The Nailers' 13-game winning streak finally comes to an end Friday night In Front Of their Home Crowd
Winning is fun as long as the supply lasts.
That supply ran out for the Wheeling Nailers Friday night on their home ice, as the Toledo Walleye came away with a 4-0 shutout at WesBanco Arena.
The loss ended three positive streaks for the Nailers: a 13-game winning streak, 16-game point streak and 10-game home point streak.
Tyler Spezia scored twice and Toledo goaltender Jan Bednar was perfect in net with 25 saves.
The Nailers came into the game with a 9-0-1 record at home, outscoring the opposition 41-19 during that span.
None of that mattered Friday, as Toledo improved to 17-6-3 on the season, while the Nailers dropped to 17-4-1.
At the 3:50 mark of the first period, Spezia picked up his first goal of the night. After Conlan Keenan sent a pass from the offensive zone, Spezia got to the bottom of the left circle and fired a shot through the legs of Nailers goaltender Taylor Gauthier for a 1-0 lead.
The only other highlight of the opening frame involved some fist action. Matthew Quercia, never one to back down from a fight, dropped the gloves with Dalton Messina, who challenged him after Quercia delivered a vicious check to Matt Anderson.
The middle frame was scoreless. Early in the third, Brandon Kruse intercepted the puck in the slot and fed Sam Craggs, who set up Mitchell Lewandowski for a one-timer from the right hash mark to give the Walleye a 2-0 lead.
Toledo scored two additional goals in the game’s closing minutes. Messina put in a rebound off a Casey Dornbach shot to make the score 3-0.
Spezia lit the lamp for a second time 16 seconds later from the left circle, clinching the 4-0 victory for Toledo.
With the win, Bednar picked up his 12th win of the season. He started the night tied for second in the ECHL in victories. Gauthier stopped 25 of 29 shots in the loss.
The teams will switch venues, with the Walleye playing host Saturday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:15 Pm ET.