The stretch run is here. The Wheeling Nailers had nine days off since their last game, and they will look to use that extra rest to their advantage, as the remainder of the regular season will see them play 24 games in 53 days. Wheeling is 4-2-1 in its last seven contests, and is currently tied for first place in the North Division with an overall mark of 30-13-5, which is good for 65 points. This week has four games on the docket, and three of those are at WesBanco Arena. The Nailers will play the Fort Wayne Komets three times - Wednesday and Sunday in Wheeling and Saturday in Fort Wayne. Wheeling will also face the Kalamazoo Wings for the only time this season at home on Friday.

CELEBRATING FAITH & FAMILY
This week, the Nailers will wrap up a stretch of 11 games which had nine of the 11 played on home ice. Wheeling has already clinched a winning home record this year, as it carries an 18-4-3 mark into battle this week. The week begins with some Wednesday Night Hockey, as the Nailers will play the first of three games against Fort Wayne. On Friday night, the opponent quickly switches to Kalamazoo, and the promotion will be the always popular Frosty Friday with select $2 beers. After a long day of travel to and from Fort Wayne on Saturday, the two clubs will race through the night to WesBanco Arena for a 4:10 finale on Sunday. Sunday's game is Faith & Family Day, which will feature a post game celebration of faith. The celebration will include player and staff testimonials, live music, and more. This will take the place of the traditional post game skate.

WHERE WERE WE
This was the second time this season that the Nailers went more than a week without a game, and the time off was a welcome sight, following a grueling three-game series against the Reading Royals. The three games combined to take eight hours and 27 minutes to play, topped off by a season-long three hour and five minute marathon on Sunday. Both teams recorded three-goal wins to start the weekend, as Reading prevailed 3-0 on Friday, before Wheeling exacted its revenge with a 6-3 triumph on Saturday. Sunday's finale took every last second to determine a winner. The clubs battled to a 2-2 tie through regulation and overtime, then went 14 rounds in a shootout before the Royals ultimately came out on top. The 14-round shootout was the longest in team history, surpassing a ten-round win over Elmira on February 27, 2015.

WE HAVE COMPANY
Prior to Sunday's ninth consecutive win by the Adriondack Thunder, the Nailers held sole possession of first place in the North Division for 91 consecutive days, dating back to a 3-1 victory over Reading on November 22nd. Wheeling and Adirondack are now tied for the top spot with identical 30-13-5 records, and the Nailers currently own the tiebreaker with a 25-22 edge in regulation wins. Both teams play four games this week. The Maine Mariners are also on a tear, as they enter the week on a five-game winning streak (all five on the road), which allowed them to hurdle the idle Reading Royals into third place with 59 points. Reading holds the final playoff spot in the division by five points over the Worcester Railers and seven points over the Trois-Rivières Lions.

A PENGUINS INVASION
Five players have been assigned to the Nailers from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this week, giving the roster a major jolt. Two of those are forward Nolan Renwick and defenseman Scooter Brickey, who both played in the final two games of the series against Reading. Defenseman Emil Pieniniemi also returns to Wheeling, after posting one goal and two assists in his first eight career AHL matches. Forward Raivis Ansons will be putting on a Nailers uniform for the first time since the 2023-24 season. Ansons has been out of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lineup due to injury since the beginning of January. The newest member of the organization is forward Ryan McAllister, who played the first 72 games of his professional career with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers. McAllister will be the fifth Wheeling player this season who has played for Nailers Head Coach Ryan Papaioannou previously, as he won an AJHL MVP with a 139-point season in 2021-22. With those five players added, the Nailers have 16 players on their current roster with either an NHL or an AHL contract.

CENTRAL ATTENTION
All four games this week will be played against Central Division opponents, as the Nailers begin a stretch of seven-straight games outside of the North.

Three of the four games will have Wheeling doing battle with Fort Wayne, which will account for 60% of the season series. The Nailers edged the Komets, 3-2 in overtime on February 4th, thanks to a 53-save performance by Taylor Gauthier and a game winning goal from Brent Johnson. Fort Wayne has gone 5-0-1 in its last six games to leapfrog Toledo into first place in the Central Division. The Komets are the third highest scoring team in the ECHL (3.48 goals per game), and have scored four goals or more in ten of their last 14 tilts. However, Fort Wayne will be without leading defensive scorer Jalen Smereck (39 points) on Wednesday, as he serves the second game of a three-game suspension. The Komets could have four 20-goal scorers before long, as Austin Magera leads the way with 23, followed by Alex Aleardi (19), Blake Murray (18), and James Stefan (17).

Friday will be the only time this season that the Nailers get to see the Kalamazoo Wings, which used to be a solid rivalry that even saw a pair of playoff series in 2011 and 2012. Last year's season series was a split, as both sides collected a home win in December. In fact, the last eight head-to-head clashes have been split down the middle, 4-4. Kalamazoo is trying to claw its way into a playoff spot in the Central Division, as the Wings are four points back of Bloomington for fourth place and five points back of Indy for third. The Wings keep fans on the edges of their seats, as 17 of their 22 wins (77.3%) have been decided by one goal. Quinn Preston is Kalamazoo's leading scorer with 19 goals and 45 points, while Davis Pennington is the top defensive scorer with 30 points.

Buy Tickets for Upcoming Games
Wed. Feb. 25
Fri. Feb. 27 - Frosty Friday
Sun. Mar. 1 - Faith & Family