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WHEELING - After playing their fifth game of the 2024-25 ECHL season - all on the road (they are in Toledo tonight) - the Wheeling Nailers finally make their home debut Saturday night when the expansion Bloomington (Ill.) Bison invade WesBanco Arena for the first time.
The Nailers (2-2-0 - 4) are tied for fourth place in the Northern Conference's Eastern Division with four points following the early-season road swing in which they split a pair of two-game series with Maine and Reading, winning the first night but falling the second.
"I really like, at times when we're going, when we're skating and getting on the forecheck hunting for puck, we're really, really good," head coach Derek Army said. "I've seen that in both of our first games of the weekend, but then in the second two, I think our youth showed that we just weren't ready to play. That's something that we are learning.
"I think we let our foot off the gas in the second game against Reading," Army recalled. "We really turned it back on but we couldn't catch them.
"I can't wait for Saturday night. We have played three games, including tonight, in arenas where the home team is making their season debut. I'm ready to play at home."
The schedule makers didn't do the Nailers favors by making them travel to Toledo tonight and then playing Saturday night at home.
The puck drops at 7:10 p.m.
During both intermissions, former Nailer - Peter Lenes, also known as Swaggy P - will be performing trick shots. All fans attending will receive a magnet season schedule.