The Wheeling Nailers drove 1,468 miles over the last week, and are coming home with four points to show for it, as they went 2-2-0 on a four-game road trip that took them through Trenton, Worcester, and Maine. Wheeling has a 3-3-3 record on the season and three divisional contests on the horizon this weekend. The Nailers will play their lone home match in an eight-game stretch on Friday against the Toledo Walleye. They will then head right back out onto the road to battle the Indy Fuel on Saturday and the Bloomington Bison on Sunday.

THANKING OUR LOCAL HEROES
The Nailers are honored to welcome military members and first responders to Friday's game, as we celebrate their service, sacrifice, dedication, and unwavering commitment to protecting our nation and our community. The night will begin when the National Guard rappels as part of the presentation of the Star Spangled Banner. There will also be a live Oath of Enlistment during intermission, in addition to a special moment during the game to honor all those in attendance. This will also be the first Frosty Friday of the season, so select $2 beers will be available. Plus, the Nailers will be wearing their new alternate jerseys for the first time.

POWER PLAY POWERING UP
After scoring just once on 14 chances in their first five games of the season, the Nailers have gotten their power play to start clicking. Wheeling scored on the man advantage during all four games of its recent road trip, as it went 4-for-19, which is good for a 21.1% success rate. Three different players found the back of the net on the man advantage, as Matt Crasa scored twice, while Remy Parker and Dustin Geregach also put the biscuit in the basket. Parker's goal on Friday was the 2,000th power play goal in team history. Unfortunately, power play goals were also going in for the opposition, as the Ironhawks, Railers, and Mariners combined to go 6-for-19 for a 31.6% success rate. The 38 combined power plays during the four-game road trip (9.5 per game) created a drastic difference in time on special teams compared to Wheeling's first five games, which saw 27 total power plays (5.4 per game).

RACKING UP ROAD WINS
The Nailers are currently in the midst of a stretch in which seven out of eight games are being played on the road in six different cities. This will ultimately give Wheeling nine road games out of its first 13 contests overall. Through six games on enemy ice, the Nailers have gone 3-2-1, as they collected their first road win in Fort Wayne, then won on back-to-back days in Worcester. With an 0-1-2 mark at home, that means all three of Wheeling's victories have come on the road. This is just the second time in team history that each of the team's first three wins in a season have come away from the Friendly City. The first occurrence was in 1995-96, when the Thunderbirds won in Johnstown, Erie, and Dayton, before earning their first home triumph over Roanoke.

NOT ONE-"D"-MENSIONAL
While defensemen are typically relied upon for their play in the back half of the ice, the Nailers are getting a steady contribution to their offense from the blueliners in the early going of the 2026-27 season. Wheeling defenders have combined to produce 20 points in the team's first nine games of the year. Six of eight defensemen who have played in at least one game for the team have registered at least one point. Robby Drazner tops that list with six, and those six points came in six consecutive games, which spanned back-to-back weekends of three games in three days. Drazner is one of two Nailers blueliners to score multiple goals, as Dustin Geregach dented the twine in both clashes at Worcester. Tristan Thompson has the other goal by a defenseman. Drazner and Hunter Sansbury have both chipped in with four assists from the back end, as Sansbury has posted two two-point efforts.

SETTLING BACK INTO THE CENTRAL
Now that the four-game trip through the North Division is complete, the Nailers can get readjusted to their regularly scheduled programming of Central Divsion foes. Wheeling will play each of its next 23 games within the division, and all six opponents will appear during this stretch of the schedule.

On Friday night, the Nailers will play their lone home game in a 19-day span when they welcome the Toledo Walleye to town for the second time this season. Toledo rained on Wheeling's parade in the team's home opener, as the visitors netted four unanswered goals in the third period for a 5-2 comeback win. That was one of just two games that the Walleye haven't played against Fort Wayne or Kalamazoo. Toledo is 6-2-0 in eight games, and will ultimately begin the campaign by playing ten of 11 games away from Huntington Center. Reigning ECHL Player of the Week Mitchell Lewandowski leads the Walleye with 11 points, while Quinn Preston and Tag Bertuzzi have both scored four goals. Jonathan Lemieux has won all six of his starts between the pipes for T-Town.

The middle game of the weekend will take Wheeling to Fishers Event Center for a tussle with the Indy Fuel on Saturday night. Indy took a 2-1 overtime decision against the Nailers in the season opener on October 16th. After starting the season 3-2-0, the Fuel have dropped six of their last seven contests, going 1-3-3 during that stretch. On Friday night, Indy will travel to Cincinnati for what will already be the seventh game of that season series (Cyclones lead, 4-2). Mitchell Hoelscher has 14 points to lead the Fuel, while Cody Laskosky and Jacob Perreault both have six goals. Former Nailer Thomas Gale has been the starting goaltender in the second game in all four weeks that have featured games on consecutive days.

Grossinger Motors Arena will open its doors to the Nailers for the first time ever on Sunday afternoon, when the Nailers visit the Bloomington Bison in the Central Time Zone. Bloomington is one of two clubs (Trois-Rivières) without a regulation loss, as it currently sits at 5-0-2 and will host Cincinnati on Saturday. Isaac Poulter has started six of the seven games (4-0-2) for the Bison, after earning 25 wins for the Norfolk Admirals last season. Poulter re-signed with Bloomington's new NHL affiliate, the Winnipeg Jets, this summer. Deni Goure is the leading scorer for the Bison with nine points, and he is tied with Grant Porter for the team lead in goals with four. Wheeling has a perfect 3-0-0 mark against Bloomington at WesBanco Arena.

Buy Tickets
Fri. Nov. 13 - Military & First Responder Appreciation Night
Sat. Nov. 21 - Oglebay Festival of Lights Night
Sun. Nov. 22 - Post Game Skate (Odd-Numbered Players)
Wed. Nov. 25 - Thanksgiving Eve with Live IWC Wrestling