Fans across the Ohio Valley waited nearly five months for a home game that counted in the standings, and they came out in droves to support their Wheeling Nailers on Saturday night. Unfortunately, the fourth straight home-opening sellout crowd saw their team come up on the short end of the scoreboard, despite carrying a lead into the third period. The Nailers will look to bounce back from their 5-2 defeat to the Toledo Walleye by spooking a pair of Central Division foes and earning some treats in the standings, as they take the ice three times.

TRICKS, TREATS, SCARES, AND SKATES
For the first time since 2015, there will be Halloween Hockey at WesBanco Arena, as the Nailers will play two home games this weekend against the Cincinnati Cyclones. The theme of the Halloween game on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. is Nailers Nightmare, which will feature a haunted house. There will also be a table and treat event with local partners, a pumpkin decorating station, and a costume contest. Plus, the team will wear special Halloween-themed jerseys with a black and orange logo, Jack-O-Lanterns on the shoulders, and a spooky font for the numbers. Sunday's 4:10 p.m. match will feature the first post game skate of the season, and the entire team will be skating with the fans.

OPENING NIGHT SELLOUT WAS FIRE
Rachel Clement brought the fire with her intermission performances on Saturday night, as a crowd of 4,829 fans filled WesBanco Arena for the 95th sellout crowd in team history. That marks the fourth straight season and ninth time overall that the Nailers have sold out their home opener. Wheeling has now had at least one sellout in ten of the last 12 seasons and 26 out of 35 years overall. This year, the Nailers will be taking aim at their third consecutive season with a full season attendance of at least 90,000. If they are able to accomplish that, it will be the first time since 2007-10 that three straight years eclipsed the 90,000 mark. Wheeling's all-time attendance will surpass 3.5 million this season.

LOVING THE LOCALS
Defenseman Dustin Geregach made his Nailers debut on Saturday night, after being acquired in a trade with the Orlando Solar Bears earlier in the week. Geregach contributed to the offense right away, as he assisted on Justin Taylor's goal during the second period. Dustin hails from McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, which is 58 miles from Wheeling. He is one of two current Nailers players from that area, joining Pittsburgh native Alexander Kuqali. This is the seventh straight season and 21st time in the last 24 years that the Nailers have had at least one player whose hometown is less than 100 miles from Wheeling. Joining the two players, the Nailers are making history this season by having three West Virginia natives on their hockey staff. Assistant Coach Peter Laviolette III and Equipment Manager Bill Higgins both hail from Wheeling, while Athletic Trainer Cole Koontz is from nearby Sherrard, West Virginia.

THE GAUNTLET AWAITS US
With just two games in the first 14 days, the Nailers are tied with the Adirondack Thunder for the fewest games played to this point in the ECHL. However, that number will grow this weekend, when the club faces its first stretch of three games in three days. That will quickly become a theme, as Wheeling will play 3-in-3's seven times in the next eight weeks, leading to the holiday break. The lone weekend day off will take place on November 29th, as Thanksgiving Week features a Wednesday game instead of a Sunday game. The next eight weeks will account for nearly 35% of the schedule, as 25 of 72 games take place during this stretch. 14 of the 25 games will be played on the road in nine different cities, which will lead to 5,983 miles of travel.

A FREAKIER DUO THAN FREDDY & JASON
This weekend, the Nailers will open a pair of season series against Central Division opponents, when they visit the Fort Wayne Komets on Friday night, then return home for two tilts with the Cincinnati Cyclones on Saturday and Sunday.

Fort Wayne started its season with a superb performance, as the Komets thrashed Toledo, 6-3 on opening night. However, last weekend was less than stellar, as Fort Wayne was outscored 10-3 in back-to-back losses at Bloomington and at home against Indy. When the Nailers saw them in the preseason, the Komets had three affiliate contracted goaltenders. That number has since dropped to one, as Nathaniel Day and Samuel Jonsson were both called up to the AHL's Bakersfield Condors. With four points in three games, defenseman Jack Matier has also gained AHL attention, as has joined the Manitoba Moose. Hunter Johannes is the leading goal scorer for Fort Wayne with three in three contests. The Komets won last year's season series, 3-2, and have a 59-38 advantage in the all-time series, which begins its 15th season. Wheeling and Fort Wayne were two of the four teams that reached the conference final round last season, as the Nailers won the North Division, while the Komets were the top team in the Central Division.

Cincinnati opened the season by playing in three straight one-goal decisions (1-1-1), before taking down Indy, 4-1, on Wednesday night. Sahil Panwar has been red hot out of the gates in his second tour of duty with the Cyclones, as he has nine points in four games, which includes a pair of three-point performances. 21-year-old Toronto Marlies contract Timofei Obvintsev has started all four games in goal, and has made 77 saves on 86 shots. The Cyclones are in the midst of their longest postseason drought in team history, as they have failed to qualify for the playoffs in each of the last three seasons. Wheeling won three of the five head-to-head meetings last year, and have won 19 of the last 25 since the start of the 2023-24 campaign. The all-time series is 95-89 in Cincinnati's favor. This is the 23rd season series between the Nailers and Cyclones.

Buy Tickets
Sat. Oct. 31 - Nailers Nightmare
Sun. Nov. 1 - Post Game Skate