ESTERO, FLA – Shane Bakker played just 24 games in a Wheeling Nailers uniform during the 2015-2016 ECHL regular season. In those contests, he tallied only nine assists but his value to the Wheeling team as its captain went far beyond numbers on a page.Monday night, Bakker finally lit the goal light with arguably the most important goal of his career.
Bakker scored what proved to be the game-winning goal midway through the third period as the Nailers stunned the
Florida Everblades 2-1 in front of an announced crowd of 3,065 at Germain Arena. The victory gave Wheeling a 4-2 series victory and a date with the winner of Tuesday’s Reading-Toledo game seven survivor in the Eastern conference semifinals starting Friday.
Bakker’s goal was backed up by goalie Brian Foster who made 43 saves to pick up his third consecutive win in as many starts for the Nailers. In games four, five and six, Foster racked up a combined total of 94 saves on 102 shots faced as he nearly single-handedly willed Wheeling to its first playoff series win since 2014.
Facing a win or go home game, Florida head coach Greg Poss had his troops ready to throw everything they had at the visiting Nailers. Thanks to a pair of Wheeling penalties (which became a huge story in the series), the Everblades built up a 10-1 shot advantage over the first fourteen minutes of the opening period.
Wheeling’s offense finally got untracked when Florida took a pair of overlapping penalties that created a five-on-three man advantage. Everblades goalie Rasmus Tirronen, making his third appearance and first start of the series, shut down every Nailers attempt to keep the game scoreless.
Just as the second penalty ended, Everblades defenseman Mark Nemec got control of the puck and sent Ryan Martindale away on a break. Mike Cornell, who was called for that second infraction, stepped out of the penalty box and into the play to create a two-on-one rush. Martindale drew the defender to his side before slipping a pass to Cornell who blasted a shot into the back of the net for the game’s first goal. The score was Cornell’s first of the post-season.
Knowing the Nailers penchant for comebacks, Florida continued to pour the heat on Foster and the Wheeling defense. Foster seemed to get better and better with each passing shot sent his way as the Everblades unloaded 18 shots in the second period but came away with nothing to show for it.
The Nailers were pinned in their own end for much of the middle frame but finally caught a break with less than four minutes left before intermission. It came when Andrew Ammon, who had been responsible for a Florida power play earlier in the stanza, busted out with Ty Loney on an odd-man rush. Ammon got the puck to Loney who fired a shot from the right circle that beat Florida goalie Tirronen just inside the left post under the crossbar. The puck was in and out of the net so quickly that the on-ice officials had to consult with the goal judge before officially awarding Loney with his third goal of the playoffs.
With so much riding on the third period, both Poss and Wheeling head coach David Gove tightened up their respective defenses. Neither side wanted to make a crucial mistake and it showed in a low shot count as compared to the previous two periods.
Just past the midpoint of the final frame, Wheeling created an opportunity that became the deciding moment of the game.
It began with defenseman Mathew Maione skating the puck into the Florida defensive zone before dumping it behind the Everblades net. Jordan Kwas hustled in and outfought an opponent for the puck. As he walked it above the goal line, he saw Bakker alone on the other side of the crease. Kwas threaded a pass across the top of the crease to Bakker who guided it past Tirronen for the go-ahead goal with 9:20 left in regulation.
With its season on the line, Florida began another furious push. Aided by two more Wheeling penalties, the Everblades peppered Foster with shots from every direction looking for that one that get past the netminder and even the score.
Foster faced eight of Florida’s 15 third period shots in the final five minutes of regulation, turning away every one of them including a brilliant stop of a rebound attempt by Everblades captain Matt Marquardt. Poss pulled Tirronen (20 saves) with just over a minute left but Foster was too tough for his team to solve.
Beyond the clutch scoring and the play of Foster between the pipes, Wheeling’s penalty killing units had as much to do with the Nailers series win. Over the course of the six games, Wheeling successfully killed off 40 of Florida’s 47 man-advantages (the Everblades PK was also strong, killing off 29 of the Nailers’ chances). In the four Wheeling wins, it allowed just one power play goal in 29 opportunities with perfect nights in three of the four contests.
After a quick trip back to Wheeling, the Nailers will wait to see who their next opponent will be and where the series will start. If Reading wins, the Royals will visit the WesBanco Arena in Wheeling for games one and two on Friday and next Monday. Should Toledo triumph, the Nailers will head to the Huntington Center for game one on Friday night.
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