Nailers vs. Cyclones Game Day Snap Shot, Mar. 2

WHEELING NAILERS(26-24-5-1, 58 PTS, 5th Central, 9th West)195 GF, 185 GAPP: 21.9% (52-for-237), 2ndPK: 80.7% (201-for-249), 20th

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

9-F-Yushiroh Hirano (15 goals, 31 assists, 46 points in 51 games)22-D-Kevin Spinozzi (16 goals, 19 assists, 35 points in 33 games)23-F-Michael Phillips (15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points in 56 games)12-F-Renars Krastenbergs (14 goals, 20 assists, 34 points in 48 games)14-F-Cedric Lacroix (17 goals, 14 assists, 31 points in 55 games)17-F-Winston Day Chief (12 goals, 16 assists, 28 points in 43 games)30-G-Matt O'Connor (9-4-2 record, 3.04 GAA, .898 Sv% in 17 games)

CINCINNATI CYCLONES(39-9-4-3, 85 PTS, 1st Central, 1st West)222 GF, 130 GAPP: 16.6% (40-for-241), 14thPK: 85.3% (168-for-197), 7th

NHL Affiliate: Buffalo SabresAHL Affiliate: Rochester Americans

19-F-Jesse Schultz (17 goals, 48 assists, 65 points in 55 games)10-F-Alex Wideman (20 goals, 34 assists, 54 points in 51 games)27-F-Brady Vail (21 goals, 29 assists, 50 points in 51 games)24-F-Pascal Aquin (23 goals, 26 assists, 49 points in 53 games)17-F-Myles Powell (21 goals, 25 assists, 46 points in 41 games)5-D-Eric Knodel (14 goals, 26 assists, 40 points in 55 games)29-G-Michael Houser (21-4-4 record, 2.00 GAA, .927 Sv% in 29 games)

Head-to-HeadSeason Series: Cyclones 4, Nailers 1Season Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 1, Cyclones 1All-Time Series: Cyclones 68, Nailers 62All-Time Series at WesBanco Arena: Nailers 34, Cyclones 30

Third Triumph in T-TownThe Wheeling Nailers earned their third victory of the season at Huntington Center, as they closed out their four-game road stretch with a 5-2 win over the Toledo Walleye on Friday. Winston Day Chief scored the lone goal in the first period, as he split through the defense, then tucked in the rebound of his initial shot. A.J. Jenks knotted the score early in the middle frame, but Wheeling regained the lead with a pair of power play goals, as Kevin Spinozzi smashed a one-timer from the right circle, and Day Chief tipped in Johnny Austin's wrist shot from the left point. Toledo closed the gap to one, but the Nailers kept them at bay the rest of the night, then tacked on two empty netters, as Day Chief completed his hat trick, then Spinozzi notched his second of the tilt. Jordan Ruby turned away 33 of 35 shots for the win in goal, including all 15 shots he faced in the third period.

March Started with a SnowmanThe Cincinnati Cyclones began the month of March without much of a change from the rest of the 2018-19 season, as they pummeled the Indy Fuel, 8-2 at U.S. Bank Arena. Cincinnati built a quick 3-0 advantage in the first period, as Ben Johnson, Vasili Glotov, and Myles Powell all lit the lamp. Josh Shalla and Woody Hudson scored ten seconds apart from each other in the middle stanza, as the Fuel attempted a comeback. However, a tying tally wasn't in the cards, and the Cyclones pushed forward, getting a key goal from Pascal Aquin with 4:44 remaining, making for a 4-2 score after two. The third period was all Cincinnati, as the home side put the finishing touches on the win, getting strikes from Brady Vail, Aquin, Alex Wideman, and Johnson. The Cyclones outshot Indy, 32-15, meaning Michael Houser needed just 13 saves for the victory, while Matt Tomkins surrendered all eight goals in the loss.

Cycling to a Hat TrickEveryone knows that three goals in a hockey game equals a hat trick, but the Nailers have added a little something to their two hat tricks this season. On November 16th in Jacksonville, Troy Josephs scored his three goals consecutively, making for a natural hat trick. On Friday night, Winston Day Chief notched his third ECHL hat trick, and in doing so, collected a cycle of goals. Day Chief's first tally came with both teams playing at even strength, as he opened the scoring. The eventual game winner at the 13:37 mark of the second period came during a Wheeling power play. All that remained was a shorthanded goal, and the veteran forward accomplished that by firing home an empty netter from his own zone, giving the Nailers a huge insurance marker with less than three minutes remaining. Winston only needed a penalty shot goal in order to match Mario Lemieux's magnificent accomplishment of five different types of goals in the same game.

Rewriting the RecordThe final two goals in Friday night's game helped set a new record for Wheeling, as the Nailers recorded their 16th and 17th shorthanded goals of the season. Winston Day Chief's marker with 2:02 remaining tied the team record, which was hit in back-to-back seasons by the 1993-94 and 1994-95 Thunderbirds. 18 seconds later, Kevin Spinozzi took his shot at the vacant Toledo cage, and he hit it, breaking the record, while taking the league lead in shorthanded points by defensemen, with his fifth of the year. Surprisingly, the 17 shorthanded tallies are only one better than the next closest team in the ECHL, as the Kalamazoo Wings netted their 16th on Friday night as well. The league record for shorthanded goals in a season is 24, set by the 1998-99 Louisiana IceGators. Spinozzi is also moving up the Wheeling record books, as his 16 goals are tied for the third most by a defenseman in a single season. Tim Roberts and Mario Larocque share that record, which stands at 18.

Looking for Points in All ThreeSaturday night marks the sixth of eight head-to-head meetings between the Nailers and Cyclones this season, as well as the third and final battle at WesBanco Arena. Wheeling has earned at least one point in each of its first two home games against Cincinnati, picking up a 3-2 win on November 25th, before a 2-1 overtime defeat on February 5th. That February game was the lone triumph for a road squad in the set, as home teams enter this clash with a 4-0-1 record. Oddly enough, that was also the only tilt in which the team scoring the first goal has gone on to win, as there have been four comeback victories. Cincinnati's Eric Knodel is the leading scorer in the series, as he has three goals and six points, while three current members of the Nailers have two points. Wheeling will visit the Queen City twice in six days later in March to complete the series.