Nailers vs. Beast Game Day Snap Shot

WHEELING NAILERS2015-16:(37-26-5-4, 83 PTS, 2nd North, 5th East)214 GF, 211 GAPP: 17.8% (48-for-269), 9thPK: 83.6% (225-for-269), 15th

11-F-Cody Wydo (23 goals, 27 assists, 50 points in 59 games)25-F-Josh Shalla (20 goals, 22 assists, 42 points in 67 games)23-F-Garrett Meurs (18 goals, 17 assists, 35 points in 51 games)28-F-Kenton Miller (16 goals, 18 assists, 34 points in 65 games)17-F-Jordan Kwas (9 goals, 20 assists, 29 points in 60 games)27-D-Brett Stern (7 goals, 17 assists, 24 points in 72 games)31-G-Doug Carr (10-8-5 record, 2.77 GAA, .915 Sv% in 24 games)

BRAMPTON BEAST2015-16:(23-38-7-4, 57 PTS, 4th North, 14th East)179 GF, 255 GAPP: 15.8% (43-for-272), 19thPK: 78.4% (236-for-301), 27th

61-F-David Pacan (20 goals, 42 assists, 62 points in 69 games)13-F-Brandon Marino (13 goals, 28 assists, 41 points in 40 games)18-D-Mike Vernace (5 goals, 31 assists, 36 points in 56 games)27-F-Luc-Olivier Blain (10 goals, 22 assists, 32 points in 66 games)5-D-Jeremie Blain (2 goals, 22 assists, 24 points in 34 games)11-F-Luke Pither (9 goals, 11 assists, 20 points in 26 games)30-G-Andrew D'Agostini (2-0-0 record, 1.00 GAA, .966 Sv% in 2 games)

Head to Head2015-16 Season Series: Nailers 7, Beast 22015-16 Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 3, Beast 2All-Time Series: Nailers 10, Beast 3All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 3, Beast 2

Season 25 Starts NowThe Wheeling Nailers will drop the puck on their 25th season in team history on Saturday night, when they play host to their North Division rivals, the Brampton Beast. The Nailers are coming off of one of their most successful years in team history, capturing the Eastern Conference Championship, while reaching the Kelly Cup Final. During the regular season, Wheeling posted a 37-26-9 record, earning its fifth playoff appearance in the last six campaigns, as well as its eighth straight year with a winning record. The Nailers enter 2016-17 with an all-time record of 855-694-151, which is good for 1,861 standings points. Wheeling is 12-11-1 in season opening contests, which includes a 4-0-1 mark in the last five. This will be the third time in four years that the Nailers open on home ice, after defeating Elmira in 2013 and Reading in 2014. Last season, Wheeling played its home opener against Brampton, collecting a 5-1 victory.

Their Point Total Went UpThe Brampton Beast are entering their third season in the ECHL, but the first two campaigns have been anything but enjoyable. Brampton finished both of its season with 23 victories, settling for a seventh place finish in the Central Division in 2014-15, followed by a fourth place finish in the North Division in 2015-16. Last season, the Beast did improve in the points department, as they ended up with 57 - an eight-point improvement over the year before. Prior to the 2014-15 campaign, Brampton was one of seven teams to join the ECHL from the Central Hockey League. The Beast reached the playoffs in their lone year as members of the CHL. Brampton is 1-2 all-time in season openers, defeating the Arizona Sundogs in the CHL, before back-to-back year opening setbacks in the ECHL against the Toledo Walleye and Manchester Monarchs. This will be the first time that the Beast start their season away from Powerade Centre.

This Group is the Real ThingLast week, the Nailers took the ice for two preseason tilts against the Cincinnati Cyclones, falling by scores of 4-0 and 3-1, with Johan Sorkin producing the lone goal. Since the team was last in uniform, there have been numerous changes that have taken place, as 13 players have joined the roster after attending AHL camps, and one other has come to Wheeling from another ECHL team. 14 of the 23 players on the current roster have played professional hockey in North America at the ECHL or AHL levels, and six of the 23 have worn a Nailers uniform at one point during their careers (Ammon, Army, Fick, Schulze, Stern, Wydo). 20 of the 23 players are under contract with Wheeling, with Christian Hilbrich, Ryan Segalla, and Michael Webster serving as the three affiliated players, all under contract with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Getting Ready for a Banner NightThe 2016-17 season opener will be one gigantic celebration for the City of Wheeling, who celebrates becoming the first city to be an ECHL member for 25 consecutive seasons. The success of the organization began all the way back in year one, when the 1992-93 Wheeling Thunderbirds captured the hearts of the Ohio Valley, reaching the Riley Cup Final. Original Head Coach Doug Sauter will be a part of Saturday night's festivities. Wheeling has left a strong impression on its players, so much so that players such as Brock Woods have made this region their home. Cincinnati native Christiaan Minella was a part of two successful Nailers clubs during his time at WesBanco Arena, as the 2010-11 team reached the Eastern Conference Final, and the 2013-14 group earned the first ever four-game playoff sweep in team history. Then, before the puck gets dropped, the six returning players from 2015-16 will see their hard work rewarded, as the Eastern Conference Championship Banner gets raised to the rafters in front of a crowd which is quickly approaching the 5,000 mark.

We See Them the MostSaturday night marks the first of 11 head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Beast this season, as well as the first of six battles at WesBanco Arena. In the first two years of the all-time set, Wheeling has gotten the upper hand, defeating Brampton on ten of 13 occasions. Seven of those triumphs have come in Ontario, where the Nailers have posted a 7-1 record in games which require passports to enter the country to the north. The 2015-16 season series was significantly tighter in Downtown Wheeling, where the Nailers came out on top in the last two contests, earning three victories in five home games. Three of the nine games played last season required more than sixty minutes to be played, and all three were decided during the five-minute overtime period, in favor of the visiting side. 2015-16 was the first time that the Beast ever visited Wheeling, as all four clashes in 2014-15 were played on Canadian ice. Prior to Brampton, the Nailers last Canadian opponent was the Victoria Salmon Kings.