Wheeling Nailers Weekly Report, Feb. 19

Last Week

Fri. 2/16 Fort Wayne Komets 4 @ WHEELING NAILERS 3Rissling (McMullan, Taylor)Bourbonnais (Fick, Rissling)Arneson (Milan)Morrison- 34/38

Sat. 2/17 Cincinnati Cyclones @ WHEELING NAILERSPostponed - Makeup Date Tue. 3/27

Sun. 2/18 WHEELING NAILERS 0 @ Reading Royals 6Morrison- 12/16 (L), Stevens- 9/11

Last week, the Wheeling Nailers had their final 3-in-3 of the regular season washed out, but they were still able to play a pair of games. On Friday night, Jaynen Rissling opened the scoring for Wheeling against the Fort Wayne Komets, but the visitors responded with three straight strikes to take a two-goal lead. The resilient Nailers battled their way back to square the contest, as Riley Bourbonnais tipped in Danny Fick's shot during the second period, and Bryan Arneson netted the equalizer 54 seconds into the final frame. Wheeling came less than one minute away from taking a point out of that game, but with 32.6 seconds left, Marc-Olivier Roy gave the Komets a 4-3 regulation win. Things didn't go well for the Nailers in their other game of the weekend, as they were blanked 6-0 by the Reading Royals on Sunday afternoon. Branden Komm earned his second straight shutout with 25 saves for Reading.

One of the biggest statistics of the week for the Nailers came courtesy of transactions, as the team was involved in 13 different player moves. Six players went up to the AHL (Brown, Schulze, Taylor, Tiffels, Wydo, Zink), one player came down from the AHL (Stevens), two players were acquired in trades (Basara - Allen, Vankleef - Wichita), and four players were signed out of the SPHL (Arneson, Gammage, Harrington, Marcuz). Wheeling has now used 42 players this season, which is one shy of last year's final total. The team record is 53, set by the 2007-08 squad. Of the 42 from this season, Dan Milan is the last remaining player to suit up in all 54 contests. Bryan Arneson and Ryan Marcuz both made their ECHL debuts in Friday's game, and Arneson potted his first career goal at this level. The Nailers played their 87th regular season game at Santander Arena in Reading on Sunday, setting the mark for the most games they have ever played in a road building. Wheeling's 54 games played are the most in the North Division and tied for the second most in the ECHL, trailing Atlanta, who has played 55.

This Week

Wed. 2/21 WHEELING NAILERS @ Kalamazoo Wings, 7:00Sun. 2/25 WHEELING NAILERS @ Adirondack Thunder, 3:00

This week, the Wheeling Nailers will have a light schedule, as they will play just two games. On Wednesday night, the Nailers will make their lone trip of the year to Wings Event Center, where they will clash with the Kalamazoo Wings. Wheeling won the previous match between the two clubs this season, 6-2 at WesBanco Arena on January 24th. Reid Gardiner notched two goals, while Nick Sorkin and Jeff Taylor each tallied three points, and Adam Morrison made 21 saves. The Wings are winless in their last five games (0-4-1), including a 5-4 overtime setback in Cincinnati on Sunday, when the Cyclones rallied back from a 4-2 deficit with two goals in the third period. Kalamazoo is one point back of Cincinnati for third place in the Central Division, and five points ahead of Kansas City for the final playoff spot in the group. On Sunday afternoon, the Nailers will make their first of two visits to Cool Insuring Arena for what is now a 3:00 game against the Adirondack Thunder. Wheeling won both matches against Adirondack at WesBanco Arena, scoring six goals in each triumph (6-4, 6-3). The Thunder split a pair of games against the Brampton Beast on Friday and Monday, and are currently two points ahead of the Nailers for second place in the North Division.

Upcoming Home Games/PromotionsWed. Mar. 7- Education Day Game #2 (10:45 a.m. start)Fri. Mar. 9- Ladies Night, Frosty FridaySat. Mar. 10- Pittsburgh Penguins Night, See the Stanley Cup, Carter Rowney Bobblehead Giveaway (first 2,500 fans), Nailers Wear Special JerseysFri. Mar. 23- Can Koozie Giveaway (first 2,000 fans), Frosty FridaySat. Mar. 24- Charity Night for WVU Children's Hospital

Nailers LeadersGoals: 26, Reid GardinerAssists: 37, Nick SorkinPoints: 50, Cody WydoPenalty Minutes: 108, Garrett Meurs & Dan MilanPlus/Minus: +11, Riley Bourbonnais, Reid Gardiner, Cody WydoWins: 12, Adam MorrisonGoals Against Average: 3.20, Adam MorrisonSave Percentage: .904, Adam MorrisonShutouts: 0

North Division Standings1. Manchester Monarchs 32-16-3-1, 68 pts.2. Adirondack Thunder 29-20-2-2, 62 pts.3. Reading Royals 29-20-3-0, 61 pts.4. WHEELING NAILERS 28-22-4-0, 60 pts.5. Worcester Railers 22-21-4-3, 51 pts.6. Brampton Beast 20-22-5-3, 48 pts.