighbors to the NorthSunday afternoon marks the second of 11 head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Beast this season, as well as the first of five battles at Powerade Centre. The first clash of the year was a nail biter all the way to the end, when Luke Pither put Brampton into the win column with an overtime goal on opening night. Historically, the road teams have had great success in the now three seasons of this series, particularly Wheeling, who won all four of its games in Canada last season, and is 7-1 in eight all-time trips to Ontario. The Nailers and Beast are divisional opponents for the second year in a row, and Brampton is the team that shows up most frequently on Wheeling's 2016-17 docket. This is the start of the lone home-and-home series, as the Beast will travel to WesBanco Arena on Tuesday for Education Day at 11:05 a.m. After that, the clubs will get just under a month to take a break from each other, before a two-game set in Brampton on December 9th and 11th.