Photo by Joe Lovell Wheeling’s Jake Flegel and teammates will be outside of The Highlands’ Walmart on Friday ringing the bells for the Salvation Army.

WHEELING — Two armies will be coming together on Friday afternoon.

Wheeling Nailers’ coach Derek Army and his team will be joining forces with the Salvation Army as players will ring the bells from 2-6 p.m. outside of Walmart at The Highlands to help raise money for the organization.

The Nailers have been teaming up with the Salvation Army for years and Coach Army still remembers when he enjoyed the experience as a player.

“Going back seven years ago, myself and those guys then were doing it and it’s kind of been a tradition for the Nailers to be a part of the Salvation Army and ring the bells,” Army said. “It’s been something that’s carried on and it’s great to see these guys take charge. We want to be involved in the community and that’s not me or Deej (Director of Media Relations, D.J. Abisalih) telling them they have to, it’s the guys seeking it out. You look at (defenseman) Adam Smith, he’s willing to do absolutely anything for the community. That’s exciting for me as a coach and it should be exciting as a Nailers fan to know these guys really want to be in the community.”

Also eager to make some noise on Friday is defenseman Jake Flegel.

“It’s an opportunity to show some personality and show we really do care about the community and how lucky we are to be a part of everything that goes around,” Flegel said. “Especially this time of year, we get to show some holiday spirit and make some money for charity. We get to have some fun and get really obnoxious and ring some bells. It’s going to be a ton of fun. My fiance is coming to watch us because she knows how it’s going to be and hopefully drop us a dollar, too.”

This year’s Nailers team has already developed great chemistry on and off the ice and Army is not taking that for granted.

“This is a great group and they’ll hang around off the ice,” Army said. “You’ll see them out at restaurants together a lot. It’s rare to get a group like this so when you have it, you have to make the most out of it and cherish it. The community is the forefront and that’s the sign in our locker room.”

While fans can catch the Nailers outside of The Highlands’ Walmart on Friday ringing the bells, they are also teaming up with the Salvation Army for a Teddy Bear Toss during Saturday’s home game against Cincinnati at 7:10 p.m.

Following the Nailers’ first goal, fans will be allowed to throw teddy bears on to the ice, which will all be donated to the Salvation Army for kids.

“Players love it when the teddy bears come raining down,” Army said. “It’s very cool and we appreciate all the fans coming out and bringing stuff for donations. My wife will have a bunch of teddy bears to throw out, as well.”

The players not only get excited about the charity but they also enjoy making it into a competition to see who will be the one to get the team’s first goal to set the Teddy Bear Toss into action.

“Everybody gets excited to score that first goal,” Flegel said. “Everybody wants to get that first one. I’ve been on the ice for moments like that and it’s special. I know fans really enjoy it and hopefully we get a good crowd and get a ton of bears on that ice.”

Fans will not only get the chance to show off their arms as they chuck bears on to the ice but they’ll also get to watch a Nailers team that is playing great hockey.

Wheeling is 5-0-1 over its last six games and is sitting in third place in the Central Division, one point behind Fort Wayne and three points behind Toledo.

During that hot streak, Nick Hutchison is riding a 12-game point streak and is coming off a three-assist game in a 3-2 win over Indy on Sunday.

“I’m excited to be where we are,” Army said. “We’re playing great hockey. It’s not ideal that we are running through some injuries but it just shows our resiliency. There is an expectation to win no matter who is on the ice. It’s (Stefanos) Lekkas coming off the trade and stepping up. It’s Hutchy stepping up and being the guy. You can go down the list of guys who have stepped up. Bobby Hampton stepped up last weekend with three great games. Cam Hough came in Sunday and played. That’s our leadership group that spurs that on.”