Nailers’ Winning Streak Snapped
WHEELING -- The best thing about a winning streak coming to an end is starting a new one the next time out.
That is the mentality Nailers' coach Derek Army and his squad will carry into Friday's home game against Kalamazoo after their six-game winning streak was snapped on Wednesday with a 4-1 loss to Reading inside WesBanco Arena.
Wheeling's win streak started on Feb. 6 with a 5-4 overtime win over Cincinnati -- the first of four home overtime triumphs during the six-game march.
"We are just seeing a lot of guys stepping up," Army said. "Patrick Watling is making big plays and saying the right things on the bench. Nick Hutchison is the same way. We've had guys stepping up on the back end like Adam Smith. The mentality in the locker room from the leadership down has been very strong so going forward we like where we're at."
Reading took command early with two goals in the first and another in the second for a 3-0 upper hand. Two of the three netters came from the older brother of Wheeling's Cam Hausinger, Kenny Hausinger, who recorded his first career hat trick in the victory.
Despite the deficit entering the third, Wheeling continued to show the resiliency that helped them reel off six consecutive wins as Watling lit the lamp on an assist from Bobby Hampton with just over 12 minutes remaining to make it a 3-1 margin.
"Even down 3-0 we thought we were going to come back," Army said. "Once we made it 3-1 our ears kind of perked up. It's a good mentality to have knowing we aren't out of it. We just needed it earlier than the third period."
Kenny Hausinger put the finishing touches on his hat trick and the game with an empty netter with 2:33 to play.
Wheeling went 0-for-3 on the power play but was successful in killing all three of Reading's man-advantages.
"I just thought we were flat all the way through but our penalty kill held the fort," Army said. "It would be nice to have the power play clicking with two or three goals every game. When we got it to 3-1 and then got a power play, it was disappointing to not score there. That helped us (Tuesday) but (Wednesday) I thought their kill out-worked us. That little extra just wasn't there."
Stefanos Lekkas halted 33 shots for Wheeling.
The Nailers now sit at 27-18-1 and are in second place in the Central Division, 12 points behind Toledo as fifth place Kalamazoo comes to town for a pair of games this weekend.
"We had some guys out (Wednesday) who will be back on Friday," Army said. "They are key parts of our team. This upcoming one is like a playoff game because it's a team that is chasing us. I think this loss kind of resets the mind. I'll use a Patriots reference here but they were undefeated going to the Super Bowl and I think it weighed big on them so maybe getting a loss out of the way knocks us back to earth a little bit."