Nailers vs. Fuel Game Day Snap Shot

WHEELING NAILERS(16-13-2-0, 34 PTS, T-2nd North, T-5th East)110 GF, 102 GAPP: 21.9% (28-for-128), 1stPK: 80.6% (100-for-124), 21st

11-F-Cody Wydo (13 goals, 18 assists, 31 points in 27 games)21-F-Cam Brown (6 goals, 24 assists, 30 points in 31 games)24-F-Reid Gardiner (14 goals, 13 assists, 27 points in 30 games)23-F-Garrett Meurs (13 goals, 14 assists, 27 points in 28 games)18-F-Hunter Fejes (16 goals, 10 assists, 26 points in 31 games)26-D-Kevin Schulze (2 goals, 10 assists, 12 points in 18 games)30-G-Colin Stevens (2-0-1 record, 3.27 GAA, .907 Sv% in 3 games)

INDY FUEL(11-15-2-1, 25 PTS, 6th Central, 12th West)83 GF, 93 GAPP: 19.8% (21-for-106), 7thPK: 87.0% (100-for-115), 4th

10-F-Alex Wideman (9 goals, 11 assists, 20 points in 29 games)43-F-Cam Reid (7 goals, 12 assists, 19 points in 27 games)22-F-Ryan Rupert (5 goals, 13 assists, 18 points in 24 games)21-F-Michael Neal (10 goals, 7 assists, 17 points in 23 games)20-F-Matt Rupert (6 goals, 7 assists, 13 points in 29 games)4-D-Nolan Descoteaux (1 goal, 8 assists, 9 points in 29 games)1-G-Etienne Marcoux (6-5-1 record, 2.36 GAA, .938 Sv% in 14 games)

Head to HeadSeason Series: Nailers 2, Fuel 1Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 1, Fuel 0All-Time Series: Nailers 6, Fuel 6All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 2, Fuel 2

Rallying for GoalsThe Wheeling Nailers played with a short lineup for the first time all season, skating with nine forwards and six defensemen, and nearly came away with a point in the standings. Wheeling fell behind the Toledo Walleye 3-0 during the first 21 minutes of the tilt, but stormed back with three goals in less than 15 minutes to pull even. Troy Josephs started the scoring by tucking in the rebound of Kevin Schulze's initial attempt, and he was followed 56 seconds later by Hunter Fejes, who crashed the net to deposit Danny Fick's rocket off of the left post. Riley Bourbonnais got the equalizer, banking a shot off of the goaltender. However, the Walleye took a two-goal lead into the second intermission, thanks to two tallies in the final minute. Cam Brown trimmed the deficit to one during the final frame, but despite recording 41 shots on goal, the Nailers fell just short, 5-4 at WesBanco Arena.

Leave it to the GoalieThe Indy Fuel relied on defense and goaltending to get a victory on Saturday night, as they got the upper hand on the Cincinnati Cyclones, 2-1 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum. The first goal came in extremely quick fashion, as Darian Dzurzynski lit the lamp just 1:08 into the contest to put the Fuel ahead. Johnny McInnis added to the advantage at the 8:25 mark of the second period, as he potted a power play goal. Cincinnati ended Indy's shutout bid a few minutes after that, when Winston Day Chief found the back of the net, but that ended up completing the scoring, as the Cyclones came up empty on ten shots in the third period. Etienne Marcoux took his record above .500 in the winning effort for the Fuel, as he turned aside 34 of the 35 shots he faced. Jonas Johansson was the losing goaltender for Cincinnati, making 18 saves on 20 shots.

They're Coming BackThis week has been a busy one for forwards Cody Wydo and Reid Gardiner, who have both made the treck across Pennsylvania, arriving in Wheeling for Sunday's game against the Fuel. Both players were recalled to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday, and Wydo was in the lineup for the Penguins 2-1 overtime win at Hershey. Sunday will be Cody's fourth game in five days, and all of them will have been played in different cities - Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday, Fort Wayne on Friday, Hershey on Saturday, and Wheeling on Sunday. The two players rank first and third on the Nailers in scoring, with Wydo's 31 points topping the list, followed by Cam Brown at 30, then Gardiner and Garrett Meurs at 27. 12 players from the 2017-18 roster have spent time in the AHL, with seven of the 12 on active rosters today.

New Year's TraditionFor the 25th time in 26 years, and the 24th time at home, the Nailers will take the ice on New Year's Eve. In past seasons, the New Year's Eve game has produced tremendous results, as Wheeling has posted a 14-6-4 record on the final day of the calendar year. Last season, the Nailers used a four-goal second period to trounce the Elmira Jackals, 5-2, which also happened to end a four-game skid on New Year's Eve. Lots of victories typically means lots of goals, but the December 31st game has produced just one hat trick - a four-goal game by Darren Schwartz in a 4-3 win over Roanoke in 1998. The Indy Fuel will be the 14th different opponent on New Year's Eve for Wheeling, while the most popular visiting club through the years has been Toledo, who came to town four times as the Storm and once as the Walleye. The lone road match to conclude a year was played at Gwinnett in 2010.

A Win to Clinch the SetSunday evening marks the fourth of five head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Fuel this season, as well as the second of three battles at WesBanco Arena. Wheeling smoked Indy 5-1 in the opening game of the set on November 4th, but the last two tilts have been much closer, with 3-2 decisions going each way. On December 12th, the Fuel came to the Friendly City for the first time since January of 2016, and Troy Josephs snapped a 2-2 deadlock at the 6:29 mark of the third period, helping the Nailers to the win. Wheeling is in search of its first season series win against Indy in the four years that the Fuel have been in the ECHL, having split twice, while Indy got the upper hand in 2015-16. The Nailers can lock that up with a win on Sunday. Cody Wydo leads Wheeling with four points in the first three games, while three players are tied with two goals.