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FRANCHISE HISTORY

The franchise relocated to the Ohio Valley in 1992 and became the Wheeling Thunderbirds. The 1992-93 Thunderbirds won the regular season championship, and reached the Riley Cup finals only to lose to Toledo in double overtime. The team claimed another regular season title in 1994-95, also during that season the Wheeling Thunderbirds and the Johnstown Chiefs participated in the movie "Sudden Death" staring Jean-Claude Van Damme the Wheeling Thunderbirds claimed a 5-4 exhibition win over the Chiefs. 

In 1994-95 the Wheeling Thunderbirds has a set a team record for home wins with 17 straight wins, at the then called Thunderdome, the streak started on Nov. 24, 1994 and lasted to Feb 5th 1995.

The Victims of THE STREAK

Date               Team                Score     Game Winning Goal                 Winning Goaltender

11/24/94        Toledo               7-4          Scott Matusovich                  Daniel Berthiaume
11/26/94        Dayton              4-2          Derek DeCosty                       Daniel Berthiaume
12/04/94        Columbus         5-4(SO)  Steve Gibson(SO)                   Daniel Berthiaume
12/09/94        Johnstown       5-3          Louis Dumont                          Geoff Finch
12/11/94        Knoxville          4-2          Scott Matusovich                   Geoff Finch
12/16/94        Johnstown       5-4          Vadim Slivchenko                   Daniel Berthiaume
12/18/94        Dayton             6-2          Lorne Toews                            Daniel Berthiaume
12/26/94        Johnstown       4-2          Vadim Slivchenko                   Geoff Finch
12/28/94        Erie                    7-4          Brad Layzell                             Mark Lamothe
12/31/94        Toledo              7-1          Steve Gibson                           Mark Lamothe
01/06/95        Johnstown       4-2         Derek DeCosty                         Mark Lamothe
01/08/95        Erie                    8-2         Louis Dumont                           Mark Lamothe
01/15/95        Columbus         8-1         Louis Dumont                           Geoff Finch
01/22/95        Toledo              5-4          Derek DeCosty                         Geoff Finch
01/25/95        Erie                    5-1          Scott Fraser                               Geoff Finch
02/01/95        Nashville          3-0          Vadim Slivchenko                     Geoff Finch
02/05/95        Columbus         5-3           Dennis Holland                        Geoff Finch  

1995-96 saw the Thunderbirds reach 40 wins for the fourth time in as many seasons in Wheeling. Following the 1996 playoffs, the team was renamed the Nailers by the fans in a contest vote.

The 1996-97 season was the beginning of the Nailer era in Wheeling.  Under Head Coach, Tom McVie, the Nailers had a record of 36-29-5, for 77 points on the season.  That was good enough for fourth place in the ECHL's North Division.  The Nailers would make a quick exit out of the Kelly Cup Playoffs, as the Peoria Rivermen swept the Nailers three games to none.  However, the 1997-98 Nailers would bring a new coach and team to Wheeling.

The Nailers would be mostly a team of rookies under new Head Coach, Peter Laviolette.  However, Laviolette turned these rookies into one of the greatest teams the fans of Wheeling have ever seen.  The Nailers finished the 1997-98 season in second place of the Northeast Division with a record of 37-24-9.  The Nailers would be a force in the playoffs, as they knocked out Dayton, three games to two, and eliminated the Toledo Storm, three games to one.  Sadly the Hampton Road Admirals would knock out Nailers in the Conference Finals winning the series four games to two. 

The Nailers would once again face a new coach, Chris Jensen.  This season would be a season of first's  Wheeling would finish with a record of 27-37-6, last place in the Northwest Division and miss the playoffs for the first time after relocating to Wheeling.

In the 1999-2000 season, Wheeling would be lead by Murray Eaves.  Eaves's had a lot of trouble at the start of the season going 0-9, and they really couldn't recover despite their late season surge.  The Nailers finished 25-40-5, good for fifth place in the Northwest Division, but did not make the playoffs for the second straight season.  Wheeling set a record for most goals in a game, as they whipped last place Toledo, 14-2, in the final game of the season.

