Nailers Earn First Victory with 3-1 Win
Sunday October 18th, 2009 | Game Recap

Team Stat Comparison
	WHE	GWT
Score	3	1
Shots	34	34
Power Play	1/6	1/6
Penalties	9	10
Points	8	3

DULUTH, GA - Jordan Parise made 33 saves and the Wheeling Nailers picked up their first win of the season 3-1 at the Gwinnett Gladiators in the Sunday finale of their three game opening road-trip.

The Nailers improved to 1-2 with the win while the Gladiators fell to 1-1. The victory will make for a better mood for the long bus-ride home from the northern Atlanta suburb in Gwinnett County, Georgia.

Wheeling goals were scored by Joey Haddad (2), Thomas Beauregard (2) and Jimmy Sharrow (1).

Wheeling lit the lamp late in the 1st period on rookie Joey Haddad’s 2nd goal of the weekend assisted by Blair Yaworski. The initial shot was saved by Gwinnett goalie Josh Johnson but Haddad was there between the circles to fire it home and give the Nailers their first lead of the season.

That lead would last less than 2 minutes as the Gladiators would convert on a 5-on-3 power play to tie the game at 1-1. Parise was called for a high-stick swinging at the puck high in the air in the crease area and 20 seconds later Cliff Loya was assessed a cross-check on a battle right in front of the goal. Scott Marchesi teed it up and blasted a top-shelf goal over the right shoulder of Parise for the only time the former NJ Devils farmhand would be beaten on the night.

Parise had played in Austria last year after the University of North Dakota product had played 2 season in the AHL with the Lowell (Mass.) Devils.

Thomas Beauregard scored what would turn out to be the game-winning goal at 14:12 of the 2nd period as a loose puck was fed to him on the left-wing side of the crease where he was fairly easily able to slam it into a wide-open net. Gladiators netminder Johnson was out of the play and had no chance after he dove to punch away the puck on the other side of goal and was laying on his belly on that side. Beauregard is a Montreal, Quebec native who played the past two seasons with the Cincinnati Cyclones including leading that team in goals with 31 in 2007-08.

The Nailers got some breathing room as they recorded their first power play goal of the year at 8:42. Aaron Clarke kept the puck in the zone at the right point and fired a perfect pass to the left-wing circle where Jimmy Sharrow had pinched forward and was able to fire in the one-timer. It was Sharrow’s first goal as a Nailer who had played with Gwinnett for a couple months in 2005-06. Last season Sharrow was with Manitoba and Rockford in the AHL.

Gwinnett had a few decent opportunities in the rest of the 3rd but Parise was able to turn them all aside to preserve the win with the lone goal he allowed coming when his team was on the 2-man disadvantage.

Both teams went 1-for-6 on the power play and shots on goal were even at 34 apiece.

The home opener for the 18th season of professional hockey in the Friendly City is October 23rd when the Nailers host the Cincinnati Cyclones. The first 2500 fans in attendance get a Wheeling Nailers season magnet schedule courtesy of Stoney Hollow Tire. Get your WTRF-Friday Family 4-Packs in advance and get great value! 4 tickets, 4 sodas 4 tickets and a large popcorn for only $44.

Nailers Notes:

The Gladiators are the ECHL affiliate for both the Atlanta Thrashers and Chicago Blackhawks.

Scott Kalinchuk returned to the lineup while Kevin Schmidt was a scratch along with Jordan Fox, Slavomir Tomko and Corey Couturier.

Wheeling will play Gwinnett a total of four times this year. The Gladiators come to WesBanco Arena for a pair of games in mid December.

The Nailers will host a team Meet and Greet at the River City Ale Works in downtown Wheeling on Tuesday, October 20th at 6pm. C'mon out and meet the 2009-2010 Wheeling Nailers just a few days before their home opener.

The first edition of the Nailers Power Hour presented by Pepsi is this Thursday at 6 p.m. at Generations Pub and Restaurant in Wheeling. Join host Bob Rotruck and Coach Greg Puhalski as well as a Nailers player for a breakdown of recent games and a preview of what’s ahead. The show airs live on The Mix 97.3 and on wheelingnailers.com


Home opening weekend continues on Sunday, October 25th against the Elmira Jackals at 6:35. It's a Sunday Family FunDay featuring an open post-game skate with the Nailers players. Be sure to bring your skates and gloves. It's also an NFL Sunday Special. Wear an NFL jersey to the game for a special $10 adult ticket.

Season tickets are on sale now for all 36 exciting Nailers home games at WesBanco Arena. Great season ticket plans are available for every budget. Also take advantage of the Nailers new $87 package for 7 Nailers home games. Call the Wheeling Nailers at (304) 234-GOAL, that's 234-4625. Or log on to wheelingnailers.com for more information.