The Wheeling Nailers have won 12 straight games, with goaltender Taylor Gauthier and forward Jordan Martel earning praise from the league.
The Wheeling Nailers have won 12 straight games, with goaltender Taylor Gauthier and forward Jordan Martel earning praise from the league.
The Wheeling Nailers once again have dominated the weekly ECHL Awards. Full press release from the league below:
Taylor Gauthier of the Wheeling Nailers is the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Week for Feb. 5-10. It is the third time this season that he has received the weekly honour.
Gauthier went 2-0-0 with one shutout, a 0.49 goals-against average and a save percentage of .980 in two appearances against Reading last week, helping the Nailers tie their team record with a 12-game winning streak. The 24-year-old made 23 saves in a 2-1 overtime win on Friday and stopped all 25 shots in a 3-0 victory on Saturday.
Under a National Hockey League contract with Pittsburgh, Gauthier is the second goalie in Wheeling history to record nine consecutive wins and is 18-11-1 in 30 appearances with the Nailers this season and leads the ECHL in victories and shutouts while ranking second with a 2.29 goals-against average and fifth with a .921 save percentage.
A native of Calgary, Alberta, Gauthier has seen action in 46 career games with Wheeling going 26-18-2 with four shutouts, a 2.58 goals-against average and a save percentage of .912 while going 9-5-7 in 24 AHL appearances with a 2.90 goals-against average and a save percentage of .904.
Prior to turning pro, Gauthier was 77-91-11 in 194 career appearances in the Western Hockey League with Prince George and Portland with 10 shutouts, a 3.03 goals-against average and a save percentage of .909.
Jordan Martel of the Wheeling Nailers is the Inglasco ECHL Player of the Week for Feb. 5-10. It is the second time this season, and third time in his career, that he has received the weekly honour.
Martel scored five goals and added one assist for six points in three games against Reading last week, helping the Nailers tie their team record with a 12-game winning streak.
This marks the first time that the same team has won Goaltender and Player of the Week in the same week since Utah’s Joe Cannata and Matt Berry for the week ending Nov. 25, 2019.
The 25-year-old had two goals in a 3-1 win on Tuesday, added an assist in a 2-1 overtime win on Friday and scored each of Wheeling’s goals in a 3-0 victory on Saturday.
A native of Chicoutimi, Quebec, Martel has 26 points (18g-8a) in 24 games with the Nailers after recording 11 points (6g-5a) in 16 games with Utah before being traded in December. He is tied for third in the ECHL with 24 goals overall on the season.
Martel has totaled 90 points (44g-46a) in 100 career ECHL games with Wheeling, Utah and Fort Wayne.
Prior to turning pro, Martel posted 34 points (20g-14a) in 38 career games at the University of Quebec-Trois-Rivières and 204 points (98g-106a) in 253 career games with Baie-Comeau of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.