Nailers Light up Brampton, 6-2

WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers offense put on a festival of red lights in Saturday night's game against the Brampton Beast at WesBanco Arena. Riley Bourbonnais and Hunter Fejes both found the back of the net twice, and were joined in the goal column by Jaynen Rissling and Reid Gardiner. Will King was a shining star in goal, making 37 saves, as the Nailers were victorious, 6-2.

The Nailers had a strong start to the game, killing off three penalties, including one in the opening minutes, while also collecting a pair of goals. The first tally was a shorthanded one. David Vallorani couldn't connect with a teammate on a pass, which sent Riley Bourbonnais on a breakaway in the opposite direction. Bourbonnais drove his way down the middle, and drilled a shot into the left side of the cage. Six minutes later, a victorious puck battle led to goal number two. Ross McMullan and Cam Brown were strong on the forecheck, leading to a shot from the right circle by McMullan. Zachary Fucale made the save, but Hunter Fejes dove in to tap in the rebound.

With a shorthanded goal and even strength tally checked off, all that was left was a power play strike, and Wheeling got that at the 11:05 mark of the second period to extend the advantage to three. Fejes poked a puck free from the end boards to Brown in the trapezoid. Brown proceeded to connect with Jaynen Rissling, who wired in a one-timer from the left circle.

The Nailers put the game away with three more goals in the third period. At the 3:46 mark, Bourbonnais skated into the left circle, and slid his second of the contest along the ice and into the net. Luc-Olivier Blain put Brampton on the scoreboard with a power play goal at 11:38, but less than two minutes later, Fejes potted his second of the night on a breakaway, which was set up by Kevin Schulze's long pass. Will King also assisted on that strike for his second helper of the campaign. Reid Gardiner put the finishing touches on what turned out to be a 6-2 victory, zipping in a shorthanded empty net tally from the center circle.

Will King was tremendous in goal for Wheeling, earning the triumph with 37 saves on 39 shots. Zachary Fucale was the losing goaltender for Brampton, as he gave up five goals on 26 shots.

The Nailers will return from the holiday break with a road game in Fort Wayne on Friday at 8:00, before playing twice at home to close out the 2017 calendar year. First up is Youth Hockey Night on December 30th at 7:05 against Toledo, then Indy comes to town for a 6:05 tilt on New Year's Eve, which features $10 tickets on a Pack the House Night. The next big promotional game is Bricks & Kids Night on January 13th. The first 2,500 fans will receive an OYO Sports Figurine. To purchase tickets, or to get more information about season tickets, flex plans, group tickets, and holiday packs, call (304) 234-GOAL.