WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers, proud ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, are excited to announce that Maxim Pavlenko has selected as Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for the week of December 1-7.
Pavlenko, 23, skated into the crease three times last week, and led the Nailers to victory in all three of those contests. Wheeling is now 8-0-1 in its last nine games and 18-3-1 on the season. Maxim's first start of the week came on Wednesday in Reading, and for the second time this season, he left a zero on the scoreboard at Santander Arena. None of the 32 shots taken by the Royals found the back of the net to give Pavlenko his second ECHL shutout this year and his third overall (also had one in the AHL with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton) in a 4-0 final. The Nailers returned home Friday to knock off the Greensboro Gargoyles, 3-1, and Maxim got the job done again, as he thwarted 20 of the 21 shots he faced. Greensboro was still in town for the finale on Sunday, which Pavlenko won again. In that game, the backstop was required to make 29 saves on 31 shots in a 5-2 triumph, which brought his numbers for the week to 81 saves on 84 shots (1.00 goals against average, .964 save percentage).
The Aksu, Kazkhstan native has been finding a groove with the Nailers, as he has won each of his last four starts to bring his season record to 8-3-0. He has allowed two goals or less in seven of 11 starts (five of the last six), and has allowed three goals or less in ten of 11 games. Maxim's 2.27 goals against average ranks 13th among qualified goaltenders (fourth among rookies), while his .921 save percentage is tied for 15th among qualified goaltenders (tied for sixth among rookies). Between the AHL and ECHL, Pavlenko has already recorded 11 victories this year, which is his first in North America, as he spent the last two seasons in Russia's VHL.
This is already the fourth league honor given to a Wheeling player this season. Jake Smith had won ECHL Goaltender of the Week and ECHL Goaltender of the Month, while Mike Posma earned ECHL Plus Performer of the Month. This is the sixth time that two different Nailers have won ECHL Goaltender of the Week in the same season. The previous occurrences were: Pascal Gasse and Joel Laing in 2000-01, Tyler MacKay and Joel Laing in 2001-02, Dany Sabourin and Joe Exter in 2004-05, Patrick Killeen and Peter Delmas in 2010-11, and Doug Carr and Sean Maguire in 2016-17.
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