Game Day: Nailers Come to Town for Military Appreciation Night

NORFOLK, VA. – The Norfolk Admirals, ECHL affiliate of the Nashville Predators, continue the first three-in-three of the season taking on the Wheeling Nailers on Military Appreciation Night at the Scope.

Game #15

Admirals (3-10-1-0) vs. Nailers (8-2-2-0)

Scope Arena

7:00 pm

Last Time Out:

Norfolk tied the game over midway through the third period but a quick answer from the Thunder was the difference as the Admirals fell 3-2 on Thursday night. The Admirals were able to tie the game on two separate occasions as Michael Young and Brodie Dupont notched the Admirals goals. A pair of former Admirals, Ty Loney and Paul Rodrigues, netted goals against their former squad and a former Norfolk netminder Nick Riopel back-stopped the Thunder. Norfolk outshot the Thunder 38-37.

Head to Head:

Wheeling took the first meeting of the season between the teams last Sunday, topping Norfolk 5-3 in Wheeling. Trevor Mingoia had his third multi-point game of the year recording a goal and an assist.  Wheeling’s Garrett Meurs picked up his sixth and seventh goals of the year, while Cam Brown had a three-point night (1g, 2a).

The teams have met seven times, but none of the contests have gone past regulation. Wheeling holds a slight edge in the series having won four of those contests.  This weekends’ contests will be the second and third of the six game season series.

Scouting the Nailers:

Cody Wydo (19 pts) is leading the way for a Wheeling team that’s scoring nearly four and a half goals per game so far this season. He’s joined by a pair of high-flying rookies in Reid Gardiner and Cam Brown. Sean Maguire has shoulder the majority of the load in net, starting eight of the teams 12 games so far. The second year pro is allowing 3.87 goals per game, while posting a save percentage of .900.

Power Play Success:

Michael Young’s power play goal against Adirondack gave the Admirals a power play goal in each of their last five games. Over that span the Admirals have converted on six of 30 chances with the man-advantage (20%). The recent streak comes after being held scoreless on the power play (0-for-20) in each of the first four home games. Norfolk has the leagues’ 14th ranked unit.

Wheeling has the league’s most prolific power play heading into the weekend. The Nailers have converted on 19-of-62 chances. Hunter Fejes leads the Nailers with four power play goals on the season.

Debuting on the Board:

Forward Thomas Frazee became the latest Admiral to get at least a point in his Norfolk debut when he recorded a helper on Michael Young’s power play goal. Frazee, who was acquired from Atlanta on Tuesday, became the Admirals leading scorer when he joined the team. In 12 games with Atlanta the 6’3” skater had 15 points (5g, 10a).

Shining Rookies:

Heading into the weekend the Nailers boast the ECHL’s top two rookie scorers in forwards Reid Gardiner and Cam Brown. Gardiner is atop the rookie scoring list with 18 points (10g, 8a). Brown sits two points back with 16 points in 12 games. Norfolk forward Grant Besse is currently fourth with 14 points (7g, 7a). The Wisconsin alumn ranks second on the Admirals, trailing only Frazee.