Fast First Paces Adirondack, 7-4

WHEELING, WV- The first period was the story of Saturday night's Battle Royale at WesBanco Arena, as the Wheeling Nailers and Adirondack Thunder went at it for the second straight match. Adirondack scored five of its seven goals in the opening 18:41 of what turned out to be a 7-4 win. James White and Cole Tymkin both registered the first points of their professional careers for the Nailers in front of a crowd of 3,449.

The first period was filled with goals. Unfortunately, the majority of them were scored by the Thunder, who exploded for a 5-2 lead. The opening strike came just 61 seconds into play, when Brendan Less slipped a pass through to Josh Filmon, who chipped in an open shot from the left circle. 2:57 later, Adirondack went ahead by two. Andre Ghantous came off of the right wall and powered the puck into the crease, where it bounced off of teammate Ryan Francis and dribbled in over the line. The Nailers got on the scoreboard thanks to their power play. Matthew Quercia's third whack at a loose puck deflected off of a Thunder defender and trickled its way inside of the right post. Adirondack had an answer that in a matter of 1:19. Ryan Nolan's initial attempt was thwarted, but Kishaun Gervais swept the rebound in on the left side. Kyle Jackson brought Wheeling within one for a second time with 4:18 to go, when he tapped in a Logan Pietila pass at the top of the crease. Two more Thunder markers followed, as the visitor lead increased to three. Ryan Wheeler tucked the rebound of Less' shot inside of the right post, then a scramble around the crease resulted in Grant Loven getting credit for his club's fifth of the stanza.

Both sides added one to their totals in the middle frame. Wheeling was the first to do so at the 4:35 mark. Peter Laviolette whipped a wrist shot from the right circle, which produced a rebound for Chrystopher Collin to deposit home from the left side. James White recorded the secondary assist for his first point as a pro. The Thunder got their goal from the crease, where T.J. Friedmann tipped a Greg Smith feed into the right side of the twine.

Eli Lieffers put one more up for the Nailers with 5:24 remaining, when he touched in the centering feed of Cole Tymkin's first professional point. Adirondack's Friedmann was the only player with multiple goals on the night, and his empty netter put the finishing touches on a 7-4 score.

Tyler Brennan picked up the win for the Thunder, as he made 34 saves on 38 shots. Sergei Murashov surrendered six goals on 32 shots in the loss for Wheeling.

The Nailers will finish off their six-game homestand on Sunday afternoon at 4:10, when they challenge the Maine Mariners. Following the game, fans will have the opportunity to skate with the odd-numbered players. Other exciting upcoming promotions include St. Patrick's Day on March 15th, Black & Gold Night with Ryan Shazier on March 29th, and the next Big-6 Promotional Night - Wizards & Wands on April 5th. Individual tickets for 2024-25 home games are available by calling (304) 234-GOAL or visiting wheelingnailers.com. 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.