1 . 24 . 24 – Fortunate for Reading to pull out a point Wednesday night. Reading was outplayed in the second and third; miraculously the Royals found the back of the net four times on 16 shots. Reading led by two not once, but twice. 2-0 at the end of the first and responded to the Nailers’ first goal in the second. Wheeling scored 3 goals in the second frame, and the Royals were fortunate to be knotted up with just 4 shots in the period. Ryan Chyzowski knotted the game up with just 27 seconds left in regulation an absolute snipe over the glove of Gauthier to force overtime. The Nailers would pull away with the two points, Lukas Svejkovsky with the game-winner 53 seconds into the extra session.
Final/OT: 5-4 Wheeling
WHL – Taylor Gauthier 16 – SH | 12 – SV | 4 – GA (W)
REA – Nolan Maier 32 – SH | 27 – SV | 5 – GA (OTL)
Three Stars
1. Lukas Svejkovsky – WHL
2. Jordan Martel – WHL
3. Tag Bertuzzi – REA
Game Length: 2:23 7:01 PM EST – 9:24 PM EST
Attendance: 2,037
1 . 26 . 24 – *Nervous Whisting* Where do I begin? It was 1-0 after twenty minutes, shots were 21-6 Wheeling. A heavily penalized ending to the second frame, Reading had gained momentum heading into the final frame. The Royals trailed 4-0 after two but opened the third with two goals in the first three minutes of play on the man advantage. Wheeling still outscored the Royals 4-3 for the period, despite playing up to the Nailers. Maier faced 50 shots between the pipes for Reading, the Royals produced 24. Not much to say about the club’s morale heading into the final game with the Nailers on Saturday, the team is frustrated and knows they can compete a lot harder than they have been.
Final: 8-3 Wheeling
WHL – Taylor Gauthier 24 – SH | 21 – SV | 3 – GA (W)
REA – Nolan Maier 50 – SH | 42 – SV | 8 – GA (L)
Three Stars
1. Jordan Martel – WHL
2. Isaac Beliveau – WHL
3. Lukas Svejkovsky – WHL
Game Length: 2:29 7:02 PM EST – 9:31 PM EST
Attendance: 2,915
