Photo Provided Wheeling Nailers standout goaltender Taylor Gauthier makes a save during a game from earlier this summer. The red-hot goaltender and his teammates will host the Maine-Adirondack winner on Friday night at 7:10 inside WesBanco Arena in Game 1 of the best-of-7 North Division championship series.

WHEELING – In hockey a team’s success is usually dependent on riding a ‘hot’ goaltender. If that’s the case, the Wheeling Nailers’ Taylor Gauthier has been sizzling between the pipes during the 2025-26 season.

That trend continued during the first round of the Kelly Cup North Division semifinals when the 25-year-old Calgary, Alberta, Canada product stopped 148 of 152 shots in the five-game win over the Reading Royals, including all 41 in the double-overtime series clincher on Saturday inside Santander Arena in central Pa.

Among the four victories, three were shutouts, and three of the four goals he gave up came in the Game 4 loss, also in overtime, 3-2.

“At some point in my career I probably was, but as of the last couple of years this is the best I’ve felt and the most confident that I’ve felt in myself and in a team,” Gauthier said Wednesday morning of his play of late following practice inside WesBanco Arena. “We’re clicking right now. I think we’re all getting hot at the right time. We’re all enjoying every day and we’re trying to make the best of it.”

Gauthier has re-written the Wheeling record book this season. He now holds records for most wins (71), career regular-season shutouts (10) and games played (124). He is 71-42-9 in his ECHL career, with a microscopic 2.26 goals-against-average and a save percentage of .923.

Gauthier has been called up to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on three different occasions, posting a respectable 10-5-7 record.

Gauthier led the ECHL during the regular season with a .929 save percentage and finished third in the league with a 2.09 goals against average. He was the ECHL Goaltender of the Year during the 2023-24 season and was also named first-team all-ECHL.

“It’s a good feeling,” he said of being called up to the NHL. “I think sometimes you might get caught up in the depth charts of where you are in the organization. Sometimes you might feel like the NHL is a long way away when you’re down here (the ECHL), but those opportunities can help put in perspective how close you are to your dream.

“It gives you a little more energy … a little more boost to push forward and get better every day. That is my end goal and to have those opportunities to sit on the bench and be around the guys during the Stanley Cup playoffs was really cool.”

How does this Nailers team stack up against some others Gauthier played on?

“I think from a day-in and day-out perspective this is the best team we’ve had since I’ve been around,” the 6-2, 200-pounder said. “I think every year we’ve gotten a little better from a player-staff standpoint to the way we approach the game. We’ve been pretty successful ever since I came here and I’ve always been treated very well here.

“To see all the hard work that everyone in the organization has put into this season pay off the way it has been special, and, hopefully, we can keep it up for the fans of the organization.”

Maine and Adirondack faced off in Game 7 of their North Division semifinal series on Wednesday night, but Gauthier said it doesn’t matter who comes to Wheeling for Game 1 of the North Division championship on Friday.

“I like our chances against either Maine or Adirondack,” Gauthier admitted. “I have all the belief in the guys in our (locker) room against anybody in this league. We’ve done it all year … we’ve been one of the top teams in the league. We know whoever we play it will be a good, competitive series. Hopefully we can come out on top and continue playing into the spring and summer.”

Fan support is also a key for Gauthier and his teammates.

“It’s been amazing,” he said of the home crowds. “I was talking with (team media person and radio announcer) DJ (Abisalih) the other day about that being the most fun we’ve had in this building since I’ve been here. The buzz around the rink and the city is crazy. We go to the grocery store and people stop us and want to talk about the Nailers, so it’s really cool to be a part of that. I think we all take a lot of pride in being Nailers.”

Gauthier was 21-9-5 during the 2025-26 regular season. He is 4-0-1 in the postseason with a minuscule 0.71 GAA and a .974 save percentage.

Whether it’s the Maine Mariners or the Adirondack Thunder, Game 1 of the best-of-7 North Division championship series will be played Friday night at 7:10 at WesBanco Arena, with Game 2 on Saturday at the same time.