Indy Hands Nailers Fifth Straight Setback
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WHEELING -- The Nailers dropped their fifth straight contest on Wednesday night inside WesBanco Arena.
This time it came against familiar foe and division front-runner, the Indy Fuel (19-4-1), by a 4-1 count.
The Fuel entered the game having earned two straight shutouts and Dan Bakala nearly made it three until Wheeling's Hayden Hodgson found the back of the net with 1:21 to play to get the Nailers on the board. Bakala finished with 36 saves.
In total, Indy went 187 minutes and 9 seconds without allowing a goal.
Goaltender Alex D'Orio got his first start in net this year for Wheeling after spending the beginning of the campaign on the Pittsburgh Penguins' Taxi Squad.
He faced 21 shots and gathered 17 saves.
The Fuel got the scoring started late in the first as Jared Thomas collected a rebound in front of the net and lit the lamp on the Indy power play.
The Nailers (5-13-4) killed four power plays on the night but have allowed nine power play goals during their current five game losing streak.
Not even a minute later, a Wheeling turnover in front of the net led to another Indy score -- this time coming from the stick of Antoine Waked for a 2-0 advantage after one period.
It was more of the same in the second as Matt Marcinew whistled a laser from atop the slot and past D'Orio for the 3-0 cushion.
Nick Hutchison garnered the finishing touches for Indy as he lifted a shot from the left circle over the left shoulder of D'Orio and into the top of the cage for a 4-0 upperhand heading into the final frame.
Hodgson broke Indy's shutout streak on a power play goal with assists from Matt Alfaro and Brady Tomlak.
Alfaro has now increased his point streak to six games.
The power play goal was setup when Indy's Ross Olsson was called for hooking, leaving Wheeling with the man-advantage.
Wheeling outshot Indy 37-21, which included an 18-7 advantage in the second period but just couldn't hit the mark.
Nailers' coach Mark French was unavailable for comment following the game.
Wheeling returns to action with three home games against the Utah Grizzlies (12-5-3-5) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.