Nailers vs. Fuel Game Day Snap Shot, Jan. 13

WHEELING NAILERS(18-16-2-0, 38 PTS, 5th Central, T-9th West)126 GF, 111 GAPP: 20.4% (32-for-157), 4thPK: 83.7% (139-for-166), 14th

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

27-F-Zac Lynch (10 goals, 23 assists, 33 points in 36 games)4-F-Alex Rauter (9 goals, 17 assists, 26 points in 29 games)10-F-Troy Josephs (15 goals, 10 assists, 25 points in 19 games)9-F-Yushiroh Hirano (8 goals, 16 assists, 24 points in 31 games)12-F-Renars Krastenbergs (10 goals, 12 assists, 22 points in 29 games)23-F-Michael Phillips (8 goals, 14 assists, 22 points in 36 games)1-G-John Muse (6-7-0 record, 2.77 GAA, .897 Sv% in 13 games)

INDY FUEL(19-17-1-0, 39 PTS, 4th Central, 8th West)120 GF, 126 GAPP: 16.0% (26-for-163), 18thPK: 85.5% (141-for-165), 6th

NHL Affiliate: Chicago BlackhawksAHL Affiliate: Rockford IceHogs

24-F-Josh Shalla (14 goals, 18 assists, 32 points in 34 games)22-F-Ryan Rupert (9 goals, 22 assists, 31 points in 37 games)10-F-Kevin Dufour (17 goals, 10 assists, 27 points in 34 games)20-F-Matt Rupert (15 goals, 11 assists, 26 points in 35 games)28-F-Mathew Thompson (8 goals, 14 assists, 22 points in 34 games)17-D-Alex Brooks (4 goals, 10 assists, 14 points in 34 games)30-G-Matt Tomkins (15-11-1 record, 3.10 GAA, .907 Sv% in 28 games)

Head-to-HeadSeason Series: Nailers 3, Fuel 3Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 3, Fuel 1All-Time Series: Nailers 10, Fuel 10All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 6, Fuel 4

A Win for SpongeBobThe Wheeling Nailers closed out the first half of the 2018-19 regular season by earning their third win of the season in a specialty jersey, as SpongeBob SquarePants uniforms brought the home side great success on Saturday night. Wheeling surrendered the first goal of the night during the opening minute of the second period, but quickly responded in a matter of 30 seconds, as Zac Lynch deposited the rebound of Yushiroh Hirano's initial shot. The Nailers then took their first lead of the evening with two minutes left in the middle frame, when Alec Butcher poked home his first professional goal. The tilt became tied in the third period, but once again, Wheeling had an answer in less than a minute. Craig Skudalski swatted in a loose puck at the side of the goal, lifting the Nailers to a 3-2 lead, which turned out to be the final score. Matt O'Connor made 21 saves to earn his eighth win of the season.

Close to Unfamiliar WatersThe Indy Fuel haven't lost three straight games all season, but Wheeling hopes to change that note on Sunday afternoon. Indy fell 3-2 in overtime at home on Friday night against the Fort Wayne Komets, before dropping a 3-2 regulation decision to the Nailers on Saturday. That is just the third time this year that the Fuel have gone back-to-back games without a win. Both setbacks came despite the fact that Indy scored the first goal of the contests, as Josh Shalla broke a scoreless tie in the second period on Friday, while Brett Welychka made it 1-0 at the 17-second mark of Saturday's middle stanza. After falling behind 2-1, Logan Nelson snapped in a shot from the right circle to knot the score for the Fuel, but a quick answer by Wheeling kept the visitors out of reach. Jason Pawloski had his best outing of the year in goal with 25 saves on 28 shots, but suffered the loss.

The Streak is Finally OverScoring the first goal of the game is generally a recipe for success in the game of hockey, and through the first 1,000 games of this year's ECHL schedule, the team scoring first has a .738 points percentage. For over a month, the team scoring first in games involving the Nailers were consistently finding their way into the win column. In fact, Saturday's match was the first time in 19 games that the team scoring first failed to come away with the two points. Oddly enough, the last time that note occurred was November 30th, when Indy scored first, before Wheeling stormed back with a 6-2 triumph. Only two of the 18 games during the run saw the lead change hands - a 5-2 win at Toledo on December 8th and a 6-5 loss at Kalamazoo on December 28th. The Nailers' .765 points percentage when scoring first ranks 12th in the ECHL.

Grade A From Our New ButcherAlec Butcher became the 32nd different player to suit up in a game with the Nailers this season, and his impact was felt immediately. At the 18-minute mark of the second period, Butcher snapped a 1-1 deadlock, squeezing the puck inside the right post, giving his new squad its first lead of the night. Alec became the 20th different Wheeling player to score a goal in 2018-19, and the 12th to net his first career goal in the ECHL. In addition to the tally, the Anchorage, Alaska native also had the most opportunities for the Nailers in Saturday's win, as he led the club with five shots on goal. Indy's leading shooter was Matheson Iacopelli, who had six attempts at the target. Iacopelli was playing in just his second game of the season for the Fuel, after suiting up in 25 contests for the AHL's Rockford IceHogs.

The Only Back-to-Back of the SetSunday afternoon marks the seventh of 11 head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Fuel this season, as well as the fourth battle at WesBanco Arena. Despite the 11 tilts being the most against any single opponent for Wheeling in 2018-19, this weekend's back-to-back series in West Virginia is the only time that the two Central Division foes clash on consecutive days. The first six games have been split right down the middle, with each team winning three times. However, there has been a significant advantage for the home clubs, who have skated away victorious on five of six occasions. Saturday was the first time that the margin of victory was one, as the Nailers earned their second one-goal win in regulation this season. Zac Lynch and Alex Brooks both found their way onto the scoresheet on Saturday, giving each of them seven points in the set to lead their respective squads. Indy's next visit to Nail City is February 1st.