Nailers at Swamp Rabbits Game Day Snap Shot, Nov. 18

WHEELING NAILERS(4-6-1-0, 9 PTS, T-5th Central, T-12th West)29 GF, 33 GAPP: 16.0% (8-for-50), 12thPK: 83.9% (47-for-56), T-15th

NHL Affiliate: Pittsburgh PenguinsAHL Affiliate: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins

10-F-Troy Josephs (9 goals, 2 assists, 11 points in 9 games)27-F-Zac Lynch (4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points in 11 games)22-D-Kevin Spinozzi (2 goals, 6 assists, 8 points in 10 games)13-F-Nick Saracino (2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points in 11 games)21-F-Cam Brown (1 goal, 5 assists, 6 points in 11 games)17-F-Winston Day Chief (2 goals, 3 assists, 5 points in 9 games)1-G-John Muse (3-4-0 record, 2.57 GAA, .909 Sv% in 7 games)

GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS(5-10-1-0, 11 PTS, 6th South, 13th East)41 GF, 63 GAPP: 18.7% (14-for-75), 7thPK: 73.6% (53-for-72), 27th

NHL Affiliate: IndependentAHL Affiliate: Independent

17-F-Austen Brassard (6 goals, 9 assists, 15 points in 16 games)12-F-Johno May (9 goals, 5 assists, 14 points in 16 games)23-F-Michael Pelech (4 goals, 10 assists, 14 points in 16 games)16-F-Chris Izmirlian (5 goals, 4 assists, 9 points in 16 games)9-F-Jordan Sims (2 goals, 7 assists, 9 points in 13 games)19-D-Jake Bolton (5 goals, 2 assists, 7 points in 15 games)33-G-Garrett Bartus (5-8-1 record, 3.56 GAA, .895 Sv% in 14 games)

Head-to-HeadSeason Series: Nailers 1, Swamp Rabbits 12017-18 Season Series at Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Nailers 2, Swamp Rabbits 0All-Time Series: Swamp Rabbits 16, Nailers 13All-Time Series at Bon Secours Wellness Arena: Nailers 6, Swamp Rabbits 6

Two Nearly Identical WinsThe Wheeling Nailers have already guaranteed themselves a winning record for their road trip, after picking up two straight 4-1 victories against the Jacksonville Icemen and South Carolina Stingrays. The two tilts followed extremely similar paths, starting with a scoreless opening period, before Wheeling built a 2-0 lead in the middle frame. In Saturday's contest, the first marker came on the power play, when Kevin Spinozzi drove a shot on goal, allowing Cedric Lacroix to set up Winston Day Chief at the top of the crease. Spinozzi got a goal of his own with under a minute to go, tossing a shot in from the left point, which got tipped by a Stingray. Alex Rauter added to the advantage during the third period, breaking behind the defense shorthanded, and roofing a backhander under the crossbar. South Carolina got on the board with the man advantage, but Yushiroh Hirano's first pro goal put the final touches on the win. Matt O'Connor made 30 saves for his first triumph with the Nailers.

Frozen by the IcemenThe Greenville Swamp Rabbits posted a convincing 8-2 win over the Norfolk Admirals on Thursday, and appeared to be on their way to another big win on Saturday night, as they played host to the Jacksonville Icemen. Greenville rolled out to a 3-0 lead before the contest was nine minutes old, as Kevin Miller scored his first pro goal 1:41 into the game, and he was followed by Austen Brassard and J.C. Brassard. Jacksonville began to chip away at the lead in the closing minutes of the first frame, when Everett Clark put the visitors on the scoreboard. Cameron Critchlow and Wacey Rabbit lit the lamp 2:13 apart from each other in the second, and suddenly, the two divisional squads were deadlocked. With 17:13 to go in the third period, Cam Maclise gave the Icemen their lone lead of the night, with the eventual winning goal, as they skated away on top, 4-3. Mikhail Berdin stopped 19 shots in the win for Jacksonville, while Garrett Bartus turned away 21 of 25 shots for the Swamp Rabbits.

Three Big NightsTroy Josephs and Zac Lynch had been earning a lion's share of the attention in the early part of the season with outstanding performances, but on Saturday night, three other skaters rose to the occasion, helping Wheeling to victory. The most productive player of the night in terms of points was defenseman Kevin Spinozzi, who was involved in all four goals, scoring the eventual game winner to put the Nailers ahead 2-0, while notching an assist on each of the other three. Winston Day Chief opened the scoring for Wheeling, then proceeded to dish out an assist on Spinozzi's strike, as well as Alex Rauter's goal, giving him a three-point night. Finally, Rauter had his biggest game in a Nailers uniform, as his shorthanded tally was one of three points on the night, as he assisted on Spinozzi's goal, before feeding Yushiroh Hirano for the empty netter, which was his third point of the evening.

Opposite Ends of the PlanetOver a three-day span earlier this week, the Swamp Rabbits experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows, playing in a pair of games with incredibly lopsided scores. After leaving Wheeling with a weekend split, Greenville traveled to Cincinnati for a morning clash on Tuesday, and got destroyed. In the spirit of Education Day, with over 12,000 children in the building, the Cyclones taught their young fans every single digit number, as they put nine goals on the board, while leaving the Swamp Rabbits with the only remaining single digit number - zero. On Thursday night, Greenville returned home, and took out its frustrations on the Norfolk Admirals, who probably didn't know what hit them. The Swamp Rabbits busted out of the gates with four goals in the first period, extended the lead to 5-0, before Norfolk climbed to within three, then finished off an 8-2 thumping, which ended with former Nailer Jake Bolton's fifth tally of the season.

Third Straight Rubber MatchSunday afternoon marks the third and final head-to-head meeting between the Nailers and Swamp Rabbits this season, as well as the lone battle at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. Wheeling earned three out of four points against Greenville last weekend, as the two non-conference opponents split a two-game set at WesBanco Arena. Five different goal scorers gave the Nailers a convincing 5-1 win in the opener, before the Swamp Rabbits claimed a 3-2 overtime decision in the rematch. Wheeling is in search of its third straight triumph in Greenville, after opening the 2017-18 campaign with back-to-back victories. The Nailers are also looking to win its third season series of the year, after winning its lone matches against Jacksonville and South Carolina to start the weekend. After Sunday, Wheeling will have four games left against the South Division - three on the road and one at home against the Norfolk Admirals.