Nailers vs. Admirals Playoff Series Preview

WHEELING NAILERS

2nd Place in North Division
Record: 43-25-3-1
Points: 90
Goals For: 225 (15th)
Goals Against: 194 (T-7th)
Power Play: 47-for-219, 21.5% (7th)
Penalty Kill: 167-for-204, 81.9% (13th)

NORFOLK ADMIRALS

3rd Place in North Division
Record: 40-25-6-1
Points: 87
Goals For: 251 (T-4th)
Goals Against: 210 (T-13th)
Power Play: 48-for-244, 19.7% (14th)
Penalty Kill: 205-for-250, 82.0% (10th)

Head-to-Head
2024-25 Regular Season: Nailers 1, Admirals 1
2024-25 Regular Season at WHL: Did Not Play
2024-25 Regular Season at NOR: Nailers 1, Admirals 1
All-Time Regular Season: Nailers 25, Admirals 11
All-Time Regular Season at WHL: Nailers 13, Admirals 4
All-Time Regular Season at NOR: Nailers 12, Admirals 7
All-Time Playoff Series: First Series Since Norfolk Returned to ECHL in 2015 (Nailers/Thunderbirds went 1-1 against the Hampton Roads Admirals)

Goaltending
Wheeling: Castor, Murashov
Norfolk: DiVincentiis, Milic
Goaltending is a stacked position in this series, as all four goaltenders on the starting rosters have AHL experience this season. At 21 years old, Wheeling's Sergei Murashov is the youngest of the four, but he has the most wins out of the four, as his ECHL and AHL totals combine for 29 (17 with Wheeling, 12 with WBS) in his rookie season in North America. Murashov compiled double-digit winning streaks at both levels, as he set a team record with 13 straight wins for Wheeling, then won each of his first ten starts for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. With Taylor Gauthier recently getting recalled to the AHL Penguins, Jaxon Castor will join Murashov in the Nailers crease. Castor made his AHL debut in January, and won the game that clinched home ice advantage for Wheeling on Saturday. On the other end of the ice, Domenic DiVincentiis started the season in Norfolk and Thomas Milic began the year with the AHL's Manitoba Moose. However, those roles have flipped, and with Manitoba being eliminated from playoff contention, it is entirely possible that both could see action in the series. DiVincentiis has 27 wins between the two levels (15 with Norfolk, 12 with Manitoba), while Milic has a 1.82 goals against average and a .935 save percentage in 18 games with the Admirals. Castor played in eight of Wheeling's nine playoff games last spring, while Milic got two games of AHL playoff experience last year with the Moose.

Defense
Wheeling: Belliveau, Drake, Harding, Lindgren, C. Pietila, Roehl, Waugh
Norfolk: Fedorek, Kelly, Louis-Jean, McDougall, Musser, Sward, Zloty
When looking at individual statistics, the first numbers that typically jump off of the page are the offensive numbers. However, one interesting note about this series is that not one single defenseman on either roster reached double digits in goals in 2024-25. With Chris Ortiz currently in the AHL, Wheeling iron man Louie Roehl is the team's active leader in points among defensemen with 25, while Mats Lindgren leads Nailers blueliners with seven goals. For the Admirals, Josh McDougall led the way with 45 points, and he was tied with teammates Carson Musser and Ben Zloty, who all had six goals. McDougall was also first among Norfolk defenders in +/- (+24) and games played (71). He was followed extremely closely by Darick Louis-Jean (+22, 70 games) in both categories. Roehl's +17 is the best for current Wheeling players, and don't forget about veteran David Drake, who has a +37 rating for his career.

