Nailers Make the Grade in Education Day Win

WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers welcomed their first sellout of the season, as 5,109 fans made their way into WesBanco Arena. The Nailers gave those fans plenty to get loud about, as Freddie Tiffels and Cody Wydo both scored twice, while Derek Army and Dan Milan added single markers in a 6-4 victory over the Adirondack Thunder. Sean Maguire made 34 saves, with his biggest stop coming on a penalty shot by Shane Conacher in the second period.

The Nailers and Thunder matched each other in shots during the first period, but Wheeling came out leading by one, and nearly two. A shot by Cam Brown trickled through Drew Fielding and crossed the goal line, but the tally was called off due to an early whistle. Not to worry, the Nailers took turned on the red light with 7:17 remaining. Garrett Meurs punched the puck into neutral ice, leading a rush into the offensive zone. Meurs flipped a pass over to Freddie Tiffels, who went to the net and tapped in the feed.

Adirondack had a strong start to the second period, scoring a pair of goals to take the lead. The first marker came on the power play, when Kevin Lough set up Dylan Olsen, who powered in a one-timer from the right face-off dot. 1:42 later, Lough created a second tally, as his wrist shot from the blueline was tipped into the cage by Eric Neiley. Later in the stanza, a key turning point occurred, when Sean Maguire denied a penalty shot by Shane Conacher. That lifted the Nailers, who responded with two goals of their own to regain the lead. 50 seconds after the save, Nick Sorkin won a face-off to Cody Wydo, who deked out the netminder, lifting a shot into the top-left corner. 1:18 after that, Riley Bourbonnais chased down a loose puck behind the cage, then slid a pass out to Dan Milan, who tossed in a wrist shot from the top of the left circle.

The Nailers added some padding to their lead during the early stages of the third period. At the 1:59 mark, Wydo rushed into the zone, and let a wrist shot go from the right circle, beating Drew Fielding over his glove. Less than six minutes later, Derek Army converted on a power play for Wheeling, taking a pass from Cam Brown, and lifting it over the sprawled out netminder. Adirondack got a power play goal from Conacher and a shorthanded strike from Terrence Wallin, sandwiched around Tiffels' second of the day, as the Nailers were victorious, 6-4.

Sean Maguire backstopped the win for Wheeling, turning aside 34 of the 38 shots he faced. Drew Fielding was the losing goalie for the Thunder, as he was beaten six times on 28 shots.

Following this exciting win, fans will be able to meet the team at Undo's in Elm Grove from 6-7. The Nailers will hit the road this weekend for a pair of 7:00 games against the Norfolk Admirals on Friday and Saturday. Wheeling will have two home games next week - Animal House Night on November 22nd, in which the first 1,500 adults receive a glass beer stein, then Teddy Bear Toss Night on November 25th. The next big promotional game is Star Wars Night on December 2nd. The first 2,500 fans will receive a light saber. To purchase tickets, or to get more information about season tickets, flex plans, group tickets, and more, call (304) 234-GOAL.