Nailers Spoil South Carolina's Party, 5-1
October 25, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Wheeling Nailers News Release
NORTH CHARLESTON, SC- The Wheeling Nailers bounced back from a disappointing game on Friday with a complete effort on Saturday night. Four different players found the net, including Zach Yuen, who scored twice, while Franky Palazzese denied 32 of 33 shots, as the Nailers defeated the South Carolina Stingrays, 5-1 at North Charleston Coliseum. The loss is South Carolina's first in a home opener in nine seasons.
Feeding off of pleasant memories from a season ago, the Nailers had a stellar start in the first period. At the nine-minute mark, Max MacKay broke into the offensive zone, before dropping a pass off to linemate Sahir Gill in the high slot. Gill skated in, before ripping a shot into the top-right corner of the net. South Carolina evened the score 1:35 later, when Andrew Rowe followed up his own shot, banging in a rebound from the right side of the crease. Wheeling quickly regained the lead less than three minutes after that, courtesy of a power play tally. Gill slipped a pass through the slot to David Gilbert, who drilled in a one-timer from the bottom of the right circle. Zach Yuen added another marker for the visitors with four minutes left in the opening stanza, when he connected on a slap shot from the middle of the blueline. Riley Brace and Carter Rowney assisted on the goal.
After a scoreless middle frame, Wheeling tacked on to its advantage in the third. A little less than halfway through the period, Patrick McGrath set up a 2-on-1 rush for Derek Army and Shane Bakker. Despite coming up empty on his first attempt, Army gathered in the loose puck, feeding Bakker with a pass, as he shifted to his backhand for his first of the campaign. Then, with 1:46, Zach Yuen applied the icing onto the cake, as he blasted home his second of the night for a 5-1 final score. The final tally also gave the Nailers a 2-for-3 mark on the power play, to go along with a 7-for-7 effort on the penalty kill.
Franky Palazzese performed great in goal for Wheeling, making 32 saves on 33 shots in the win. David LeNeveu was the losing netminder for South Carolina, after allowing five goals on 22 shots.
The Nailers will conclude their three-game road trip on Thursday, when they visit the Reading Royals at 7:30. Wheeling's next home game is also against Reading, taking place on Saturday at 7:35.
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