Wheeling Nailers Weekly Report, Mar. 20

Last Week

Wed. 3/15 WHEELING NAILERS 5 @ Elmira Jackals 4Daniels (Hilbrich, Webster)Quinney (Hilbrich, Daniels)Quinney (Kerbashian, Stern)Kwas (Currier, Stern)Quinney (Wydo)Carr- 29/33

Fri. 3/17 WHEELING NAILERS 5 @ Adirondack Thunder 2Cleland (Currier, Meurs)Quinney (Hilbrich, Webster)Wydo (Kerbashian)Bourbonnais (Meurs, Schulze)Wydo (Sorkin, Krieg)Maguire- 32/34

Sat. 3/18 WHEELING NAILERS 4 @ Adirondack Thunder 5 (overtime)Currier (Kerbashian)Krieg (Webster, Kerbashian)Schulze (Kerbashian, Sorkin)Hilbrich (Wydo, Schulze)Maguire- 38/43

Sun. 3/19 WHEELING NAILERS 5 @ Elmira Jackals 6 (overtime)Kerbashian (Carrier, Wydo)Meurs (Currier, Kerbashian)Schulze (Segalla, Daniels)Quinney (Schulze, Sorkin)Kerbashian (Webster, Meurs)Carr- 27/33

Last week, the Wheeling Nailers played four games in five days in New York, and earned six out of eight possible points, while lighting the world on fire with 19 goals. The week began on Wednesday night at First Arena in Elmira. Johnny Daniels netted the first goal of the week, before Elmira took 2-1 and 3-2 leads. But the Nailers rallied back, as Gage Quinney scored three times in the third period, while Jordan Kwas mixed in a marker of his own for a 5-4 comeback win. Quinney's hat trick came in a span of 14:18, while the tying, go-ahead, and eventually winning tallies took place in 2:37. On Friday night, Wheeling continued to have success, as Matias Cleland's first pro goal opened the scoring against the Adirondack Thunder. Quinney and Cody Wydo made the score 3-0 for the Nailers, before the game was 21 minutes old. Adirondack made a little bit of noise, before Riley Bourbonnais's first career goal and Wydo's second of the night put the finishing touches on a 5-2 triumph. On Saturday night, Wheeling flew out of the gates again, and led 3-0, thanks to Tyler Currier, Mike Krieg, and Kevin Schulze. However, the Thunder stormed back with four straight goals to take a lead, before Christian Hilbrich forced overtime with 19 seconds left. Adirondack prevailed 5-4 in the extra session on a strike by Alex Wall. On Sunday afternoon, the Nailers battled back from five different deficits to earn a point in their last ever visit to First Arena. The goals were scored by Kale Kerbashian (2), Garrett Meurs, Schulze, and Quinney. Unfortunately, the overtime tally went the other way, as Ian Young won the game for the Jackals.

Three players made their professional debuts for the Nailers last week, after finishing their college careers - Riley Bourbonnais, Matias Cleland, and Brett Storkey. Cleland scored in his debut, while Bourbonnais lit the lamp in his second contest. Wheeling has earned at least one point in four straight road tilts for the first time this season. In Wednesday's game, Gage Quinney tallied the sixth hat trick for the Nailers this season, and the second in three games. The six hat tricks are the most in a single year for the club since 2008-09 (7), while the most in team history is 14 (1992-93). Kale Kerbashian registered at least one point in all four games on the road trip, finishing the week with two goals, six assists, and eight points. Cody Wydo potted his team-leading 28th goal of the year, 14 of which have come on the power play, which is tied for the league lead. Mike Krieg scored his first goal with Wheeling in Saturday's game. The Nailers matched a season-high by taking 48 shots on goal on Saturday, including a new season-high of 24 during the second period. Tyler Currier and Cody Wydo both have points in six straight games, which ties the longest streaks by the team this season. Wheeling has had ten of its 11 games that have gone past regulation decided during the five-minute overtime session. The Nailers only went to the penalty kill once each on Saturday and Sunday, denying the opposition on both opportunities.

This Week

Wed. 3/22 Idaho Steelheads @ WHEELING NAILERS, 7:05Fri. 3/24 Idaho Steelheads @ WHEELING NAILERS, 7:35Sat. 3/25 Idaho Steelheads @ WHEELING NAILERS, 7:05

This week, the Wheeling Nailers will return to the comforts of home, where they will look to build on an 18-8-4 mark in front of their fans, as they play the first three tilts in a five-game homestand. All three games will see the Idaho Steelheads as the opponent, as Idaho makes its first ever visit to West Virginia. The Nailers played the Steelheads in a three-game road series during February, in which a 3-0 Wheeling victory was sandwiched around a couple of wins the other way for Idaho. The Steelheads are sitting in good position in the Mountain Division Playoff Race, as they have 79 points, which puts them in third place - seven points ahead of fourth place Alaska, and 14 points up on fifth place Utah. Idaho is 4-0-1 in five series against Eastern Conference opponents this season, having faced Reading, Adirondack, Norfolk, Wheeling, and Cincinnati. The Nailers are 3-2 in games against the Mountain Division, having faced Utah and Idaho. Anthony Luciani of the Steelheads is the leading scorer in the season series with five points, while Tyler Currier tops Wheeling with four points.

Upcoming Home Games/PromotionsWed. 3/22- WesBanco Winning Wednesday, McDonald's $6 Kids TicketsFri. 3/24- Mascot Night, Flat Screen Friday Presented by The Highlands, Frosty FridaySat. 3/25- Nailers Fight Cancer Night Benefiting Team Ryan Charitable Foundation, Special Jerseys w/ Auction, Ladies Night, Wine Tasting, Team Card Set Giveaway (first 2,500 fans), Full Team Autograph SessionFri. 3/31- Flat Screen Friday Presented by The Highlands, Frosty FridaySun. 4/2- Family Funday, McDonald's $6 Kids Tickets, Post Game Skate with the Team, Pups & Pucks Night

Nailers LeadersGoals: 28, Cody WydoAssists: 44, Kevin SchulzePoints: 56, Kevin SchulzePenalty Minutes: 115, Garrett MeursPlus/Minus: +25, Christian HilbrichWins: 16, Doug CarrGoals Against Average: 3.24, Sean MaguireSave Percentage: .896, Sean MaguireShutouts: 2, Sean Maguire

March to the Playoffs1. Brampton Beast- 79 points, 9 games remaining. This Week: 3/23 vs. ORL, 3/24 vs. ORL, 3/26 vs. ORL2. Reading Royals- 76 points, 9 games remaining. This Week: 3/22 vs. MAN, 3/24 vs. ADK, 3/25 vs. ADK3. Adirondack Thunder- 76 points, 9 games remaining. This Week: 3/21 vs. ORL, 3/24 at REA, 3/25 at REA4. Manchester Monarchs- 75 points, 9 games remaining. This Week: 3/22 at REA, 3/24 at ELM, 3/25 at ELM, 3/26 at ELM5. WHEELING NAILERS- 70 points, 8 games remaining. This Week: 3/22 vs. IDH, 3/24 vs. IDH, 3/25 vs. IDH