GREENSBORO, NC- The Wheeling Nailers took on a brand new opponent for the first time on Thursday night, as they took on the expansion Greensboro Gargoyles at First Horizon Coliseum. Wheeling cruised out to a 3-0 lead in the first half of the match, then held on at the end for a 4-2 triumph. Jake Smith won his ECHL debut with 24 saves, and the Nailers got goals from four different players.
The Nailers notched the lone goal of the first period, and it came at the 6:36 mark. Jordan Kaplan started the play from his own end, before rushing down the entire length of the ice. Kaplan ultimately saw his opportunity develop behind the offensive goal, when he gathered the puck on his backhand, swooped beneath the right circle, and tossed a shot into the left side of the cage.
Wheeling added to its advantage with a pair of strikes in the early stages of the middle frame. At the 5:41 mark, Ryan Mahshie skated in on the left side of the offensive zone and delivered a perfect saucer pass to the right side of the crease, where Connor Lockhart swatted it home. Less than four minutes later, Kaplan won an offensive zone face-off to Zach Urdahl, who immediately wired in a wrist shot from the left circle. Greensboro got on the scoreboard with a power play marker in the closing minutes of the period, when David Gagnon potted a loose puck in the low slot.
The game tightened up a bit more in the closing minutes, as the Gargoyles trimmed the gap to one with 3:46 left. Trevor Zins’ shot from the center point got denied, but Deni Goure poked in the rebound. Things got even more tense 33 seconds later, when the Nailers were called for a penalty. However, Wheeling was successful on the penalty kill, then Matthew Quercia fired in an empty net tally from his own left circle for the 4-2 victory. The goal extended Quercia’s point streak to six games.
Jake Smith made a couple of dazzling saves as part of his 24 saves on 26 shots to win his ECHL debut for the Nailers. Connor Ungar turned away 27 of the 30 shots he faced for Greensboro.
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