Playoff Chase Primer: April 9-13, 2025

There are five days remaining in the 2024-25 regular season, and while 11 teams have punched their tickets to the Kelly Cup Playoffs, only five of those know the exact spot where they will finish. The Nailers will be playing postseason hockey for the 17th time in their history, but there is still a lot on the line, as they navigate their way north of the border for three games. Here is everything you need to know about the coming days.

THANK YOU FANS
Before we get into the hockey facts and figures, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the amazing fans of Nailers Army for another sensational season of home games. 94,416 of you came to cheer on your team this year, while enjoying all sorts of fun promotions. This was our largest attendance in the last eight seasons, and this season's total beat last year's by a remarkable number of 13,887. We are very grateful to have the support that we do, and we can't wait to share in the excitement of playoff hockey with all of you.

HOME COOKING WAS TOP NOTCH
More often than not, teams perform better on their home ice, but the Nailers took that to another level in 2024-25. Wheeling posted a 24-10-2 record at WesBanco Arena this season to earn 50 of 72 possible standings points. That accounted for the best home mark by the Nailers in the last 21 seasons. The 24 home wins are tied for the fourth most in team history, and the 50 points are tied for the fifth most in team history. Wheeling set the tone for its success early by earning points in each of the first ten home matches (9-0-1), en route to a 13-1-1 start in the Friendly City. The Nailers also put an exclamation point on the end of the home schedule by going 6-1-0 to officially qualify for the playoffs.

FACING OFF WITH THE BESTS
The Nailers begin the final week of the regular season with a one-point lead over the Norfolk Admirals for second place in the North Division. Whoever wins that race will claim home ice advantage in the opening round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. While the two teams are both eager to get their playoff series started, some formidable foes will be standing in their way this week. Wheeling will make its first trip to Canada since 2020, and will go to the province of Quebec for the first time ever, as the Nailers will play three games against the North Division Champion Trois-Rivières Lions on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Wheeling is 1-1-1 in its first season series against the Lions. Meanwhile, Norfolk will spend the week at home. The Admirals will first be visited by the Reading Royals on Wednesday. Reading needs a regulation win to tie Worcester for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division (Reading holds the tiebreaker), heading into a head-to-head series against Worcester this weekend. Norfolk will then welcome the league-leading South Carolina Stingrays to town on Friday and Saturday. The Stingrays have won 15 straight games, and their magic number to win the Brabham Cup as regular season champions is one.

THEIR HOME & NATIVE LAND
The Trois-Rivières Lions will be the third Canadian opponent all-time for Wheeling, who previously skated against the Brampton Beast and Victoria Salmon Kings. The Nailers never had the opportunity to travel to Victoria (British Columbia), so Quebec will be the second Canadian province that the team will visit in its history. This series will carry extra meaning for players Isaac Belliveau, Chrystopher Collin, and Jordan Martel, as well as assistant coach Mitch Giguere, who are all natives of Quebec. Wheeling currently has 12 Canadian players, and ten of the 12 will be playing their first professional games in their home country.

WHO ELSE IS RACING
As mentioned above, the North Division has two races in the final week, as Wheeling and Norfolk battle for home ice, while Reading and Worcester clash to decide who gets the final spot. The South Division is one point away from having all four teams locked into their positions, which would lead to South Carolina facing Orlando and Florida tangling with Jacksonville. Toledo has secured the top spot in the Central Division, while Fort Wayne is one point away from clinching home ice for its first round match-up with Iowa. Indy, Bloomington, Kalamazoo, and Cincinnati are all still mathematically alive for fourth, but Indy is in the driver's seat with a four-point lead and a game in hand. Kansas City is the only Mountain Division team to clinch thus far and has already wrapped up first place. Tahoe can take the second spot with one win in its last three, while Wichita, Idaho, and Tulsa could very well battle until the final day to see which two get in and which one is left out of the dance.