Nailers vs. Beast Game Day Snap Shot, Jan. 25

WHEELING NAILERS(20-18-2-0, 42 PTS, 5th Central, T-8th West)139 GF, 128 GAPP: 21.8% (38-for-174), 2ndPK: 82.3% (153-for-186), 17th

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

27-F-Zac Lynch (11 goals, 29 assists, 40 points in 40 games)10-F-Troy Josephs (19 goals, 11 assists, 30 points in 23 games)9-F-Yushiroh Hirano (10 goals, 18 assists, 28 points in 35 games)4-F-Alex Rauter (9 goals, 19 assists, 28 points in 33 games)12-F-Renars Krastenbergs (12 goals, 12 assists, 24 points in 33 games)23-F-Michael Phillips (9 goals, 15 assists, 24 points in 40 games)1-G-John Muse (7-9-0 record, 3.16 GAA, .890 Sv% in 16 games)

BRAMPTON BEAST(19-17-3-1, 42 PTS, T-4th North, T-8th East)133 GF, 125 GAPP: 18.4% (28-for-152), 11thPK: 85.2% (144-for-169), 6th

NHL Affiliate: Ottawa SenatorsAHL Affiliate: Belleville Senators

61-F-David Pacan (19 goals, 18 assists, 37 points in 40 games)13-F-Brandon Marino (7 goals, 28 assists, 35 points in 36 games)19-F-Erik Bradford (10 goals, 24 assists, 34 points in 39 games)16-F-Nathan Todd (15 goals, 17 assists, 32 points in 40 games)20-F-Daniel Ciampini (8 goals, 22 assists, 30 points in 30 games)22-D-Matt Petgrave (6 goals, 20 assists, 26 points in 34 games)40-G-Etienne Marcoux (9-5-2 record, 2.53 GAA, .922 Sv% in 17 games)

Head-to-Head2017-18 Season Series: Nailers 3, Beast 32017-18 Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 2, Beast 1All-Time Series: Nailers 18, Beast 12All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 9, Beast 5

Into the Break on a Winning NoteThe Wheeling Nailers played their final game before the All-Star Break on Saturday night, as they finished a three-game road trip by edging the Reading Royals, 4-3 at Santander Arena. Josh MacDonald's power play tally was the lone goal in a slow first period. However, the game ramped up in the middle frame, as the Nailers surged ahead with three goals in 7:14. Wheeling erased a pair of deficits, as Cedric Lacroix buried a feed from Troy Josephs on a 2-on-1 break, then Renars Krastenbergs slid in a shot from the right circle on the man advantage. Josephs gave the visitors their first lead of the contest with a wraparound, but the Royals drew even in the opening minutes of the third. With 7:23 left in the game, Josephs put the Nailers ahead for good, converting on a shorthanded breakaway. Jordan Ruby stopped 33 of the 36 shots he faced to help propel his team into the win column.

No Shooters Phoning Home Through E.T.The Brampton Beast collected back-to-back road wins before their All-Star Break, as they took down the Reading Royals, 3-1 on Friday, before a 4-1 triumph against the Adirondack Thunder on Saturday. Former Royal David Vallorani shined in Friday's match, scoring two goals, including the game winner. On Saturday, David Pacan and Nathan Todd got the Brampton offense going, as both players redirected shots from their teammates on the man advantage. Todd extended the lead in the second period, and Pacan wasn't about to be outdone, as his second of the night made the score 4-0. However, one of the top performers during the weekend for the Beast was goaltender Etienne Marcoux, who made 29 saves against Reading, before turning in a 48-save effort against Adirondack. 24 of the 48 stops came during a third period in which the Thunder outshot Brampton, 25-5.

Pinpoint Accuracy for the MVPThe ECHL held its All-Star Classic on Monday night at Toledo's Huntington Center, as a pair of Walleye teams took on the top players from the league's two conferences. After starting out with back-to-back losses, the Eastern Conference All-Stars rallied for a couple of victories, meaning that the Accuracy Shooting Competition would decide the opponent for Team Fins in the championship. Brampton's David Pacan took charge of the event, knocking off all four lit targets in 9.5 seconds. Pacan had previously made what appeared to be a tournament-saving block in front of an empty net during the semi-final round. The Eastern Conference ended up winning the All-Star Classic, 2-1 in a sudden death shootout, as Jacksonville's Dajon Mingo scored on Toledo's Pat Nagle, before Worcester's Mitch Gillam denied A.J. Jenks of the Walleye. Pacan was named the MVP of the night, with one goal and three assists.

Biggest Homestand of the YearLuggage can be put away for a few weeks for the Nailers, who won't travel again until a three-game trip to New England in early February. On Friday, Wheeling begins its longest homestand of the season, as the Nailers will play each of their next six games in front of their home fans. Six different ECHL opponents will make their way into Nail City between Friday and February 5th, including four of Wheeling's five Central Division rivals. The homestand begins with the first clash of the year against Brampton, and that will be followed by visits from Reading, Fort Wayne, Indy, Kalamazoo, and Cincinnati. The Nailers are 7-2-0 in their last nine contests at WesBanco Arena, including back-to-back wins over the Indy Fuel on January 12th and 13th. The Beast come to town having won three straight road games, and are 7-1-1 in their last nine games overall.

Our Old Friends from the Great White NorthFriday night marks the first of four head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Beast this season, as well as the first of three battles at WesBanco Arena. The amount of games played between the two clubs has dropped significantly over the course of the last two seasons, and that is even more noticeable this year. Wheeling is playing in a different division than Brampton for the first time since 2014-15, when the Beast entered the ECHL in the seven-team Central Division, which at that time, was made up of teams who had just joined the league from the now defunct Central Hockey League. Last year, the two squads split a six-game set, with both teams winning twice at home. In a bit of a unique twist, the two sides eliminated each other from the playoffs, as the Nailers ousted Brampton with a 4-3 win on March 23rd, before the Beast returned the favor, knocking out Wheeling with a 4-3 result on April 6th.