WHEELING, WV— The Wheeling Nailers took an early two-goal lead that the Kalamazoo Wings were unable to overcome, as the Wings dropped a 4-2 contest on Saturday night at WesBanco Arena.
The Wings fell behind early in the first period after Cody Wydo opened up the scoring for the Nailers. Derek Army spun the puck towards the goal and Wydo was waiting to chip the loose puck over Joel Martin and into the goal.
The Nailers boosted their lead late in the period, fresh off killing the Wings’ first power play of the game. Clark Seymour lifted a puck into the Wings’ zone, and as Martin came out to play it, Chris Ciotti swooped in and was able to slide a backhand into the open goal.
Martin and Curtis Valk helped Kalamazoo get on the board early in the second period and reach within a goal. Martin made a highlight-reel pad save on one end, and the bounce from the denial sprung a break for Valk, who fired a wrist shot from the high slot past Wheeling goalie, Brian Foster.
The one-goal gap didn’t last long, as Connor Leen moved ahead with Anton Zlobin on a two-on-one towards Martin. Zlobin flicked a saucer pass across to Leen, who angled the puck behind Martin, giving the Nailers a 3-1 lead.
Wydo led Wheeling to their largest lead of the game, while Kalamazoo were working on their third power play, early in the third period. After Paul Cianfrini poked a bouncing puck past the Kalamazoo defense, it opened up a breakaway for Wydo, who was able to sneak a wrister past the glove side of Martin.
Kalamazoo showed grit down the stretch, and were able to cut the deficit to two goals late in the final frame. Justin Taylor cleanly won a faceoff back to Ben Wilson, who tapped the puck to Sacha Guimond, whose shot snuck through a web of screens and into the goal.
Pulling Martin in favor of an extra attacker, the Wings generated a multitude of chances down the stretch, but Foster stood tall, helping lead the Nailers to a 4-2 victory.
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