photo by: Joe Lovell

Photo by Joe Lovell The Wheeling Nailers' Taylor Gauthier makes a save Saturday during the Nailers' playoff victory over the Maine Mariners.

WHEELING – Timely goals, solid goaltending and scoring-by-committee has been Wheeling’s recipe for success during the 2025-26 ECHL season.

Saturday night inside a raucous WesBanco Arena was much of the same as the top-seeded Nailers scored a goal in the first and last minute of the initial period, Taylor Gauthier stopped 32 of 33 shots and four different players found the back of the net in a 4-1 victory over No. 2 Maine in Game 2 of the Kelly Cup North Division championship series.

Wheeling takes a 2-0 lead into Cross Insurance Arena in Portland for Games 3, 4, and, if necessary, 5, on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in the best-of-7 series, with the puck dropping at 7 each night. If needed, Games 6 and 7 would be back at WesBanco Arena on Monday, May 18 and Tuesday, May 19, with both starting at 7:10 p.m.

Before the fans could get settled in their seats, Nailers team captain Matthew Quercia had them back on their feet as he pounded in a loose puck from the left of Mariners goalie Luke Cavalin a mere 45 seconds into the contest. Blake Bennett skated down the slot only to see the puck roll off his stick and right to Quercia for a 1-0 lead. Alexander Kuqali also had a helper.

Maine drew even when Zach Jordan one-timed a shot that zipped past Gauthier at 18:46 despite the Mariners seemingly being offside. Owen Gallatin and Robert Cronin logged assists.

Wheeling continued to press the issue until the buzzer and it paid dividends as Brayden Edwards finished a feed from Ryan McAllister and buried the biscuit into the basket at 19:51, giving the Nailers a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish. Matty De St. Phalle also recorded an assist.

“We were just sticking with it. Matty made a good play at the (blue) line and Ryan put it right on my tape,” Edwards said of the eventual game-winner. “Tonight was huge to get our two wins at home. We know it will be a challenge when we go to Maine, but we’ve just got to take it game by game.”

Wheeling head coach Ryan Papaioannou was pleased with the way his team started after a sluggish start on Friday night.

“I thought the first five minutes was our best hockey of the night,” he said. “We weren’t pleased with their goal because we thought it was offside, but then we went down the ice and scored one that was offside, so it was justified.”

The Nailers blew the game wide open with a pair of goals within a 7-minute span of the second period as the margin grew to 4-1.

Craig Armstrong rushed the puck into the Mariners zone before dropping it back for Zach Urdahl in the left circle. His wrister found the top shelf to make it 3-1. Shortly thereafter, McAllister swiped the puck from a Maine player and sent the puck up ice for a streaking Logan Pietila who also went top shelf.

Maine, which didn’t record a shot on goal for the first 11 minutes of the second period, fired 13 shots at Gauthier in the final period, but the Nailers all-time leader in wins was up to the task each and every time.

“Their push came in the third period and I thought we did a good job,” Papaioannou said. “Our goalie made a couple of good saves.”

Although the scoresheet showed he only recorded one assist, De St. Phalle was all over the ice, something that wasn’t overlooked by his head coach.

“I think this was one of his best games in a while. His competitive level with his speed … he’s all over the ice.”

Cavallin denied 19 of 23 shots.

Sunday was a travel day for both squads.

“We want to go up there and finish the series, but the reality is it’s a tough place for us to go and play,” Papaioannou noted. “They (Maine) are going to get a rest day tomorrow (Sunday). We just caught them in a stretch of four games in five nights. I think we need to play our best hockey in Game 3. We saw how Reading responded when we were up 3-0, so I think Maine will respond the same way.”

LOOSE PUCKS

– Edwards earned the No. 1 star, with McAllister the No. 2 and Gauthier the No. 3.

– The attendance was listed at 2,870.

– A total of 14 penalty minutes – seven minors – were assessed, with Maine receiving eight of those minutes.

– Wheeling was outshot in all three periods (12-10, 8-5 and 13-8).

– It is approximately 750 miles from the Ohio Valley to Portland.

– Florida holds a 2-0 lead over South Carolina in the South Division Finals after 3-0 and 6-2 victories.