Nailers at Komets Game Day Snap Shot

WHEELING NAILERS(12-9-2-0, 26 PTS, 5th North, T-8th East)76 GF, 73 GAPP: 17.6% (18-for-102), 13thPK: 75.8% (75-for-99), 26th

26-D-Kevin Schulze (4 goals, 17 assists, 21 points in 23 games)11-F-Cody Wydo (8 goals, 11 assists, 19 points in 23 games)23-F-Garrett Meurs (8 goals, 9 assists, 17 points in 23 games)22-F-Adam Krause (7 goals, 10 assists, 17 points in 15 games)17-F-Jordan Kwas (7 goals, 7 assists, 14 points in 23 games)16-F-Derek Army (8 goals, 5 assists, 13 points in 22 games)29-G-Sean Maguire (0-2-0 record, 5.12 GAA, .855 Sv% in 2 games)

FORT WAYNE KOMETS(13-7-3-0, 29 PTS, 3rd Central, T-6th West)86 GF, 68 GAPP: 18.6% (16-for-86), 9thPK: 83.9% (94-for-112), 13th

19-F-Shawn Szydlowski (13 goals, 18 assists, 31 points in 22 games)24-F-Kyle Thomas (11 goals, 14 assists, 25 points in 23 games)13-F-Mike Cazzola (7 goals, 14 assists, 21 points in 23 games)48-F-Garrett Thompson (9 goals, 10 assists, 19 points in 23 games)22-F-Jamie Schaafsma (6 goals, 13 assists, 19 points in 18 games)44-D-Cody Sol (3 goals, 10 assists, 13 points in 23 games)60-G-Garrett Bartus (2-0-1 record, 2.41 GAA, .905 Sv% in 4 games)

Head to HeadSeason Series: Nailers 1, Komets 02015-16 Season Series at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum: Komets 1, Nailers 0All-Time Series: Nailers 8, Komets 4All-Time Series at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum: Nailers 4, Komets 2

First Big Comeback of the YearThe Wheeling Nailers found themselves in a difficult situation on Friday night, but rallied back for a storybook ending, as they erased a 4-0 deficit to stun the Fort Wayne Komets, 6-5 at WesBanco Arena. The comeback began at the 11:13 mark of the second period, when Brett Stern found the right side of the net from the left circle. With 2:25 left in the middle stanza, Adam Krause tipped in a Josh Shalla pass on the power play, giving the Nailers some life, as they entered the final frame. Garrett Meurs kept the goals coming at the 2:17 mark of the third, when he hammered in the rebound of Krause's initial drive. Wheeling temporarily pulled even, when Kevin Schulze found Andrew Ammon for a one-timer from the right circle, but the visitors went back ahead 1:27 later. With less than three minutes to go, the Nailers pulled the goalie while on the power play, and that resulted in the tying goal, as Krause potted his second of the night, whacking in a loose puck on the left side of the crease. 18 seconds after that, Krause completed his hat trick, which was the winning goal, as he banked in a shot from the right side of the goal line. Doug Carr collected his eighth win of the year in net.

A Rare Third Period SlipThe Fort Wayne Komets entered Friday night's game with a perfect 12-0-0 record when leading after two periods, giving the Nailers the opportunity to add the first blemish to that mark. Fort Wayne scored twice in the first two frames to build a 4-0 lead by the time the game was 29:40 old. Three of the four markers came on the power play, although the Komets came up empty on their final man advantage of the night with under five minutes to go in the game. Fort Wayne's first tally came at the 11:13 mark of the opening stanza, when former Nailer Bobby Shea threaded a wrist shot along the ice from the middle of the blueline. Goal number two was the only one which came at even strength for the visitors, as the puck pinballed to Mike Cazzola's backhand, which he shoveled into the cage. Jamie Schaafsma potted the third goal for the Komets at the 51-second mark of the middle period, redirecting Shawn Szydloswski's right point wrister. Kyle Thomas roofed a wrist shot from the right circle to make the score 4-0, before Wheeling rattled off four straight goals to tie things up. Cody Sol temporarily put Fort Wayne back on top with a drive from the blueline, but that lead was later erased for good, as part of the Nailers four-goal third period. Eric Hartzell took the defeat in goal for the Komets, allowing six goals on 40 shots.

Krause Wore the HatsAdam Krause scored his first career hat trick on Friday night, as well as Wheeling's second of the 2016-17 campaign, as part of a five-point night, as the Nailers came from behind to edge Fort Wayne, 6-5 in the Friendly City. Krause snared his first point of the night with a redirection of Josh Shalla's shot, which in turn ended a nine-game drought without a goal for the second year forward. Adam assisted on each of the next two markers, using a hard shot to produce a rebound for Garrett Meurs on the third goal, then kicking the puck around the boards, allowing Kevin Schulze to set up Andrew Ammon for the equalizer. The Hermantown, Minnesota native then scored both the tying and winning goals, as he became the fourth different Nailer to score two game winners this season. Both Wheeling hat tricks have been parts of five-point nights, with Josh Shalla racking up the other one on October 29th against Kalamazoo. 2014-15 was the last season which featured multiple hat tricks for the Nailers. The last time multiple five-point nights occurred in the same year was 2010-11.

West Treats Us WellAs the 1/3 mark of the season approaches, Wheeling's schedule has been very balanced when it comes to east and west. Once Saturday's game is complete, the Nailers will have skated against Western Conference foes 12 times, to go along with 12 games played against Eastern Conference opponents. Wheeling has had good success against the Western Conference, picking up wins against Fort Wayne, Kalamazoo, Quad City, Toledo, and Utah, for an overall record of 9-2-0. The Eastern Conference hasn't produced as great of numbers, as the Nailers are 3-7-2 when facing teams from the North and South Divisions. After Saturday, Wheeling will play four of its next five games against the Eastern Conference, including its first looks of the season at divisional opponents Manchester (December 20th) and Elmira (December 31st). Friday was just the fourth cross conference game of the year for the Komets, who are 1-2-1 against Brampton, Cincinnati, and Wheeling.

Swinging Over to the JungleSaturday night marks the second of five head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Komets this season, as well as the first of four battles at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum. Wheeling took the series opener on Friday in Fort Wayne's first trip to West Virginia since March 27, 2015, which was also a one-goal triumph for the home team. The Nailers have earned at least one point in five of their previous six visits to Fort Wayne, after a 1-0 overtime setback in late March of last season. Friday night was Wheeling's eighth all-time victory against the Komets, with five of the eight occurring in comeback fashion, and three of those five seeing three-goal deficits wiped out. 2016-17 features the most clashes in the same year between the Nailers and Fort Wayne since the Komets joined the ECHL at the start of the 2012-13 campaign. After Bobby Shea and Eric Hartzell visited their former home arena on Friday, Garrett Meurs will make his first trip to Fort Wayne as a visiting player on Saturday. Meurs and Shea both scored goals on Friday night.