READING, Pa. — The Wheeling Nailers faced a challenging situation Sunday afternoon as they were playing with lots of new faces in the lineup. The Reading Royals took advantage at Santander Arena, picking up a 6-0 victory as Wheeling played the first of six straight road contests.

The Royals scored twice in a span of 1:06, grabbing a 2-0 lead in the opening stanza. On the first tally, Michael Huntebrinker bumped a pass to himself off of the right wing wall, before setting up Alex Krushelnyski, who swatted in a shot from the left side of the slot. Matt Willows battled his way through on the right side for the second strike, roofing a shot into the top-right corner of the cage.

The lead was extended in the second. At the 3:15 mark, Matias Cleland sent a pass low in the zone, which ended up banking off of Huntebrinker’s skate, setting up Brian Morgan, who flipped a shot into the top-left corner. 2:18 later, Adam Schmidt created a play with his speed, allowing Scott Tanski to feed Steven Swavely on the right side of the slot. Wheeling made a goaltending change, but one more goal went in with 12 seconds left in the stanza, as Nolan Zajac wired in a one-timer from the blueline.

Krushelnyski tacked on one more goal in the third period, putting the finishing touches on the 6-0 win for the Royals.

Branden Komm was perfect in goal for Reading, stopping all 25 shots he faced in the shutout. Adam Morrison made 11 saves on 15 shots for Wheeling, including three breakaway stops, before giving way to Colin Stevens, who was 10-for-12 in relief.

The Nailers will continue their six-game road trip on Wednesday against the Kalamazoo Wings. They will then begin a three-game homestand March 7.

Riley Armstrong Named First Head Coach of Maine Mariners

Wheeling Nailers assistant coach Riley Armstrong has been named the head coach of the ECHL’s newest team, the Maine Mariners, effective immediately. Wheeling has hired Jay Spess to take over as the team’s new assistant coach.

Armstrong began his coaching career with the Nailers at the start of the 2016-17 season, following a 12-year playing career in the NHL, AHL, ECHL, and Europe. Along with head coach Jeff Christian, Armstrong was an integral part of the team’s success over the last two seasons, as the coaching staff led Wheeling to a 62-50-12 mark in 124 games, with the Nailers poised for a playoff run this spring. Riley had a terrific relationship with the players and staff, and learned a lot about the organization, helping him take the next step up the coaching ladder.

Spess comes to Wheeling from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where he has worked with Penguins players doing rehabilitation skates during the season, in addition to individual work in the summer with local players, such as former Nailer Patrick McGrath. This summer, Spess was an instrumental part in helping to make the Wheeling Nailers Tryout Camp a reality, working closely with Jeff Christian.