DEREK ARMY

WHEELING – Last weekend was a memorable one for the Wheeling Nailers. Not only did they sweep a three-game homestand, they also punched their ticket to the 2025 Kelly Cup Playoffs and head coach Derek Army set the franchise record for career victories.

“It’s really unbelievable. I don’t think it has sunk in yet,” Army admitted. “For me, I know the history of this organization being the oldest in the ECHL and not a new organization coming in, there have been a lot of very good coaches here, and for me to be atop that list is certainly something that I won’t take for granted.

“It was nice to be able to celebrate it with my family. I really appreciated that. Being able to do that with this organization is pretty special to me.”

Win No. 148 came Saturday night in a 4-1 triumph over Cincinnati, surpassing Clark Donatelli’s mark of 147. The 19th head coach in Wheeling history, Army is in his fourth year behind the bench after playing parts of five seasons with the team.

“I grew up as a New England boy in Rhode Island. I went to Providence College in my home area. I never really thought I would ever find anything like this as a home,” he explained. “Wheeling has certainly become my home and my family’s home and for my kids to be able to go to school here makes it even that more incredible.

“The people of the Ohio Valley have been great. The camaraderie is what makes this great. Wheeling is really a home to me and my family,” he added.

“It was great to hear from some of my former players and teammates after Sunday’s game,” he added. “I don’t get to where I am now without them. The players are the ones who put in the hard work and make it fund for me to come to the rink every day. I can’t thank the current team enough and there’s a whole lot of players who deserve some credit.”

Following a 3-2 nail-biter over Bloomington on Sunday, the Nailers clinched their second consecutive playoff appearance. They advanced to the second round last year before falling.

“We went into last weekend knowing we were close to clinching a playoff berth and that we kind of controlled our own destiny,” Army said. “The hard part of this league is so many different teams come in here .. so many different players … new faces. The team you have now isn’t the team you had in week 1.

“We talk all the time, as a team, about managing the ups and downs,” Army continued. “Our goal has always been to make the playoffs.

“Once you get in the playoffs it comes down to everything having to go your way. You have to get in to give yourself a chance. To clinch the playoffs on home ice was something that was truly memorable. Last year we did it in Pittsburgh and the time before (2021-22) in Kalamazoo. It was enjoyable to do it with our fans and with each other.”

The Job Isn’t Finished Quite Yet.

“Now we want to go out and get home-ice for the first round. These last six games will be spent trying to piece everything together in an attempt to make a long run in the playoffs,” he pointed out. “Currently we have home-ice and that’s the focus right now. From there I think you want to be playing your best when the playoffs roll around and I think we’ve been playing really well.”

Wheeling is 6-4 in its last 10 games and is three points in front of Norfolk for the final home berth. The Nailers (39-23-3-1) are second in the North Nivision and fifth in the Eastern Conference. They host Reading for a three-game set this weekend before finishing the regular-season with three games north of the border in Quebec against Trois-Rivieres.

Wheeling is 22-9-1-1 inside WesBanco Arena, while it is 17-14-2-0 on the road.

Youth Being Served

“We are a really young team, the youngest in the league this year,” he stressed. “Last year we were the second youngest. David Drake is our oldest player at 29 and there is nobody really close to that. Our captain is in his third year and our two assistant captains are in their second years.

“Some of the travel factors in for the younger guys who are straight out of college or juniors,” he added. “The hard schedule is new to those guys who are used to playing every other day. Here you might have three-in-three or four-in-five. That all factors into our record on the road. At home, we get that final line change, so there are many factors.”

Goaltending

“We feel really good about our goaltending situation,” Army noted. “In my opinion, Taylor Gauthier is the ECHL Goalie of the Year again. Sergei Murashov could also be but I don’t think he qualifies. He could also be the Rookie Goaltender of the Year. Thomas Gale came in and played really well for us.

“The backbone of a great playoff team is to have a great goalie ending, and we’ve received that this year.”

Gauthier, the reigning ECHL Goaltender of the Year, is 15-10-2 with a 2.06 goals-against-average and a .928 save percentage this season. The 24-year-old was recently named the ECHL Goaltender of the Week for the fifth time in his career.

Murashov, who is currently 11-1 in the AHL with Wilkes Barre/Scranton, was 17-7-1 during his stay in the ECHL. He had a 2.40 GAA.

Jaxon Castor has also been between the pipes and Gale made his pro debut in Sunday’s win.

Personnel Has Changed

“With our personnel, things have changed over the season, but we’ve gone back to what our foundation was early in the year. We’ve also had some players return to the team, including Jack Beck last week. That helps.”

Beck has scored 36 points (8 goals, 28 assists) in 36 games for the Nailers.

Scoring Drought Over

From March 7-12, Wheeling went 1-3 and only found the net four times. It was shut out in three of those outings.

“We still felt when we were in that little (scoring) drought that we had the chances, we just needed to find a way to put the puck in the net. We’ve seemed to find that again,” the coach said.

Final Homestand of Regular Season

“It will be nice to show all of our appreciation to our fans,” Army said. “The guys are excited. They love playing in front of our fans.”

The weekend is loaded with promotions as Frosty Friday kicks things off. The Harry Potter-themed “Wizards and Wands” is set for Saturday, with Fan Appreciation Night scheduled for Sunday.