Nailers at Swamp Rabbits Game Day Snap Shot

WHEELING NAILERS(1-0-0-0, 2 PTS, 1st North, T-1st East)5 GF, 4 GAPP: 16.7% (1-for-6), 7thPK: 60.0% (3-for-5), T-14th

8-F-Nick Sorkin (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points in 1 game)23-F-Garrett Meurs (2 goals, 2 points in 1 game)24-F-Reid Gardiner (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points in 1 game)11-F-Cody Wydo (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points in 1 game)4 players tied (1 assist, 1 point in 1 game)30-G-Colin Stevens (10-18-5 record, 3.23 GAA, .893 Sv% in 33 games in 2016-17)

GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS(0-1-0-0, 0 PTS, T-5th South, T-11th East)4 GF, 5 GAPP: 40.0% (2-for-5), T-2ndPK: 83.3% (5-for-6), 10th

29-F-Caleb Herbert (1 goal, 2 assists, 3 points in 1 game)12-F-Adam Chapie (1 goal, 1 assist, 2 points in 1 game)14-F-Curt Gogol (1 goal, 1 point in 1 game)17-F-Branden Troock (1 goal, 1 point in 1 game)5 players tied (1 assist, 1 point in 1 game)30-G-Ty Rimmer (14-13-4 record, 3.01 GAA, .910 Sv% in 34 games in 2015-16)

Head to HeadSeason Series: Nailers 1, Swamp Rabbits 0Season Series at Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Nailers 1, Swamp Rabbits 0All-Time Series: Swamp Rabbits 15, Nailers 11All-Time Series at Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Swamp Rabbits 6, Nailers 5

Starting off on the Right FootThe Wheeling Nailers opened their 2017-18 season on Friday night, earning at least one point for the seventh consecutive opening game. Similar to their 2011 opening win in Greenville, the Nailers surrendered the first goal of the season, before rallying for what turned out to be the first of their two comebacks on the night. Cody Wydo collected Wheeling's first tally of the year at the 49-second mark of the middle frame, when he jammed a backhander into the right side of the net. Garrett Meurs lit the lamp twice during the second period, doing so from almost the exact same spot on the ice. His first shot beat the Swamp Rabbits netminder on the blocker side, while his second strike went in along the ice on the glove side. At the 2:55 mark of the third, Nick Sorkin deposited a Cody Wydo wraparound feed, putting the Nailers on top for good. Reid Gardiner added an insurance goal at the time, but it turned into the game winner in a 5-4 final score. Sean Maguire made a career-high 43 saves, backstopping the victory.

Openers Aren't FriendlyThe Greenville Swamp Rabbits haven't had nearly as much fun as the Nailers in their opening games, as Friday night was their fourth straight loss in an opening game, bringing their all-time record to 2-6-0 in game one of the year. Caleb Herbert gave the home fans some early excitement, when he potted the lone goal of the first period, converting a 2-on-1 rush. After falling behind 2-1, Adam Chapie and Branden Troock put Greenville ahead, with Chapie scoring on a delayed penalty, and Troock tipping in a shot during a man advantage. The Swamp Rabbits never saw the lead again, surrendering three straight goals to Wheeling, before Curt Gogol trimmed the margin to one with a second power play goal for his team. Brandon Halverson took the loss in goal for Greenville, stopping 39 of the 44 shots he faced.

Southern Shooting GalleryGoaltenders Sean Maguire and Brandon Halverson certainly got put to the test on Friday night, as the Nailers and Swamp Rabbits combined to take 91 shots on goal. Each team reached double digits in all three periods, with Wheeling collecting 16, 16, and 12 to Greenville's 13, 15, and 19. Maguire's best period was the third, as he preserved the win for the Nailers by turning aside 18 of the 19. Halverson had his best performance in the opening stanza, when he was perfect on the 16 attempts. The 47 shots and 43 saves were both career highs for Maguire, while Halverson's 44 shots faced matched his career-high, which was originally set in February, when he played for the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack. Three other ECHL teams eclipsed the 40-shot plateau on Friday night, led by the Idaho Steelheads, who exploded for 22 in the first period, en route to 49 in their 4-2 win over the Norfolk Admirals.

Let's Go for TwoAlready having one win to start the season, the only thing that would make their opening trip better would be a second straight win for the Nailers on Saturday night. In the first 25 years of the team's history, Wheeling has opened up with back-to-back wins on three occasions. The most recent of those was in 2011-12, which also featured consecutive wins in the Palmetto State, as the Nailers took out the two teams they beat in the previous year's playoffs - the Greenville Road Warriors and South Carolina Stingrays. That 2011-12 squad holds the club record for most consecutive wins to start a season, as it posted a perfect 5-0-0 record in October. The other two years with two straight wins at the start were the 2008-09 team, who started out 3-0-0 and 6-0-4, and the 2003-04 club, who went on to set a team record with 51 victories.

We Want it BackSaturday night marks the second and final head-to-head meeting between the Nailers and Swamp Rabbits of the season, as Wheeling visits Bon Secours Wellness Arena for both clashes. After dropping both decisions on home ice last season, the Nailers got the third straight victory for a visiting team on Friday night, getting the better of Greenville, 5-4. When Greenville first returned to the ECHL at the start of the 2010-11 season, it wasn't a friendly place for Wheeling, who dropped three straight contests on its opponents home ice. Since then, the Nailers have come out on top in five of eight regular season tilts and nine of 15 matches overall. Wheeling is hoping to extend the seesaw trend to continue for a fifth straight year of having the season series change hands, and can only do so with a win on Saturday. The Nailers won four of the previous seven season sets, thanks in part to a three-year run from 2011-14.