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WHEELING -- With actor Leslie David Baker (Stanley) from hit TV show "The Office" on hand, it was the Kalamazoo Wings that put on a show of their own in a 4-2 triumph over the Wheeling Nailers inside WesBanco Arena.
Despite its 9-14-3 mark and last place position in the Western Conference's Central Division, the Wings improved to 4-1 this season against the 13-11-4 Nailers, who currently sit fourth in the division.
"I'm disappointed that we weren't able to match their compete level," Nailers coach Mike Bavis said. "They've been a hard team for us to match up against since I've been in the league. They are really well-coached and really competitive. We had a hard time matching that (Saturday).
"We are sitting a little bit ahead of them in the standings so this was an important game for both of us. We played a pretty competitive hockey team (Friday) night, played a good game and found a way to get the win. (Saturday), we weren't able to bring that back to the rink and we have to get better at that."
Following his stellar ECHL debut on Friday night that consisted of 26 saves and a shutout victory, goaltender Emil Larmi allowed three goals to the Wings but did make an impressive 36 saves in the crease.
"He's very athletic and pretty poised," Bavis said of Larmi. "He was under duress both nights and made some big saves. For him to come down here and get some of his first games in a while and look as good as he did, that's a really strong statement about him as a prospect."
Kalamazoo struck first as Justin Taylor took advantage of a 5-on-3 advantage due to a pair of delay of games, including one where Wheeling's Marc-Olivier Duquette sent a puck flying from his own goal line and into the seats on the opposite side of the ice.
"It's hard to imagine to take two delay of game penalties and certainly the nature of the second one -- it's frustrating," Bavis said. "They are a pretty skilled team and giving them almost two minutes of power play time, they are going to find a stick."
Wheeling answered back as Nick Saracino lit the lamp with 6 minutes to play in the first period as he simply crashed the net and sent a back-hander into the net. Cam Brown delivered the pass and Christopher Brown also recorded an assist on the play.
However, it was Kalamazoo's night as it garnered another power play goal, this one on a one-timer off the stick of Zach Frye from the top of the right circle with 3:42 remaining in the opening stanza.
After a scoreless second period, Matheson Iacopelli extended the lead to 3-1 with a goal from the right circle 11:51 into the third period.
Duquette provided hope for Wheeling with 6:43 to play as he ripped a shot from the wall near the left circle that found the back of the net but Kyle Blaney removed all doubt for the Wings with under a minute left with an empty-net goal.
Wheeling will hit the road for divisional games at Toledo and Indy next weekend, before returning home on New Year's Eve to host Norfolk.
"If you look at the first half as a whole, we have grown as a team and have become hard to play against," Bavis said. "Some guys have had some really good individual efforts. As the season has gone on here, I think we've played much better together and have become a pretty good hockey team."