The Wheeling Nailers youth travel program enjoyed a very successful March 2023, with four teams winning playoff championships. In addition to the Nailers U-12 A Major Gold team championship, you can see that article here, three other Nailers age-group teams won Pennsylvania Amateur Hockey League (PAHL) titles. The Nailers U-18 A Minor, U-12 B and U-10 A Minor teams won their respective playoff tournaments in March.
Additionally, the Wheeling Lightningbirds women’s hockey team won its league championship. All five teams were in attendance and recognized at the Wheeling Nailers ECHL game Sunday, March 26, against the Reading Royals.
U-18 A Minor
“All year we spoke about having no excuses and making a statement, and I think they accomplished that,” Head Coach Kris Smith said. Led by 10 high school seniors, the Nailers completed the regular season with an 18-1-1 record and entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed.
The two-day, four-team tournament began Saturday, March 11, at Alpha Ice Complex in Pittsburgh, with the Nailers facing a familiar opponent, the Arctic Foxes. During the regular season the teams played five times, and Wheeling compiled a 4-0-1 record in those games. After a scoreless first period, Wheeling took a 1-0 lead in the second when defenseman Luke Dunaway scored on a snapshot from the slot. Landon Jaquay and Mason Williams assisted on the goal. Only one minute later Payton Hildebrand scored on a pass from Ethyn Taylor for a 2-0 lead. Goalie Kaden Hiryok shut the door from there, recording 30 saves, for the 2-0 shutout win. In the other semifinal, third-seed North Hills defeated No. 2 seed Mon Valley Thunder.
In the championship game on Sunday, March 12, North Hills came out firing and quickly took a 1-0 lead in the first period. Wheeling tied the score 1-1 when Williams scored in tight. “Williams is a hardworking player who isn’t afraid to go in those areas filled with traffic and battle. He was in the right place at the right time and got the team going,” Smith said.
North Hills took a 2-1 lead late in the second period, but Wheeling’s Luke Miller tied the game with five minutes left in the third period. Wheeling began the 5-on-5, sudden death overtime on the power play, but failed to convert. Later in the overtime, after a North Hills save, Williams pushed the puck back on net and Landon Jaquay stuffed in the puck for the 3-2 championship winning goal. “We have talked about that play several times in practices and run similar drills for years, and LJ made the perfect play,” Smith said.
Smith’s assistant coach was Clay Slyder, and the roster included: Darrian Bertram, Nate Black, Chris Burns, Gian DeGenova (A), Dunaway, Xavier Fankhouser (C), Gus Gilbert, Hildebrand, Jaquay, Samuel Kiger, Ben Lamonde, Miller (A), Landon Prager, Ian Richards, Severino Smathers, Taylor and Williams. The goaltenders were Hiryok and Braidee Blackburn.
U-12 B
The U-12 B Nailers likewise finished the regular season in first place at 18-1-1 and entered as the No. 1 seed of the four-team playoffs. Coached by Darin McGinnis and Mato Kret, the team advanced to the championship game with a 10-1 victory against State College. In the title game, Lily Mullin scored the winning and only goal of the game about six minutes into the first period on assists from Miles Rockey and Geno DePasquale to defeat the Armstrong Arrows. Wheeling handed Armstrong its only two losses of the season, and Armstrong defeated and tied Wheeling once.
A second-place finish in a Martin Luther King Jr. weekend tournament in Columbus was an important experience leading into the playoffs. Despite a 5-4 overtime loss in the championship, the team finished 3-1 and “the kids learned about the kind of attention and intensity they’d use to win division titles later on,” according to McGinnis.
The Nailers boasted both a diverse offense and a stingy defense during the season. Every player registered at least one goal and assist during the season, and the defense held opponents to the fewest goals-per-game in the division.
The roster included: centers Miles Rockey, the team and league-leading scorer, Mati Kret, who also served as backup goalie, and Kendall Kinkade, who doubled as a defender; forwards Philip Russell, team and league second-leading scorer, DePasquale, Graham Stecker, Landon McCabe, Mullin and Ruger Williams; and defenders Declan McGinnis, Ryan Fulton, Trevor Hinerman and Johnny Tatich. Ivan Safreed recorded eight shutouts on the year as the team’s top goaltender.
U-10 A Minor
The Nailers U-10 A Minor team, led by head coach Spencer Atkinson, finished the 2022-23 season with a 17-8-4 overall record in 29 games. Atkinson and assistant coaches Robert Demarest and Tobias Stidd directed the team to a 3-0-1 record in the playoffs, including a 7-0 victory against Crawford in the playoff championship game on March 19.
Earlier that day the Nailers defeated the Arctic Foxes 4-2 in the semifinals. It was a rematch of a preliminary quarterfinal game on March 18 where the Nailers and Arctic Foxes tied 2-2. The Nailers first game, and win, of the tournament was a 10-0 defeat of the Pittsburgh Yetis.
The Nailers roster was: Avery Blackwell, Brycen Stidd, Hadley Robinson, Colin Wood, Benjamin Phillips, Colin Whorton, Aidan Dorman, Oliver Kasserman, Braiden Ralston, Maddox Coe, Isaac Demarest, Leidon Atkinson, Andrew Wharry, Cole Redilla and Ryan Dorsey. Coe served as goaltender for the team.
Article compliments are Howard Karnell
Discussion about this post