Playoff Chase Primer: March 26-30, 2025

There are three weeks remaining in the 2024-25 ECHL regular season, and the action is hotter than ever here in Wheeling, where the Nailers begin a six-game homestand this weekend. There are all sorts of playoff implications, as well milestones coming close, so let's break down what you need to know.

FUN STUFF
Three home games are on the slate this weekend, as the Nailers will face Cincinnati on Friday at 7:10 and Saturday at 7:10, then Bloomington comes in on Sunday at 4:10. In addition to the thrilling hockey action, there are always fun promotions on tap. Friday night is a Frosty Friday ($2 beers), Saturday night is Black & Gold Night starring former Pittsburgh Steeler Ryan Shazier, and Sunday will have a post game skate with the entire team.

THE RACE FOR HOME ICE
The Nailers have put themselves in great position to qualify for a spot in the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs. However, the main focus right now is the battle for second place in the North Division between Wheeling and Norfolk. Whoever earns that second place slot will receive home ice advantage in the opening round. Both teams have nine games remaining, and the Nailers (76) currently lead the Admirals (75) by one point. If the situation were to arise, Wheeling holds the tiebreaker with a 31-28 advantage in regulation wins. Similar to the Nailers, the Admirals have three home games this week, as they will face Reading on Wednesday, followed by Savannah on Friday and Saturday.

AND THE MAGIC NUMBER IS...
Eight. For those who are new to this, the magic number is the amount of points needed for the Nailers to officially clinch a spot in the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs. Those points can either be earned by Wheeling (with wins [2] or overtime/shootout losses [1]) or lost by another team (with regulation losses [2] or overtime/shootout losses [1]). That team is currently Worcester. The Railers have 68 points with eight games remaining, meaning the maximum number of points that Worcester can acquire is 84. The Nailers have 76 points, putting them eight shy of that 84 mark, and Wheeling owns the tiebreaker, as Worcester's maximum total of regulation wins (30) is unable to eclipse the 31 already earned by the Nailers. This weekend, the Railers will head north of the border to play three games against the division-leading Trois-Rivières Lions on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Although Worcester owns a two-point lead over Reading for the fourth and final playoff spot, the Railers are the team this is based off of due to maximum remaining points being lower. As mentioned earlier, Worcester can only reach 84, while Reading's maximum number is 86. This all means that the earliest possible day that Wheeling can clinch is Saturday.

ARMY'S PURSUIT OF HISTORY
Derek Army is cementing himself on the top line of the history books one day at a time. On Saturday in Toledo, he coached his 299th career game with Wheeling to pass Clark Donatelli for the most games as a head coach in team history. The next day, he obviously became the first to reach the 300-game milestone. This weekend, Army can once again pass his former coach, as he needs two more wins to be alone at the top as the winningest head coach in Wheeling Hockey History. Donatelli currently owns the record with 147, while Derek enters this weekend at 146. When you add up his games as a player, assistant coach, and head coach, Army has been with the Nailers organization for 505 regular season contests.

SERGEI SETS RECORD
In addition to the success the team is enjoying in Wheeling this season, members of the 2024-25 squad have also had a big impact on the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. On Saturday night, the Penguins defeated the two-time defending Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears, 3-2 in overtime. 2024-25 Nailer Atley Calvert scored his fourth and fifth goals of the season during regulation. But the big story came from the crease, where Sergei Murashov made 24 saves to improve his AHL record to 10-0-0. The ten-game winning streak is the longest ever by a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rookie, and that has helped him run his overall record to 27-7-1 between the Nailers and Penguins this season.

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