Offense
Wheeling: Beck, Jackson, Jankowski, Koopman, Laviolette, Lieffers, Martel, Quercia, Tymkin, Works
Norfolk: Brodzinski, Chyzowski, Crasa, Crone, Fleurent, Fornåå Svensson, Golder, Hebert, Montgomery, O'Leary, Osmundson, Smirnov, Yavash, C. Young, J. Young
One player in this series has had the honor of donning both uniforms in his career, and that is Norfolk forward Brady Fleurent, who had a career year to lead his team with 30 goals, 47 assists, and 77 points. Fleurent was a Nailer for 11 games during the 2019-20 season. While his numbers top the charts, both teams filled the nets with over 200 goals this season with lots of offensive depth. The forward position is an area that the Admirals improved over the course of the year, as three of their top four goal scorers were not with the club at the start of the campaign. Filip Fornåå Svensson (25 goals) came over from Fort Wayne in November, while Bryce Brodzinski (22) and Hank Crone (19) were trade deadline acquisitions from Greenville and Idaho respectively. Wheeling had three players reach the 20-goal mark this season - Kyle Jackson (27), Matthew Quercia (20), and current Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin Matty De St. Phalle (20). Both teams also returned their leading postseason scorers from a year ago, as Jordan Martel topped the Nailers with 13 points in nine games against Indy and Toledo, while Carson Golder had ten points in seven games for Norfolk against Trois-Rivières and Adirondack.

AHL Eligibles
Wheeling: Calvert, De St. Phalle, Gallant, Gauthier, Johnson, Joshua, Klassen, Ortiz, L. Pietila
Norfolk: None
This is the area where the teams differ the most at the start of the series. Norfolk has named all 24 players to its roster, and can only add an amateur tryout in an emergency situation (likely a goaltender if DiVincentiis isn't there right away). The Admirals are affiliated with the Manitoba Moose, who have been eliminated from playoff contention in the AHL, which allowed Norfolk to solidify its group. Wheeling has five open slots for players to return from the AHL, and the Nailers can also add a skater under an amateur tryout in an emergency situation to reach 18 for the start of the series (Lars Rødne). The Pittsburgh Penguins will finish their season on Thursday, and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will wrap up their regular season on Saturday, before beginning the Calder Cup Playoffs next week. The eight skaters listed by Wheeling combined for 211 points with the Nailers this season, plus Taylor Gauthier had another sensational year in the crease. Chris Ortiz is currently with Providence, who is battling Charlotte and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for positioning in the Atlantic Division. Jagger Joshua is with Rochester, who has solidified second place in the North Division.

Special Teams
Wheeling: PP- 21.5%, 7th. PK- 81.9%, 13th.
Norfolk: PP- 19.7%%, 14th. PK- 82.0%, 10th.
The sign of good special teams is when you can add the power play and penalty kill together and come up with a number greater than 100. Both teams check that box, as Wheeling combines for 103.4 and Norfolk combines for 101.7. For the second year in a row, the most dangerous weapon on the power play for the Nailers was Jordan Martel, as he finished with ten goals and 19 points to factor into the scoring on over 40% of the team's power play strikes. The biggest contributor for the Admirals was Brady Fleurent, who had 11 goals and 22 points with an opponent in the sin bin to factor into the scoring on over 45% of his club's successful chances. Penalty killing was very good throughout the ECHL this season, as Wheeling and Norfolk were two of 18 teams to finish above 80%. In addition to being separated by all of 0.1%, both sides were consistent regardless of building, as the differences between home and away numbers were less than 0.5%. The Nailers scored five shorthanded goals and allowed six. Matt Koopman scored two of the five, while David Jankowski had points on three of the five. The Admirals scored six shorthanded goals and allowed nine, with Fleurent scoring two of the six - both of which were empty netters. In the two-game head-to-head series in January, Wheeling was 2-for-9 and Norfolk was 0-for-4 on the power play.

Coaching
Wheeling: HC- Derek Army (5th Season, 153-137-19), AC- Mitch Giguere (2nd Season), GC- Karel Popper (1st Season)
Norfolk: HC- Jeff Carr (3rd Season, 101-85-19), AC- Brent Clarke (2nd Season)
Derek Army and Jeff Carr have returned two strong hockey markets to the expectation that postseason play will become a yearly occurrence. When Army took over for Mark French late in the 2020-21 season, Wheeling was on its way to missing the playoffs for the fifth year in a row. The Nailers have now qualified for the postseason in back-to-back seasons and three times in the last four years. Army, who became the winningest head coach in Wheeling hockey history last month, will also attempt to be the first head coach in team history to win at least one series in three different playoff years. Mitch Giguere is Army's assistant coach for the second year in a row, making them the second duo (HC- Donatelli, AC- Bradley in 2014 & 2015) to coach multiple playoff seasons together. Carr replaced legendary Admirals player Rod Taylor during the 2022-23 season, and stared down the challenge of righting the ship for a team that started 1-15-0, en route to an eighth straight early summer. Norfolk ended that drought last spring with a 42-point turnaround and won its first playoff series since 2013-14, when the team was in the AHL. Brent Clarke joined Carr as his assistant during the 2023-24 season, which reunited the two who had previously worked together with the SPHL's Knoxville Ice Bears.

