WHEELING, WV- The Wheeling Nailers will have less than 24 hours to shake off a difficult night, as they were beaten 7-1 by the Toledo Walleye on Friday night at WesBanco Arena. Toledo got goals from seven different players in a game that got wild at the end. Ryan Pitoscia was the lone goal scorer for the Nailers.

The first period only saw one goal, but that tally came right away, as Toledo needed just 34 seconds to take a 1-0 lead. Kyle Gaffney twisted a backhander on goal from the right circle, which got bodied away by Nailers goaltender Nolan Lalonde. However, the rebound landed in the left side of the crease, where it got batted into the cage by Quinn Preston. Wheeling responded by taking seven of the next nine shots, but remained down by one.

The Walleye added to their advantage with a pair of strange goals in the middle frame. The first one came at the 4:34 mark. Nick Andrews attempted to sling a pass ahead from his own trapezoid to a teammate at the opposite blueline. The pass didn't connect, and appeared to be going wide to the left of the net. Lalonde reached his stick out, but the puck glanced off of it, then found its way in over the goal line. Less than five minutes later, Tag Bertuzzi tossed a shot toward the goal from the left point, with Nolan Moyle providing a screen in the low slot. Lalonde got a piece of the attempt, but the puck squeezed out of his gear and trickled in over the goal line by a few inches to make the score 3-0.

Things went from bad to worse in the third period, as Toledo tacked on four more, while pouring 25 shots on goal. The Nailers spent the majority of the stanza on the penalty kill, as they were forced to kill 13 minutes in penalties during the third alone. Cooper Zech and Brandon Hawkins converted on two of the six power play opportunities the Walleye received in the game, while Dylan Moulton and Chris Terry also found the back of the net for the visitors. Ryan Pitoscia was the lone goal scorer for Wheeling, as he spoiled Jonathan Lemieux's shutout bid with 11:37 remaining.

Jonathan Lemieux earned his seventh consecutive win for Toledo, as he stopped 26 of the 27 shots he faced. Nolan Lalonde gave up seven goals on 34 shots for Wheeling, and was ejected with 6:05 remaining for throwing punches with his blocker. Kasimir Kaskisuo was a perfect 10-for-10 in relief.

The Nailers will spend the remainder of the weekend on the road. Wheeling will visit the Indy Fuel on Saturday at 7:00 p.m., then go farther west to battle the Bloomington Bison on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. The next home game for the Nailers is Saturday, October 21st at 7:10 p.m. against the Kalamazoo Wings. That will be the first-ever Oglebay Festival of Lights Night, which will feature a special light show presentation, holiday themed games, a holiday photobooth, and lots of holiday cheer. Wheeling and Kalamazoo will also face-off on Sunday, November 22nd at 4:10 p.m., and fans will be able to skate with the odd-numbered players after that game. Also coming up in November is the annual Thanksgiving Eve game on November 25th, featuring live IWC wrestling, Turkey Bowling, and a Pie Eating Contest. For information about season tickets, group tickets, ticket packages, and more, call (304) 234-GOAL or visit wheelingnailers.com. The Wheeling Nailers, considered one of the top things to do in Wheeling, West Virginia, provide affordable family entertainment for fans throughout the Ohio Valley.