The Nailers were lead in the 2000-2001 by Head Coach Alain Lemieux, who would be their seventh head coach in nine season.  Alain had trouble out of gates, as the team started out a dismal 1-8-1 on the season.  The Nailers had a seven game unbeaten streak in the middle of the season, yet they fell into another losing steak that ultimately put them out of the playoffs.  The Nailers fired Alain Lemieux after a disappointing 19-35-7 record, this was the first time that the head coach from Wheeling was let go before the season ended.  Lemieux was replaced by Assistant Coach Joe Harney.  Under Coach Harney, the Nailers went 5-5-1 to finish the season with a 24-40-8 record, yet still failed to make the playoffs for the third straight season.

The Nailers got a huge jolt on June 1st, 2001, as John Brophy was named the clubs' ninth head coach, and that the Pittsburgh Penguins were taking over day-to-day operations for the team. Brophy had 964 wins when he came to Wheeling, and needed just 36 wins to get his 1000th career victory. The Nailers had a great run with coach Brophy, and on March 30th, 2002, the Nailers won their 36th game, by the score of, 3-0, over the Dayton Bombers, to give Brophy his 1000th win.  This season had many ups and downs, the biggest downer, came on March 31st, 2002, as the Nailers played their final game of the season, at Cincinnati, with the winner going to the Kelly Cup Playoffs, the Nailers dropped a 4-3 shootout, and failed for the fourth straight season to make the playoffs, despite going 36-32-4 on the year. This was the first time in four years that the Nailers had an above .500 record.  The Nailers also finished 17-16-3 on the road, first time over .500 on the road in six years. It was just a shame that Nailers once again missed the post season. 

Wheeling, for the first time since 1992-93 season, had the same coach as the previous season.  Yep, Brophy was back and expectations were high for these Nailers, as last year's team failed to make the playoffs by losing the final game of the season last year.  However, this year team had trouble right out of the gate, dropping their opening game 7-3 at Reading.  Wheeling did beat Cincinnati, in the first meeting of the season, 6-2, payback for the Cyclones, as they were the ones who ousted the Nailers least year.  The Nailers made ECHL history, by playing the first ECHL game an NHL arena.  On October 20th, 2003, the Wheeling Nailers hosted the Peoria Rivermen at Mellon Arena, home to of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Nailers claimed a thrilling 6-5 shootout victory over Peoria that day.  The Nailers had trouble playing on home ice, as they went 16-18-2, and that was part of their problem last season.  Wheeling has to learn that to be able to be successful, you have to win your home games.  The Nailers were 12-23-1 on the road, which is not all that terrible.  Part of the Wheeling's problem this season, besides their poor start, and poor home record was their inability to win against teams outside the Northwest Division.  In their own division, Wheeling was a respectable 24-25-2, but outside the Nailers were a dismal 4-16-1.  Wheeling also never put together a big winning streak, as they never won more then 3 games in a row all season.  The Nailers never made to .500 all year, the closes they ever were was a game under, at a record of 1-2.   On March 26, 2003, Head Coach John Brophy, announced that we would resign at the end of the 2002-03 season.  Brophy blamed himself for not getting the Nailers to the playoffs, in his two seasons.  Brophy left Wheeling with a career win total of 1,028.  We shall have to wait and see what the 2003-04 season will bring.

