January 21st, 2011 - Trenton Devils vs. Wheeling Nailers

JOHNSTOWN, PA—Casey Pierro-Zabotel's two-point night, helped pace a shorthanded Wheeling Nailers squad to a 4-3 victory over the Trenton Devils at the Cambria County War Memorial Friday night. The win coupled with a Cincinatti loss, extends the Nailers lead in the North division's to seven points.

Trenton scored first on a sniper shot from the circle by Jeremy Akeson. The Nailers responded on the power play, as Dan Henningson pinched up to the slot.and tapped a shot past Trenton goaltender Shane Connelly to tie the game at one after the first period.

In the second, Trenton reclaimed the lead on Brad Miller's backhand shot, which squeezed through the five-hole of Wheeling netminder Patrick Killeen at 3:51 of the period.. Less than three minutes later, Casey Pierro-Zabotel took a feed into the zone and deked to backhand to beat Connelly, tying the game at two. Seconds after killing off a Trenton power play, Wheeling's Kelly Miller exited the penalty box and poked the puck away from a Devils forward, and took off on a 3-on-0 rush. Miller called his own number, deking to the forehand and flipping the puck into the net giving Wheeling its first lead of the contest 3-2.

The Nailers held on defensively in the third as the Devils continued to press in the offensive zone. Wheeling was able to get some breathing room at 15:29 of the period. Mikael Bedard buried home a rebound off a David Marshal shot to propel his squad to a 4-2 lead. The Devils added a third goal on the power play off the stick of captain Trevor Kell. However, the marker came with only one second remaining in regulation, and the Nailers would take the 4-3 victory.

Trenton outshot Wheeling 37-29, and Patrick Killeen earned his 16th win in goal, making 34 saves. Due to call-ups and several injuries, the Nailers entered the weekend shorthanded. The team signed forwards John May and Mike Thomson. May appeared in two games with the Toledo Walleye earlier this year scoring one goal. Thomson logged an assist in tonight's win, and has posted 35 points (12g, 23) in 27 games with the New York Aviators of the Federal Hockey League.

The two teams will meet again tomorrow in Trenton, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Tune into The Mix 97.3, or watch the game on RTV9 courtesy of America One The next Nailers contest at WesBanco Arena is Saturday, January 29, against the Trenton Devils, game time is set for 7:35 p.m. The first 2,000 fans will receive a free Nailers T-shirt. To purchase tickets call (304) 234-GOAL.

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• Wheeling Nailers
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• ECHL