Wheeling Nailers Weekly Report, Dec. 11

Last Week

Wed. 12/6 WHEELING NAILERS 1 @ Reading Royals 2Fejes (Bourbonnais, Daniels)Morrison- 29/31

Fri. 12/8 WHEELING NAILERS 2 @ Indy Fuel 3Bourbonnais (Josephs, Fick)Bourbonnais (Josephs, Tiffels)Morrison- 28/31

Sat. 12/9 WHEELING NAILERS 4 @ Toledo Walleye 2Burton (Rissling, McMullan)Josephs (Bourbonnais)Fejes (Brown)Burton (Milan, Wydo)Morrison- 24/26

Last week, the Wheeling Nailers played three straight games away from the friendly confines of WesBanco Arena, as they traveled to Reading, Indy, and Toledo. On Wednesday night, the Reading Royals scored a pair of goals in the first period, and managed to hold on for a 2-1 win, as Hunter Fejes netted the lone marker for Wheeling during the middle frame. On Friday night, the Nailers peppered the Indy Fuel net with 50 shots, but ran into a red hot Matt Tomkins, who thwarted 48 of those attempts. The two tallies were collected by Riley Bourbonnais, who drove hard to the net to deposit rebounds from shots by teammate Troy Josephs. Michael Neal's goal with 3:04 left snapped a 2-2 tie, lifting the Fuel to the victory. On Saturday night, Wheeling punctuated the trip with a big win, knocking off the Central Division leading Toledo Walleye, 4-2. Jarrett Burton and Josephs scored 12 seconds apart from each other in the first period, Fejes added a goal in the middle stanza, and Burton put the final nail in the coffin during the third. Adam Morrison played all three games between the pipes, making 29, 28, and 24 saves respectively, earning his first win with the Nailers on Saturday.

The Nailers continue to play in extremely tight games, as only one of the last ten tilts has been decided by more than two goals, with seven of the ten being decided by one goal. Speaking of close, there are only 12 points of separation between first and last place in the North Division - the smallest margin in the ECHL. On Friday night, Hunter Fejes appeared in his 100th professional game. Jarrett Burton joined the squad on Friday, becoming the fifth player in team history to play in parts of five seasons with the club. The others are Stefan Brannare (6), Arpad Mihaly (5), Zack Torquato (5), and Derek Army (5). Wheeling racked up 50 shots on goal for the second time this season, while setting a season-high with 26 attempts in the second period alone. The team record for most shots in a single period is 28, set on March 13, 2002 in Toledo. The Nailers are 13-9-2 through one-third of the season.

This Week

Tue. 12/12 Indy Fuel @ WHEELING NAILERS, 7:05Fri. 12/15 WHEELING NAILERS @ Reading Royals, 7:00Sat. 12/16 WHEELING NAILERS @ Reading Royals, 7:00

This week, the Wheeling Nailers will play their lone home contest during a six-game stretch, while returning to a venue that is starting to feel like a home away from home. On Tuesday night, Wheeling will look to get revenge on the Indy Fuel, following Indy's 3-2 win at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on Friday. The Fuel followed that up by trouncing the Wichita Thunder, 7-1 on Saturday. Six of Indy's seven wins have come at home thus far this season, as the Fuel get set to make their first visit to WesBanco Arena since January 10, 2016. Only three of the first 11 head-to-head matches have been played in Wheeling. After that tussle, the Nailers will make their way back to Santander Arena, where they will clash with the Royals for the sixth and seventh times this season on Friday and Saturday. Reading holds a slim 3-2 lead in the season series, while both squads have recorded an overtime victory. Wheeling is 1-1-1 at Reading thus far this season, and will only have to go there once more after Saturday. The Nailers are one goal away from their 6,000th in team history, while Friday will be the 1,800th game in team history.

Upcoming Home Games/PromotionsTue. Dec. 12- Two For Tuesday (2 tickets for $22)Fri. Dec. 22- Ugly Sweater Party, Frosty FridaySat. Dec. 30- Youth Hockey NightSun. Dec. 31- New Year's EveFri. Jan. 5- Frosty Friday

Nailers LeadersGoals: 13, Hunter FejesAssists: 19, Cam BrownPoints: 28, Cody WydoPenalty Minutes: 56, Dan MilanPlus/Minus: +10, Garrett MeursWins: 8, Sean MaguireGoals Against Average: 3.05, Adam MorrisonSave Percentage: .910, Sean MaguireShutouts: 0

North Division Standings1. Manchester Monarchs 15-7-1-1, 32 pts.2. WHEELING NAILERS 13-9-2-0, 28 pts.3. Reading Royals 13-8-2-0, 28 pts.4. Adirondack Thunder 12-9-1-1, 26 pts.5. Brampton Beast 10-9-1-2, 23 pts.6. Worcester Railers 8-8-2-2, 20 pts.