WHEELING, WV – Back in 2012 when the Ohio Valley Industrial and Business Development Corporation nd the Wheeling Amateur Hockey Assiciation pooled their resources to purchase the Wheeling Nailers franchise, it was in hopes of keeping the team afloat. Right now that investment is on the verge of paying off in the biggest way possible.
James Melindy scored his first professional playoff goal with a little over twelve minutes left in regulation, breaking a tie and giving the Nailers a 3-2 victory over the Allen Americans in game three of the best-of-seven ECHL Kelly Cup final series Wednesday night. The win, which came in front of a loud and raucous announced crowd of 3,484 at the WesBanco Arena, put Wheeling up two games to one – a position that could allow the Nailers to win the city’s first hockey championship at home.
Game four of the series is set for Friday night in Wheeling.
Melindy, a third round draft choice of the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, had never played in a post-season in his first three years as a pro. On Wednesday, he picked a perfect time to register his first professional post-season goal and point. It came when he took a pass from teammate Riley Brace and headed toward the Allen net. With Jarrett Burton storming toward the crease, Melindy waited to see how the traffic set up in front of Americans goalie Riley Gill before making a move and putting a shot home for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
From the outset, the energy in the WesBanco Arena that had been growing with each playoff series win reached a new high with the first finals appearance by a Wheeling team at home since the Thunderbirds in 1993. Gill, playing in his first game since being injured early in the conference final series, diffused some of that charge by playing a solid first period in which he turned away all seven Wheeling shots.
At the other end, Nailers netminder Franky Palazzese brought his A-game. His catching glove was especially quick as Allen’s Tristan King can attest to after the goalie took away a sure goal during an Americans power play. It was just one of six saves that Palazzese made in the opening period as the teams played to a scoreless draw.
It took a little over three minutes of the second period for the scoreboard to be dented. Wheeling’s Ty Loney started the play by making a defensive play in his own zone, poking the puck away from an opponent and racing out on an odd-man rush. As Loney raced into the Allen end, he made a beeline for the right circle where he whipped a wrist shot between Gill’s legs for his seventh goal of the playoffs.
The always confident Americans came with a quick response, tying the score a mere 43 seconds later. Moving into the Nailers end, Chad Costello laid a perfect drop pass to the top of the left circle for teammate Gary Steffes. Steffes stepped into a blistering slap shot that cleanly beat Palazzese for Steffes’ eleventh post-season tally at the 4:01 mark of the frame.
The teams settled into a back-and-forth battle over the next right minutes with both goalies seeing plenty of rubber. Then at the twelve minute mark, Allen’s Casey Pierro-Zabotel was called for hooking, giving the Nailers their third power play of the game. With fourteen seconds left in the advantage, Brace let go with a drive that Anton Zlobin redirected past Gill to put Wheeling back in front. It was Zlobin’s sixth goal and eighth point of the playoffs – all of them coming on the power play – and the Nailers sixth man-advantage tally of the series.
The Americans had a golden opportunity late in the frame to pull even when Wheeling’s John McCarron and captain Shane Bakker were tagged for overlapping penalties that created a 41-second, two-man advantage. Palazzese and the Nailers penalty killers held the fort to maintain the home team’s lead heading into the second intermission.
Early in the third, Brace headed to the box for delay of game, giving Allen its third power play of the game. It proved to be the charm for the visitors when Costello zipped a pass to the slot where Greger Hanson took it and wheeled around for a shot that lit the light to tie the game once again. It was Hanson’s seventh power play score and thirteenth overall tally of the playoffs.
The tie lasted all of three minutes and three seconds before Melindy became the latest hero in a Nailers uniform. From there the game became a showcase for Palazzese, who was a brick wall down the stretch. The goalie, who finished with 28 saves, made arguably his best save of the night when he stoned Steffes with his leg pad in the final fifteen seconds to preserve the win.
Game Notes: Gill played well in defeat, making 24 saves on 27 shots…Allen finished the game 1-for-3 on the power play while Wheeling went 1-for-4 with the man advantage…The win was Wheeling’s seventh at home during the 2016 playoff season, matching the franchise record set by the Thunderbirds team that lost to the Toledo Storm in the Riley Cup finals in 1993.
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