October 27-28

Saturday night at the Arena as the Wheeling Nailers visited for a back-to-back set. The ECHL started in 1988 with five teams, among them was a franchise in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. That team moved to Wheeling in 1992 and is one of only seven clubs still in the league from 2001-2002 when the Royals made their debut. Wheeling is not a divisional foe in '18-19 thanks to league realignment but over the years the Nailers (largely because of geography) have historically been the Royals' most frequent opponent. Saturday was Star Wars Night at the Arena but the force was not with the Royals as they lost in OT shootout 3-2. Rookie defenseman Steve Johnson (from the University of Minnesota) gave the Royals a 1-0 lead in the second period but the Nailers matched it and went up 2-1 early in the third. Alex Krushelnyski tied it midway through the period, in the shootout Wheeling outscored the Royals one goal to none to claim the extra point. Angus Redmond (known to his teammates as "Beef") made his regular-season debut in net for the Royals and took the decision. On Sunday the organization celebrated Halloween (albeit a few days early), on the ice the Royals earned a solid revenge win 5-2. On this day the Nailers struck first and carried a 1-0 lead deep into the second period. Just before intermission Josh MacDonald converted on a penalty shot to tie the game, early in the third Krushelnyski lit the lamp to make it 2-1 Royals. Wheeling replied in kind to forge a 2-2 tie but goals by Chris McCarthy and Adam Schmidt just over a minute apart gave the Royals a two-goal advantage. Michael Huntebrinker's empty-netter in the closing moments closed out the victory, Branden Komm was the goaltender of record. The club's mark stands at 3-1-3 (2-1-2 at the Arena), the boys play next at home on Wednesday November 7. Take care, thanks for reading.