Wheeling Nailers Weekly Report, Oct. 16

Last Week

Fri. 10/13 WHEELING NAILERS 5 @ Greenville Swamp Rabbits 4Wydo (Gardiner, Sorkin)Meurs (Bourbonnais)Meurs (Army)Sorkin (Schulze, Wydo)Gardiner (Wydo, Sorkin)Maguire- 43/47

Sat. 10/14 WHEELING NAILERS 7 @ Greenville Swamp Rabbits 6 (overtime)Fejes (Army, Brown)Meurs (Schulze, Brown)Fejes (Meurs, Brown)Sorkin (Ryan, Gardiner)Fejes (Meurs, Army)Fejes (Schulze)Meurs (Gardiner, Schulze)Stevens- 39/45

Last week, the Wheeling Nailers opened up the 2017-18 season by sweeping a pair of games from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. On Friday night, Wheeling surrendered the first goal of the year, but rallied back in the second period, as Cody Wydo and Garrett Meurs put the visitors ahead. Meurs tallied again later in the middle frame, pulling the Nailers even, 3-3, with 41 seconds remaining. In the third period, Nick Sorkin and Reid Gardiner put Wheeling ahead by two, before the Swamp Rabbits trimmed the margin back down to one, with a 5-4 score. Sean Maguire's 43 saves kept the Nailers on top, preserving the victory. On Saturday night, the early deficit was two for Wheeling, but once again, the high-powered offense responded. Hunter Fejes lit the lamp twice in the opening stanza, and Meurs added a goal, with all three strikes coming on the power play for a 3-2 lead. Nick Sorkin scored in period two, leading the teams into intermission in a 4-4 deadlock. Fejes completed his hat trick, then tacked on his fourth goal of the contest in the third period, but that wasn't quite enough, as the score was tied, 6-6. Meurs ultimately put the Nailers into the win column, burying the deciding goal in overtime for the 7-6 decision. Colin Stevens was the winning goaltender, as he made 39 saves.

The 2-0-0 start is the first for the Nailers since 2011-12, and the fourth in their 26-year history. The back-to-back wins in 2011-12 also came on the road, as Wheeling swept a weekend trip against Greenville and South Carolina. Reid Gardiner scored the game winning goal in his ECHL debut on Friday, after playing in 23 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in 2016-17. Hunter Fejes scored the 13th four-goal game in Wheeling history on Saturday, and the first since Nick Petersen on October 30, 2010 at Cincinnati. Darren Schwartz (3) and Steve Gibson (2) are the only players with multiple four-goal contests. Fejes and Garrett Meurs are tied for the ECHL lead with four goals each, while Meurs' six points are tied for second in the league. Saturday's overtime winning goal was the first of Meurs' pro career. The Nailers scored five power play goals on Saturday - their highest total since February 6, 2010, when they posted an identical 5-for-7 mark in a 10-1 home win over Kalamazoo. Wheeling also compiled 53 shots on goal on Saturday, which landed four shots shy of the team's all-time record of 57.

This Week

Sat. 10/21 Cincinnati Cyclones @ WHEELING NAILERS, 7:05Sun. 10/22 WHEELING NAILERS @ Reading Royals, 4:00

This week, the Wheeling Nailers will open up the home portion of their 2017-18 schedule, when they welcome the Cincinnati Cyclones to WesBanco Arena on Saturday night. Wheeling faced off against Cincinnati twice in the preseason, taking a pair of 5-4 victories from its closest geographical opponent. The Cyclones played once last weekend, falling 3-2 in overtime to the Kalamazoo Wings on Saturday night at US Bank Arena. Justin Vaive and Brycen Martin had the goals for Cincinnati, who got a 33-save effort out of goaltender Anthony Peters. After playing in the South Division last season, the Cyclones shifted over to the Central Division during the offseason. On Sunday afternoon, the Nailers will get right back at it, as they hit the road to play their first divisional foe of the season - the Reading Royals. Reading had last weekend off, as its two-game road series against the South Carolina Stingrays got moved to early November. The Royals will play their first game of the season on Saturday afternoon, when they host the Adirondack Thunder. Reading and Adirondack clashed twice during the preseason, with the Royals coming out victorious on both occasions.

Upcoming Home Games/PromotionsSat. 10/21- Opening Night, Fan Fest Beginning at 4:00, Music by Hit Play, Cornhole, Inflatables, Refreshments, Slap Koozie GiveawayFri. 11/3- Frosty FridayFri. 11/10- Marvel Super Hero Night, Children's Cape Giveaway (first 1,000 kids), Frosty FridaySun. 11/12- Post Game Skate with the TeamTue. 11/14- Education Day #1, Thundersticks Giveaway (all)

Nailers LeadersGoals: 4, Hunter Fejes & Garrett MeursAssists: 4, Kevin SchulzePoints: 6, Garrett MeursPenalty Minutes: 7, Jeremy BeirnesPlus/Minus: +3, Garrett Meurs & Dan MilanWins: 1, Sean Maguire & Colin StevensGoals Against Average: 4.00, Sean MaguireSave Percentage: .915, Sean MaguireShutouts: 0

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