The Wheeling Nailers, the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins, wrapped up their 2024-25 season by going 2-1-0 against the North Division champions, Trois-Rivieres Lions, this past weekend.
Thanks to two victories, the Nailers finished the year with a 43-25-3-1 record and 90 points, the fourth-highest single-season win total following the 2004 (51), 1995 (46), and 2006 (45) campaigns.
On Friday, the first of three against the Lions, the Nailers erupted for four third-period goals to pull away with a 5-2 win after falling behind 2-1 just 22 seconds into the final period.
The Lions opened the scoring at 9:19 of the first before Matthew Querica tied things up at 7:18 of the second period. It was the first of two lamplighters on the night for Querica, who finished the season with a career-high 20 goals.
Matt Koopman tied the game at 2-2 at 3:13 before Jordan Martel put Wheeling ahead 3-2 at 8:13. His tally was followed by Quercia (12:37) before Cole Tymkin capped off the night with a goal at 16:36, assisted by netminder Taylor Gauthier, who picked up his 18th win by making 21 saves.
Meanwhile, in the weekend's second game, the Nailers earned their final win by defeating the Lions 3-1. Unlike Friday's contest, Wheeling jumped to a 1-0 lead thanks to a Lars Rodne tally at 8:10. With two seconds left in the first period, the Lions got on the board to tie things up at 1-1.
In the middle period, Jordan Martel gave the Nailers a 2-1 lead at 7:58, with his lamplighter standing up as the game-winner. The Lions pulled their goalie down by a goal, allowing Koopman to score his second in two nights, assisted by Querica, his second helper in the game.
In goal, Jaxon Carter earned his sixth win of the year, making 18 saves in his 13th appearance.
Unfortunately, Carter couldn't duplicate Saturday's performance. The Lions won the season finale by a 5-1 score, tallying three goals in the final half of the third period to prevent the Nailers from completing a three-game sweep.
On this day, Wheeling would only get on the board at 12:05 of the second period, when Cole Tymkin scored with helpers from Jack Works and Peter Laviolette. His goal cut the Lions' deficit to 2-1, but as mentioned, it was the only time Wheeling would beat Joe Vrbetic, who made 19 saves.
On the second night of a back-to-back, Carter made 29 saves on 34 shots to finish his regular season 6-7-1, a different total from his 10-4-1 record last year.
The Nailers finished fifth in the ECHL Eastern Conference and second in the North Division. Their North Division Semifinals series against the Norfolk Admirals (40-25-7), the affiliate of the Winnipeg Jets, begins on Wednesday.
Here's a breakdown of their upcoming playoff series:
Game 1 – Wednesday, April 16 at 7:05 p.m. ET at Norfolk
Game 2 – Thursday, April 17 at 7 p.m. ET at Norfolk
Game 3 – Wednesday, April 23 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Wheeling
Game 4 – Friday, April 25 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Wheeling
Game 5 – Saturday, April 26 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Wheeling (If Necessary)
Game 6 – Monday, April 28 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Wheeling (If Necessary)
Game 7 – Tuesday, April 29 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Wheeling (If Necessary)