Wheeling Nailers (20-21-5-1) vs Worcester Railers (21-19-3-3)
DCU Center – Worcester, Massachusetts
Saturday, February 9, 2019 – 7:05 EST – ECHL Game #642
Referee: Steven Rouillard (#3)
Linesmen: Kyle Richetelle (#73), Brent Colby (#38)
Match Notes
- Season Series: Game 1 of 1. (Wheeling leads all-time at 5-3-0-1)
- Wheeling is last in the central division, though a lot of their stats do not reflect that. Several players lead in respective offensive categories and the Nailers are ranked seventh in goals scored through 47 games this season.
- Worcester can tie for fifth in the division with a win. Brampton and Reading are both tied with 50 points for fourth and fifth, so their game will need to end in regulation.
Players to Watch
- Ryan MacKinnon (Worcester) – MacKinnon had a goal and five assists against Wheeling last season in four games. That was six of his nine points he had last season and was the highest point-per-game average against the Nailers. He heads into tonight’s match-up on a four-game point streak.
- Zac Lynch (Wheeling) – A former Manchester Monarch, Zac Lynch is having the best season of his career. Averaging just under a point per game, he has matched his point count from last season in just 47 games.
Railers Notes
- Tyler Barnes is on a seven-game point streak and a five-game goal streak. (7-3-10)
- Ryan Hitchcock is on a four-game point streak. (1-6-7)
- Ryan MacKinnon is on a four-game point streak. (1-3-4)
- Barry Almeida is fourth in the league with 172 shots.
- Ivan Kosorenkov has three shootout goals, tied for first.
- Cold Streaks: Bo Brauer (5 games), Connor Doherty (6 games), Woody Hudson (3 games), Dylan Willick (4 games), Tommy Panico (4 games)
Recent Railers Additions, Subtractions, Transactions
- No new transactions to report.
Possible Railers Scratches
- Bo Brauer – on reserve.
- Woody Hudson – on reserve.
- Kyle McKenzie – on injured reserve, out for the season.
- Matt Schmalz – on injured reserve.
- Alex Vanier – serving game two of a two-game suspension.
- Additional scratches to be determined closer to puck drop.
Nailers Notes
- Zac Lynch is fifth in assists with 32. He is also tied for first in power-play points with 21, and is second in shorthanded points with 6.
- Cedric Lacroix leads the league in minor penalties with 43. He is also tied for second in shorthanded goals with 4.
- Goaltender Matt O’Connor has a perfect save percentage in the shootout.
- Yushiroh Hirano is ninth in points for rookies with 37.
- Michael Phillips leads all rookies with eight power-play goals.
- Wheeling has the best power play on the road with 26 goals on 98 advantages.
- Nailers have 13 shorthanded goals, tied with the Kalamazoo Wings for first in the league.
- Wheeling has the fourth fewest shorthanded goals allowed with 4.
Recent Nailers Additions, Subtractions, Transactions
- Jake Schultz was placed on reserve on Monday.
- Brien Diffley was activated from injured reserve on Thursday.
- John Muse was recalled to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thursday.
- Craig Skudalski was placed on reserve on Friday.
- Aaron Titcomb was placed on injured reserve on Friday retroactive to Wednesday.
Possible Nailers Scratches
- Mike Fazio – on injured reserve, last played on December 31.
- Jake Schultz – on reserve.
- Craig Skudalski – on reserve.
- Aaron Titcomb – on injured reserve, last played on February 5.
- Additional scratches to be determined closer to puck drop.
Head-to-Head
| Worcester | Wheeling | |
| Goals For | 2.52 – 25th | 3.43 – 7th |
| Goals Against | 2.87 – 6th | 3.38 – 21st |
| Shots For | 31.74 – 13th | 32.06 – 11th |
| Shots Against | 32.83 – 21st | 28.98 – 5th |
| Fighting Majors | 29 | 8 |
| Power Play | 12.7% – 27th | 21.7% – 4th |
| Penalty Kill | 84.4% – 8th | 80.8% – 21st |
| Avg Height / Weight / Age | 6′ 0″ / 191 lbs / 24.83 years | 6′ 1″ / 196 lbs / 24.71 years |
Team Records
| Worcester | Wheeling | |
| Scoring First | 15-6-1-2 | 14-5-1-1 |
| Leading After 1 | 8-1-1-3 | 11-3-0-0 |
| Leading After 2 | 13-0-0-2 | 16-0-0-1 |
| Tied After 1 | 8-9-2-0 | 6-4-2-0 |
| Tied After 2 | 7-6-2-1 | 3-3-3-0 |
| Trailing After 1 | 5-9-0-0 | 3-14-3-1 |
| Trailing After 2 | 1-13-1-0 | 1-18-2-0 |
| Outshooting Opponents | 8-8-1-2 | 9-15-5-1 |
| Out Shot by Opponents | 11-11-2-1 | 10-6-0-0 |
On the Island and at the Port
- Sound Tigers Come Up Short in 2-1 Setback [Sound Tigers]
- Islanders host the Avalanche today at 1 PM.
- Bridgeport hosts Providence tonight at 7 PM.
Closing Statements
- The Railers are hosting their annual “Pink in the Rink” jersey auction tonight. The HandBid auction can be found here. Additional jerseys will be auctioned off after the game raffled off as well. The HandBid auction is live and ends around 9 PM on Saturday.
- For live updates during the game, follow us on Twitter @WooHockeyNews.