Nailers vs. Walleye Game Day Snap Shot, Nov. 24

WHEELING NAILERS(5-7-1-0, 11 PTS, 5th Central, 11th West)35 GF, 42 GAPP: 19.3% (11-for-57), 7thPK: 82.0% (50-for-61), 21st

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

10-F-Troy Josephs (11 goals, 4 assists, 15 points in 11 games)27-F-Zac Lynch (4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points in 13 games)22-D-Kevin Spinozzi (3 goals, 7 assists, 10 points in 12 games)13-F-Nick Saracino (3 goals, 5 assists, 8 points in 13 games)4-F-Alex Rauter (2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points in 8 games)23-F-Michael Phillips (2 goals, 5 assists, 7 points in 13 games)30-G-Matt O'Connor (1-1-1 record, 2.65 GAA, .896 Sv% in 3 games)

TOLEDO WALLEYE(12-2-1-0, 25 PTS, 2nd Central, T-2nd West)58 GF, 41 GAPP: 16.0% (13-for-81), 15thPK: 87.3% (55-for-63), 5th

NHL Affiliate: Detroit Red WingsAHL Affiliate: Grand Rapids Griffins

10-F-Shane Berschbach (9 goals, 13 assists, 22 points in 15 games)17-F-TJ Hensick (6 goals, 15 assists, 21 points in 15 games)43-D-Matt Register (2 goals, 13 assists, 15 points in 15 games)86-F-Greg Wolfe (5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points in 15 games)7-F-Tyler Spezia (3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points in 13 games)16-F-Bryan Moore (3 goals, 4 assists, 7 points in 14 games)30-G-Pat Nagle (7-1-1 record, 2.64 GAA, .907 Sv% in 9 games)

Head-to-HeadSeason Series: Walleye 1, Nailers 0Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Walleye 1, Nailers 0All-Time Series: Walleye 41, Nailers 33All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 24, Walleye 17

A Minor Bump in the RoadThe Wheeling Nailers returned home on Wednesday night, riding the heels of a three-game road trip, which saw them collect victories against the Jacksonville Icemen, South Carolina Stingrays, and Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Unfortunately, the Reading Royals weren't in the most welcoming of moods, and they started the match with two goals in the first five minutes, as Steve Johnson and Frank DiChiara lit the lamp. Wheeling got on the scoreboard midway through the opening stanza, when Troy Josephs set up Kevin Spinozzi on the left side of the slot. The Royals answered that strike by converting on back-to-back power plays, notching their second and third redirection goals of the night, courtesy of Steven Swavely and Michael Huntebrinker. Josh MacDonald tacked on one more insurance marker for a 5-1 final for Reading. Angus Redmond made 36 saves in the win, while John Muse stopped 22 shots in the loss.

Black Friday Special on GoalsThe Toledo Walleye and Brampton Beast treated a sellout crowd of 8,000 fans at Huntington Center to an offensive show on Friday night in a game that ended up being very memorable for the home side. Toledo skated out to 1-0 and 2-1 leads on goals by Shane Berschbach and Ben Storm, but eventually fell behind, as the Beast rallied to take a 3-2 lead into the second intermission. Jordan Topping briefly drew the Walleye even, but the game quickly turned bleak, as Brampton scored twice, including a shorthanded goal by Daniel Ciampini to go ahead, 5-3 with 4:51 remaining. That's when Bryan Moore rose to the occasion, burying a pair of goals, including the tying marker with 13 seconds left, as Toledo forced overtime with a 5-5 deadlock. The game proceeded to a shootout, where Greg Wolfe was the lone goal scorer for the Walleye, and Kaden Fulcher stopped all three shooters for the Beast, lifting Toledo to the 6-5 triumph.

Organizational Shuffle in the CreaseEarlier in the week, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed goaltender Matt Murray on injured reserve, leading to a carousel of moves in the organization. Tristan Jarry was recalled to Pittsburgh from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and made 35 saves in his season debut for the Penguins, who earned a point in a 2-1 overtime defeat at Boston on Friday. In Pittsburgh, Jarry is reunited with former Nailer Casey DeSmith, who has four wins thus far this season. The Baby Penguins now have a tandem of Anthony Peters and John Muse, as they play three games in three days this weekend. Muse was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton after posting a 4-5-0 record in nine starts with Wheeling. The Nailers will turn to Matt O'Connor and Danny Tirone, with O'Connor coming off of a 30-save performance in his first win of the year last Saturday in South Carolina.

Duking it out in DivisionA big stretch of games begins on Saturday night, as the Nailers will play the first of eight consecutive contests against Central Division opponents. During the run, Wheeling will clash with Indy, Kalamazoo, and Toledo twice each, while matching up once each with Cincinnati and Fort Wayne. The Nailers are in search of their first divisional victory of the campaign, as they previously earned four wins against South Division foes and one win against the North Division. The first two opponents are the toughest in terms of the standings, as the Walleye and Cyclones have combined to go 24-5-3 in their first 32 games, which includes a 17-3-3 mark within the Central Division (Toledo won the lone head-to-head match-up against Cincinnati, 4-3 in overtime). Wheeling has only played four of its first 13 games against divisional competition in a season which will see them play a total of 43 tilts against those five squads.

Hoping for a Better Result at NightSaturday night marks the second of eight head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Walleye this season, as well as the second of four battles at WesBanco Arena. The two division rivals first saw each other 11 days ago in the first of two Education Day games for Wheeling. Both teams turned on the red light in the second period, before Kevin Tansey snapped the 1-1 tie on the power play with 16:27 left in the third. Kaden Fulcher defeated John Muse in the goaltending duel. Dating back to last season, the win was Toledo's third in a row in West Virginia, where the Nailers still maintain a 24-17 historical advantage. The Walleye have won each of the last four season series, due in large part to their performance at Huntington Center, where the two sides will convene on December 8th.