Testy Tussle Goes to Stingrays, 3-1

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC- The Wheeling Nailers and South Carolina Stingrays played an emotional game on Saturday night at North Charleston Coliseum, which featured over 100 penalty minutes, in addition to dazzling goaltending. David Jankowski's shorthanded goal put Wheeling ahead in the first period, but back-to-back goals by the Stingrays turned things around in the middle frame, and South Carolina ultimately prevailed, 3-1.

Despite it being the only meeting between the teams, the first period set the tone for a physical night. A goal was also mixed into that stanza, as the Nailers opened the scoring. Louie Roehl slid a pass ahead to David Jankowski, whose defender fell as Wheeling exited the defensive zone. That gave Jankowski a two-zone breakaway, which he converted by lifting a shot up and into the top-right corner of the net.

The middle frame went off the rails. But before it got there, South Carolina evened the score by capitalizing on a Wheeling turnover. Charlie Combs had his initial attempt thwarted, but Kyler Kupka squeezed the rebound between Sergei Murashov's left pad and the post. Less than two minutes later, craziness erupted, with three players on each teams receiving misconducts, as well as the Nailers being forced to kill off a five-minute penalty. While Wheeling was successful in killing that penalty, the Stingrays did pull ahead with an even strength goal later in the period. Combs led Tyler Weiss into the right circle, where he roofed a wrist shot into the top-left corner of the cage.

The temperature of the match settled down drastically to the tune of one penalty being called in the third period. The Nailers put 11 shots on goal in the stanza, but couldn't find a tying tally, as Weiss' second of the night capped off a 3-1 final for South Carolina.

Garin Bjorklund got the win for the Stingrays, as he stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced. Sergei Murashov delivered a great performance in goal for Wheeling, as he made 35 saves on 37 shots.

The Nailers will continue their weekend in the Palmetto State by traveling to Greenville, where they will face the Swamp Rabbits on Sunday at 3:05 and Monday at 4:05. Wheeling will play three home games next weekend on February 21st, 22nd, and 23rd. Friday the 21st is a Frosty Friday at 7:10 against the Tulsa Oilers. Saturday the 22nd at 7:10 against Tulsa is Pups & Pucks and fans can meet The Cat in the Hat. Sunday the 23rd at 4:10 against Reading will feature a post game skate with even-numbered players. The next Big-6 Promotional Game is Battle Royale on Saturday, March 1st. Season memberships and other terrific ticket plans for the 2024-25 season are available now by calling (304) 234-GOAL. The Wheeling Nailers, considered one of the top things to do in Wheeling, West Virginia, provide affordable family entertainment for fans throughout the Ohio Valley.