Wheeling Nailers Weekly Report, Oct. 23

Last Week

Sat. 10/21 Cincinnati Cyclones 2 @ WHEELING NAILERS 4Brown (Army, Meurs)Gardiner (Brown)Army (Tolkinen, Milan)Ryan (Brown, Fick)Stevens- 30/32

Sun. 10/22 WHEELING NAILERS 1 @ Reading Royals 2 (overtime)Gardiner (Wydo, Sorkin)Stevens- 28/30

Last week, the Wheeling Nailers played their first home game of the regular season, and a near sellout crowd of 4,857 was treated to an exciting victory. The Nailers fell behind the visiting Cincinnati Cyclones, 2-0, but a late surge in the second period evened the score, as Cam Brown scored the first home goal of the campaign, and Reid Gardiner followed that a few minutes later. With 6:36 remaining in the third period, captain Derek Army rose the occasion, netting his first tally of the season to give Wheeling its first lead of the night. Former Cyclone Kenny Ryan iced the win with an empty netter for a 4-2 final score. On Sunday afternoon, the Nailers ran their season-opening point streak to four games, but came up just short in their quest for a fourth straight win. Wheeling and the Reading Royals exchanged markers in the first period, with Reid Gardiner lighting the lamp for the second game in a row. The score stayed deadlocked 1-1 until the 1:12 mark of overtime, when Nolan Zajac slapped the Royals into the win column. Colin Stevens got the nod in goal for both tilts, stopping 58 of 62 shots over the weekend.

This is the third time in team history that the Nailers have earned points in four straight games to start a season. The other two occurrences were 2011-12, when the team started out 5-0-0, and 2008-09, which opened with a ten-game point streak of 6-0-4. Both of those squads qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs. One player has found the scoresheet in all four contests to start the year, as rookie Reid Gardiner has recorded at least one point in each of his games wearing a Wheeling uniform. The Nailers have earned at least a point in seven consecutive home openers (6-0-1), and are 18-5-3 all-time in their first game of the campaign at WesBanco Arena. Wheeling's power play has scored in all four games, and ranks second in the league at 33.3%. The penalty kill turned in its first perfect performance on Sunday, holding the Royals scoreless on five opportunities. Benjamin Dieudé-Fauvel appeared in his 450th professional game on Saturday, and Dan Milan appeared in his 300th professional game on Sunday.

This Week

Fri. 10/27 WHEELING NAILERS @ Brampton Beast, 7:15Sun. 10/29 WHEELING NAILERS @ Brampton Beast, 2:00

This week, the Wheeling Nailers will spend a few days out of the country, as they play a pair of road contests against the Brampton Beast at Powerade Centre. Brampton is coming off of the best season in its ECHL history, as it reached the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, defeating Reading, before bowing out to Manchester. However, the Beast haven't found their magical touch yet in 2017-18, opening the year with an 0-4-1 record. Last weekend, Brampton was swept in a home-and-home series by the Kalamazoo Wings, who took a 5-2 decision in Michigan, before crossing the border for a 5-4 win in Ontario. Veteran forward Brandon Marino is the leading scorer for the Beast, with four goals and six points, while rookies Michael McNiven and Marcus Hogberg have shared time between the pipes. Last season, Brampton earned its first season series win against the Nailers (6-5), but Wheeling still has the upper hand all-time, 15-9. The season series will feel significantly shorter this year, as these two matches will be followed by two in December, and one each in March and April.

Upcoming Home Games/PromotionsFri. 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)Wed. 11/22- Animal House Night, Glass Beer Stein Giveaway (first 1,500 adults), WesBanco Winning Wednesday

Nailers LeadersGoals: 4, Hunter Fejes & Garrett MeursAssists: 5, Cam BrownPoints: 7, Garrett MeursPenalty Minutes: 9, Jeremy BeirnesPlus/Minus: +4, Garrett MeursWins: 2, Colin StevensGoals Against Average: 3.27, Colin StevensSave Percentage: .915, Sean MaguireShutouts: 0

North Division Standings1. WHEELING NAILERS 3-0-1-0, 7 pts.2. Adirondack Thunder 2-0-1-0, 5 pts.3. Manchester Monarchs 2-2-0-1, 5 pts.4. Worcester Railers 2-0-0-0, 4 pts.5. Reading Royals 2-0-0-0, 4 pts.6. Brampton Beast 0-4-1-0, 1 pt.