This divisional recap summarizes the North Division teams in the ECHL, focusing on their standings, recent game results, player milestones, and key statistics. The theme of week 13 would be injuries as almost every team in the Division would either suffer an injury during the week or come in dealing with a laundry list of injuries.
Wheeling Nailers (25-7-2-0, 52pts, 1st Place)
It appears as if the Nailers are starting to come back down to Earth as they picked up four points in their four games last week but still remain at the top of the North Division. Wheeling would kill off all four penalties they took in their two games in Indy against the Fuel and have now killed off 34 straight penalties on the road. Chris Ortiz had a goal and assist on Saturday, becoming the 34th player in Nailers history to reach the 100 career point mark. Wheeling will have a rematch against the Railers in Worcester on Saturday and Sunday.
Trois-Rivieres Lions (22-6-4-0, 32pts, 2nd place)
It was a rough weekend for the Lions as they lost back-to-back games in regulation to the Royals this weekend after taking the opening game of the series. Injuries have been a topic of discussion recently in the North as the Lions would skate two skaters short on Sunday as they would blow their lead in the third period. Kirby Proctor would pick up his first pro goal in Sunday’s loss. The Lions currently lead the ECHL on the power play at 28%. Trois-Rivieres will head to Norfolk for a three-in-three.
Norfolk Admirals (21-10-3-0, 45pts, 3rd Place)
The Norfolk Admirals continued their scoring frenzy as after putting up a nine spot on January 4th vs. Wheeling; they would put up 10 goals against the Maine Mariners on Saturday night as they’ve scored 22 goals in their last three games and lead the league with 141 goals. The Admirals will host the Trois-Rivieres Lions for two games next weekend.
Sarah Mahannah’s Weekend Recap
Worcester Railers (14-17-1-4, 33pts, 4th Place)
The Nick Tuzzolino Era in Worcester continues to look bright as the Railers picked up three of a possible four points against the North Division-leading Wheeling Nailers. In 11 games under Tuzzolino, the Railers are 5-3-0-3 and now sit in the final playoff spot in the North Division. The Railers will have a three-in-three weekend coming up as they host the Thunder on Friday before welcoming Wheeling to town for games on Saturday and Sunday.
Reading Royals (13-19-4-0, 30pts, 5th Place)
The Reading Royals would take two out of three games vs Trois-Rivieres for their fifth home win of the season and first since December 27th. Captain Todd Skirving is starting to find his groove as he’s on a three-game point streak (3g,3a). Reading would also get hit with the injury bug as they lost Goaltender Vinnie Purpura and forward Connor McMenamin to injuries over the weekend. The Royals will welcome the Jacksonville Icemen to town for games on Friday and Saturday. This is the first time these two teams will face each other since March 3rd, 2018.
Maine Mariners (13-16-3-0, 29pts, 6th place)
The Maine Mariners would split the weekend series at home with the Norfolk Admirals. In their loss on Saturday, the Mariners gave up a franchise-high 10 goals to the Admirals. Ironically, Maine scored 10 against the Admirals last April. For Goaltender Nolan Maier, those ten goals he allowed his a new career high as he gave up 10 goals on 42 shots. The Mariners have a busy week coming up as they’ll hit the road for a three cities in four nights road trip as they play Indy on Wednesday, Cincinnati on Friday, and Fort Wayne on Saturday Night.
Sarah Mahannah’s Weekend Recap
Adirondack Thunder (13-18-1-1, 28pts, 7th Place)
The woes in Adirondack continue after Adirondack got swept by the Orlando Solar Bears as their losing streak has now hit seven games. However, despite the losing streak, Adirondack was able to pick up a point on Saturday in an OT loss. That was their first point since 12/29 in Worcester. Josh Filmon and Kevin O’Neil combined for seven points, with Filmon picking up three goals. Adirondack will head to Worcester on Friday before having eight days off before their next game. The injury bug continues to hit Adirondack as they lost Alex Young and Ryan Francis to longer-term injuries.
Armand Klisivitch’s Friday Night Recap
Armand Klisivitch’s Saturday Night Recap
Armand Klisivitch’s Sunday Night Recap
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