This past weekend was everything the Wheeling Nailers could have hoped for, as the home season began at WesBanco Arena. On Saturday night, a sellout crowd was treated to a jaw-dropping performance by Grace Good, in addition to a 3-2 victory over the Norfolk Admirals. On Sunday afternoon, the Nailers were down but not out, as they rallied back from a 2-0 deficit to take down the Admirals, 3-2 in overtime. This week, Wheeling takes its 4-1-0 record to Greensboro, North Carolina for three games with the expansion Gargoyles on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, with all three matches starting at 7:00.

STARTING WITH A SELLOUT
4,839 fans packed their way into WesBanco Arena on Saturday night to watch their Wheeling Nailers celebrate a 3-2 win over the Norfolk Admirals. In addition to being the third straight win in a home opener, it was also the third consecutive sellout in a home opener, and the largest crowd to attend a game in Wheeling since renovations lowered the building's capacity prior to the start of the 2023-24 season. The Nailers/Thunderbirds have sold out the home opener seven times (1992, 1993, 2015, 2016, 2023, 2024, 2025), and are 6-0-1 in those games. Counting regular season and playoffs, this was the 93rd sellout in team history.

SEEING DOUBLE
While the two games between Wheeling and Norfolk told different stories, there were more similarities than usual for a weekend series. Both games resulted in 3-2 wins for the Nailers, marking the second time in team history that Wheeling won its first two home games against the same opponent by the same final score. The previous occasion was in 2019, when the Nailers upended the Indy Fuel 4-3 on consecutive days. The next similarity was the winning goal scorer, as rookie Max Graham scored in the third period on Saturday and in overtime on Sunday. Graham currently has a three-game goal streak, and his three goals lead the team. Finally, Maxim Pavlenko was the winning netminder in both contests, as he made 24 saves on Saturday, then 33 saves on Sunday, including 15 in the third period while the score was tied, 2-2.

OUR SUPER POWER (PLAY)
One of the strengths in the early part of the season for the Nailers has been the success of their power play. Wheeling has converted on six of 16 attempts (37.5%) with the man advantage to rank third in the ECHL. There are two fascinating individual notes to take away from the six goals. First, all six goals have been scored by different players - Tommy Budnick, Max Graham, Brent Johnson, Connor Lockhart, Matthew Quercia, and Nolan Renwick. Second, Quercia has collected a point on all six of the goals (1 goal, 5 assists), which accounts for six of his team-leading seven points. The Nailers were a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill against Norfolk, and have only gone to the penalty kill 13 times this season, which is the second lowest total in the league (Cincinnati - 10).

BATTLING BIZZ & BURT'S BOYS
This week's opponent will be the newest team in the ECHL, the Greensboro Gargoyles, who are partially owned by Spittin' Chiclets and former Nailer Paul Bissonnette (2005-08). There is also a Wheeling connection behind the bench, as former Nailer Scott Burt (1999-2000) is Greensboro's head coach. The Carolina Hurricanes' affiliate stumbled out of the gates with an 0-3-2 start, but the Gargoyles closed out this past weekend by earning back-to-back road wins against the defending champion Trois-Rivières Lions. David Gagnon, who scored the first goal in Gargoyles history, also scored the deciding goal in the shootout in the first win on Saturday. Patrick Newell (7 points) and Logan Nelson (4 goals) are the team's leading scorers, while Connor Ungar and Ruslan Khazheyev each backstopped a win north of the border. Wheeling has traveled to Greensboro before, when the Monarchs and Generals were in the league. The last visit there was a 4-1 win over the Generals on January 12, 2002.

SERGEI IN THE SHOW
Earlier this week, 2024-25 Nailers goaltender Sergei Murashov was recalled by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and could become the 70th former Nailer/Thunderbird to officially reach the NHL once he appears in a game. The Penguins play three times this week, as they host Washington on Thursday, visit New Jersey on Saturday, then host Los Angeles on Sunday. Murashov has gotten off to an exceptional start with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, going 5-2-0 with a 1.73 goals against average and a .931 save percentage. He has already earned two honors this season, as he was named AHL Player of the Week for the week of October 20-26, then earned AHL Goaltender of the Month for October.

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November 14 - Military Appreciation Night
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