WHEELING, WV – The Wheeling Nailers and Orlando Solar Bears ended up splitting their two-game weekend series at WesBanco Arena. On Saturday night, Alexey Lipanov broke a 2-2 tie with a power play goal in the second period, then Orlando tacked on two more markers in the third period to prevail, 5-2. Renars Krastenbergs and Spencer Trapp were the goal scorers for the Nailers.
The first period was a wide open one, which saw four pucks find the back of the net. Orlando was first on the board, as the puck made its way to Trevor Olson, who turned and fired in a shot from the slot. The Nailers tied the tilt 3:26 later, when Krastenbergs roofed a wrist shot off Ryan Scarfo’s face-off win. Later in the stanza, Wheeling took the lead. Graham Knott fed a pass out to Spencer Trapp, who stepped up from the blueline, and slid a shot through Clint Windsor’s legs. The Solar Bears knotted things up 2:38 after that, when Rich Boyd wound in a wrist shot from the right point.
The offensive numbers slowed down in the middle frame, with the lone tally going to Orlando on the man advantage. Chris LeBlanc dribbled a pass across the slot to Lipanov, who chipped in a one-timer from the right circle.
Taylor Cammarata added insurance for the Solar Bears with a power play goal from the slot at the 4:42 mark of the third period, then Cody Donaghey capped the scoring in the 5-2 win for the visitors with an empty netter.
Clint Windsor earned the victory in net for Orlando, turning away 31 of the 33 shots he faced. Alex D’Orio saw his three-game winning streak get snapped for the Nailers, despite making 38 saves on 42 shots.
The Nailers will conclude their six-game homestand on Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m., when they face the Kansas City Mavericks for the first time in team history. Other exciting upcoming promotions include Protect & Serve Night on February 15th and Pittsburgh Penguins Night on February 29th.
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