Experience
Wheeling: 147 Kelly Cup Playoff Games, 0 Championships
Norfolk: 169 Kelly Cup Playoff Games, 0 Championships
With the Nailers and Admirals coming off of playoff appearances last spring, both teams not only have players with Kelly Cup Playoff experience, but also experience with their current clubs. Counting the current roster and eligible list, Wheeling has 11 players who were part of last year's run to the Central Division Final. David Drake and Matthew Quercia will be playing in their third postseason runs with the Nailers, with Quercia being one of three players in team history to score an overtime goal in a game seven. Jordan Martel will be playing playoff hockey for the fourth straight spring, as he played one postseason each with Fort Wayne and Utah, before joining Wheeling last year. Kyle Jackson and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's Zach Gallant have both been members of conference champions in the ECHL, as Jackson was with Kansas City in 2024 and Gallant was with Toledo in 2019. The Admirals have nine players who were part of their run to the North Division final a year ago. One of those nine will be making his third straight appearance in the playoffs, and that is Brady Fleurent, who played with Adirondack in 2023. Norfolk has five other players with ECHL postseason experience, and all five will be playing in the Kelly Cup Playoffs for the third time. Hank Crone, Grant Hebert, and Justin Young all reached the postseason twice with Allen, Colton Young played in two playoff seasons with Greenville, and Ryan Chyzowski reached the Eastern Conference Final twice with Newfoundland.

Arenas
Wheeling: WesBanco Arena (opened in 1977)
Norfolk: Norfolk Scope Arena (opened in 1971)
Two uniquely shaped classic buildings with tons of history will open their doors over the course of the next few weeks for two fanbases that have witnessed over 30 seasons of professional hockey. Rectangular shaped WesBanco Arena will celebrate its 48th birthday during this series. Wheeling's premier downtown facility has welcomed a variety of events since its opening in 1977, then introduced hockey to the mix when the Thunderbirds arrived in 1992. Some recent renovations and modernizations have made the hockey capacity 4,700, which is the third smallest in the ECHL (Tahoe & Trois-Rivières). The Admirals play out of Norfolk Scope Arena, and "scope" is the perfect description of this circular facility that some may compare to something from outer space when they first see it. Norfolk Scope Arena is part of SevenVenues - seven entertainment venues in the Norfolk area. This specific venue opened in 1971, and has hosted hockey since the Admirals arrived in 1989. With the ability to house 8,372 for hockey, Norfolk has the largest regular capacity in the North Division. This is the third time that these two arenas have collided in the ECHL Playoffs. The Wheeling Thunderbirds defeated the Hampton Roads Admirals 3-1 in the 1994 second round. The Hampton Roads Admirals then defeated the Wheeling Nailers 4-2 in the 1998 Northern Conference Final. Both teams had winning records at home and on the road in 2024-25.

North Division Semifinal
Wheeling Nailers vs. Norfolk Admirals
Game 1 - Wed. Apr. 16 at Norfolk, 7:05
Game 2 - Thu. Apr. 17 at Norfolk, 7:05
Game 3 - Wed. Apr. 23 AT WHEELING, 7:10
Game 4 - Fri. Apr. 25 AT WHEELING, 7:10
Game 5 - Sat. Apr. 26 AT WHEELING, 7:10 (if necessary)
Game 6 - Mon. Apr. 28 AT WHEELING, 7:10 (if necessary)
Game 7 - Tue. Apr. 29 AT WHEELING, 7:10 (if necessary)