Nailers at Mallards Game Day Snap Shot

WHEELING NAILERS(7-4-1-0, 15 PTS, T-3rd North, T-6th East)42 GF, 34 GAPP: 22.2% (12-for-54), T-6thPK: 83.0% (39-for-47), T-16th

25-F-Josh Shalla (8 goals, 5 assists, 13 points in 12 games)26-D-Kevin Schulze (2 goals, 11 assists, 13 points in 12 games)8-F-Nick Sorkin (5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points in 12 games)17-F-Jordan Kwas (5 goals, 5 assists, 10 points in 12 games)23-F-Garrett Meurs (4 goals, 5 assists, 9 points in 12 games)11-F-Cody Wydo (3 goals, 6 assists, 9 points in 12 games)30-G-JP Anderson (2-0-0 record, 1.00, .962 Sv% in 2 games)

QUAD CITY MALLARDS(7-4-0-1, 15 PTS, 4th Central, T-6th West)29 GF, 31 GAPP: 20.9% (9-for-43), 9thPK: 86.0% (37-for-43), 10th

10-F-Justin Kovacs (4 goals, 8 assists, 12 points in 12 games)11-F-Sam Warning (4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points in 12 games)8-F-Alex Petan (5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points in 12 games)12-F-Chris Francis (4 goals, 2 assists, 6 points in 10 games)4-D-Mike Monfredo (1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points in 10 games)9-F-Brady Brassart (2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points in 11 games)30-G-CJ Motte (5-1-0 record, 1.74 GAA, .944 Sv% in 7 games)

Head to Head2015-16 Season Series: Nailers 2, Mallards 12015-16 Season Series at iWireless Center: Nailers 1, Mallards 1All-Time Series: Nailers 2, Mallards 1All-Time Series at iWireless Center: Nailers 1, Mallards 1

Time to Start a New StreakThe Wheeling Nailers found themselves trailing for the first time in nearly two weeks on Friday night, and the end result was the end of their five-game winning streak, as they fell to the Indy Fuel, 6-1 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Indy's Chris Williams opened the scoring at the 7:44 mark of the first period, ending a stretch of 279:15 in which Wheeling was either tied or ahead, dating back to the second period of the November 5th victory at Toledo. The Fuel increased their lead to two with a pair of goals in the middle frame, before the Nailers got on the scoreboard. Michael Webster's shot from the right wall pinballed around to Christian Hilbrich, who tapped in his first professional goal, playing in his former home rink in the USHL. Wheeling thought it had a second tally, thanks to Garrett Meurs, but incidental contact with the goalie prevented it from counting. Indy capitalized on the break, netting three more goals to break the game open. Jake Hildebrand defeated Doug Carr in the crease.

Komets are Quad's KryptoniteThe Quad City Mallards have had a good start to the 2016-17 season, going 7-4-1 in their first 12 contests. However, one puzzle that has been difficult for Quad City to solve has been the Fort Wayne Komets, who are responsible for three of the team's four regulation losses. One of those occurred on Friday night at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Similar to the Wheeling game, the Komets slowly built their lead, turning on the red light once each in the first and second periods. At the 18-second mark of the third period, Michael Parks scored his first goal of the season, trimming the margin in half at 2-1. Fort Wayne wouldn't let the Mallards get any closer, finishing off the triumph with three more markers in the last stanza for a 5-1 final score. Former Nailer Eric Hartzell was the winning netminder, making 31 saves to defeat Adam Vay, who gave up five goals on 39 shots for Quad City.

Plenty of Power Play ProductionIn Friday night's game, both the Nailers and Fuel converted on the man advantage, as Wheeling turned in a 1-for-5 effort, while Indy was 1-for-2. Power play goals have been scored incredibly frequently in games involving the Nailers, as only two of the 12 contests thus far this season have seen one team score with a member of the opposition in the penalty box. The two games that didn't feature a strike on the man advantage for either side were opening night on October 15th and the first road game on October 22nd. Wheeling has been successful in denting the twine on the power play in six consecutive tilts and eight of 12 games overall. The Nailers are 6-2-0 when posting at least one goal on the man advantage, including a 6-0-0 mark when their power play outscores the opposition's. Additionally, Wheeling has potted two shorthanded goals this season.

Sizable Margins of VictoryThe 2016-17 campaign began with four consecutive one-goal games for the Nailers, as they dropped a pair of decisions in regulation, while picking up a shootout win and an overtime loss. Since then, one-goal decisions have been difficult to find, as seven of the last eight matches have all been won by at least three goals. The lone exception occurred on Tuesday morning, when the Brampton Beast rallied from a 6-2 deficit to make the score 6-5, which is what Wheeling took into the win column. Prior to that, each of the Nailers previous four wins were decided by three, as they beat Toledo 5-2, Kalamazoo 3-0, Reading 4-1, and Brampton 5-2. Both of Wheeling's setbacks have been nights to forget, as Toledo and Indy both posted 6-1 triumphs. Quad City enters the weekend 4-0-1 in one-goal games, and 3-4-0 when there is a multiple goal differential. The Mallards have been involved in two games where the margin has been four, and both of those were losses to Fort Wayne.

In Town for the WeekendSaturday night marks the first of five head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Mallards this season, as well as the first of two battles at iWireless Center. This weekend will serve as Wheeling's lone visit of the year to Moline, Illinois, in addition to its only trip to the Central Time Zone during the regular season. Quad City joined the ECHL in the summer of 2014, after competing in the Central Hockey League for four seasons. The Nailers didn't get a chance to face the Mallards in their inaugural ECHL campaign, but did get to clash with them three times last season. Wheeling took the opening match, 2-1 at WesBanco Arena, before the two sides split two games on the Flock's home ice. The Nailers came out on top 4-1 in the first game, before Quad City responded with a 5-3 decision the following night. After Sunday, the two non conference opponents will have to wait until late January to meet again, when the Mallards travel to West Virginia. There will also be a two-game set in the middle of March in Wheeling.