Wheeling Nailers Weekly Report, Oct. 17

Last Week

Sat. 10/15 Brampton Beast 3 @ WHEELING NAILERS 2 (overtime)Shalla (Sorkin, Fick)Lloyd (Kwas, Segalla)Carr- 30/33

Last week, the Wheeling Nailers dropped the puck on their 25th season in team history, playing their season opener at WesBanco Arena on Saturday night. Lots of celebrating took place throughout the night, as Wheeling's past hockey legends were honored, while the 2016 Eastern Conference Championship Banner was raised to the rafters. On the ice, the lone game of the weekend was quite the battle between the Nailers and their North Division rivals, the Brampton Beast. Brampton netted the first goal of the campaign, when David Vallorani finished off a 2-on-0 with former Nailer Luke Pither. Wheeling drew even in the second period, thanks to a wraparound by Josh Shalla, who was acquired in a trade with Toledo at the start of summer. Darryl Lloyd crashed the net and put the Nailers ahead in the early stages of the third, but Pither answered for the Beast, ultimately forcing overtime, after a fantastic save by his goaltender. In the extra session, Brampton prevailed, as Pither lit the lamp for the second time. Andrew D'Agostini got the win with 25 saves, edging Doug Carr, who came up with 30 stops in his first game in a Wheeling uniform.

Despite the setback, the Nailers have now acquired at least one point in six consecutive season openers (4-0-2) and six straight home openers (5-0-1). Saturday was the first of 24 divisional games for Wheeling, who will clash with Reading during the upcoming week. A player new to the team scored the first goal of the season for the third year in a row, as Josh Shalla joined Ty Loney (2015-16) and David Gilbert (2014-15) in that department. Darryl Lloyd scored for his sixth different professional team in North America and seventh overall. Four players made their North American pro debuts on Saturday - Kyle Flemington, Christian Hilbrich, Gage Quinney, and Ryan Segalla. Segalla recorded his first career assist on Lloyd's marker in the third period. The Nailers have gone past regulation 15 times since the 3-on-3 format was introduced at the start of 2015-16. 11 of those have been decided during the five-minute overtime period. Four of the 11 have been played between Wheeling and Brampton, with all four contests being decided in favor of the visiting squad (Wheeling twice, Brampton twice).

This Week

Thu. 10/20 Reading Royals @ WHEELING NAILERS, 7:05Sat. 10/22 WHEELING NAILERS @ Cincinnati Cyclones, 7:35

This week, the Wheeling Nailers will take the ice twice, playing their second game of the year at WesBanco Arena, while embarking on their first road trip of the 2016-17 regular season. The first contest of the week takes place on Thursday night, and is a rematch of the 2016 Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against the Reading Royals. The Nailers edged the Royals in a memorable seven-game series last spring, which ended on Riley Brace's overtime goal in the deciding match. As it turns out, Reading is the lone opponent from the 2016 playoffs that is on Wheeling's schedule for the current season. The Royals opened their slate on Saturday night with a convincing 6-2 victory on home ice against the Elmira Jackals. Olivier Labelle returned from Europe to score a pair of goals, while three players had three-point nights. Former South Carolina Stingray Mark Dekanich was the winning goaltender with 18 saves. On Saturday, the Nailers will make a quick trip to the west, where they will do battle with one of the South Division's newest members, the Cincinnati Cyclones. Cincinnati was swept in a home-and-home series by the Indy Fuel over the weekend, dropping 3-1 and 2-1 decisions. Eric Robinson and Dominic Zombo were the two goal scorers, while Mark Visentin was the netminder in both defeats. Prior to their game against Wheeling, the Cyclones will host the Toledo Walleye on Tuesday.

Upcoming Home Games/PromotionsThu. 10/20- McDonald's $6 Kids TicketsSat. 10/29- Kids Halloween with Trick-or-Treat & Costume ContestFri. 11/4- Flat Screen Friday Presented by The Highlands, Frosty FridaySun. 11/6- Family Funday, McDonald's $6 Kids Tickets, Post Game Skate With the Team (Odd Numbered Players)Fri. 11/11- Veteran's Day, Military Appreciation Night, Nailers Wear Camouflage Jerseys, Flat Screen Friday Presented by The Highlands, Frosty Friday

Nailers LeadersGoals: 1, Darryl Lloyd & Josh ShallaAssists: 1, Danny Fick, Jordan Kwas, Ryan Segalla, Nick SorkinPoints: 1, Fick, Kwas, Lloyd, Segalla, Shalla, SorkinPenalty Minutes: 2, Christian Hilbrich, Darryl Lloyd, Kenton MillerPlus/Minus: +1, Derek Army, Danny Fick, Jordan Kwas, Darryl Lloyd, Garrett MeursWins: NoneGoals Against Average: 2.84, Doug CarrSave Percentage: .909, Doug CarrShutouts: None

North Division Standings1. Adirondack Thunder 2-0-0-0, 4 pts.2. Reading Royals 1-0-0-0, 2 pts.3. Brampton Beast 1-0-0-0, 2 pts.4. WHEELING NAILERS 0-0-1-0, 1 pt.5. Manchester Monarchs 0-1-0-1, 1 pt.6. Elmira Jackals 0-1-0-0, 0 pts.