The 2003-04 season opened with a bang as the Nailers were sold to two young brothers, Rob and Jim Brooks took over the ownership in June.  In July, the Brooks' brothers hired Pat Bingham has the teams 10th coach in franchise history, since moving to Wheeling.  Bingham, when hired promised the Nailer fans a team they could be proud of, win or lose, and was he ever right.  Wheeling opened the season on October 18th, with a 6-5 win over the Roanoke Express, then shutout Long Beach 2-0 the next day, to open the season 2-0 for the first time in 12 seasons in Wheeling.  The Nailers then went on to shed the label of being worst team in the ECHL, to being at the head of the class.  From Feb. 20th to March 12th the Nailers won 12 games in row.  The Nailers also had a 14 game home winning streak, and a eight game road winning streak.  Wheeling set new franchise high for wins (51), points (106), home wins (28) and road wins (23).  The Nailers ended the season 51-17-4, good enough for second best, two points behind the San Diego Gulls, in the entire ECHL.  Wheeling won the Northern Division and the Eastern Conference Regular Season Titles.  For the first time in six seasons, the Nailers were headed to the Kelly Cup Playoffs, one of the goals by Pat Bingham.  Sadly the Nailers did not make it out of the first round, as the Reading Royals won the first round series, three games to two, winning game five in Wheeling by the score of 4-0 to dash the Nailers championship hopes.  Despite that setback, the outlook for the 2004-05 season looks as promising as ever, and if our team is has half as good as this years team was, we will be in for another exciting season of Nailers hockey.

The 2004-05 Season was filled with much hope, after last year's record breaking team.  This bunch had some big shoes to fill, and the only goal that was not accomplished in 2003-04, was the Kelly Cup.  That was the goal this season, as Bingham was back, and brought a core of players from last season on board, such as Brendon Hodge, Mark Kosick, Jason Jaffray, T.J. Reynolds, and Steve Crampton.  The Nailers this season were streaky, as they dropped their first three games, only to win their next four, drop their next three, and win their next five.  The Nailers then lost some of their core players as Jaffray and Reynolds went to the AHL, never to be seen in a Nailers jersey again.  Mark Kosick left for Europe, and that left Bingham searching for players.  He found one in Evgeny Lazarev, who was picked up of waivers from the Johnstown Chiefs, who's offensive talent was second to none on this Nailers team.  The injury bug and the call-ups got the Nailers roster so depleted, in a trip to Trenton in early February, Nailers' defenseman Ray DiLauro called an old college buddy, Dan Fox, to play as a fill in role mostly.  Fox did more then just fill in, as he scored the game winner that night, in a 5-2 win.  The Nailers seemed to be riding high, and in first or second place for the better part of the season, despite having 55 players dress at least one game.  The Nailers went out west, after dropping three in Alaska, they won their last two in San Diego and Bakersfield.  Lazarev was coming into his own, as he put up tremendous numbers, and then it wouldn't be long until Laz got the call from an AHL team.  That same day, our Capt. Steve Crampton goes down with a broken ankle.  The Nailers were in the midst of one of the most highly contested division races, in ECHL History, that was a six team race from Jan. till Apr.  Wheeling was able to stay in the top three for the most part, but after some late season call-ups, and Crampton's injury, was too much to overcome.  The North Division race also claimed the Peoria Rivermen, who missed the playoff for the first time in 18 years. The Nailers went on a 2-9-1 skid in 12 games, that sent Wheeling from an assured playoff berth to sixth place, and no playoffs for the 2004-05 season, and became the second Wheeling team with a winning record not to reach the post season.   Bingham's squad was able to win their final two games, including a 2-0 shutout of the North Division Champions, the Reading Royals, to finish the year 38-29-5, that included a 23-11-2 home record, and a 15-18-3 road record.  The Nailers have a lot of unfinished business for 2005-06 season.  In 2005-06 there will be a new look to the North Division, as we say goodbye to the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, who will move to Stockton, CA and the Peoria Rivermen, who head to the AHL.

The 2005-06 Season started off with Pat Bingham being re-hired as the team's Head Coach, only to see him resign to take an AHL Assistant Coach with the Bridgeport Soundtigers.  The Nailers then hired Glenn Patrick to lead the 2005-06 squad.  Wheeling busted out of the gates with a 11-2 start, after losing their first game @ Trenton, they won the next six, lost, then won the next five.  The story of the 2005-06 season had to be goaltender Andy Franck.  The rookie goalie signed a tryout in training camp and edged out signed goalie, Derek Dolson, for the back-up job behind Andy Chiodo.  However, injuries in the Pittsburgh Organization meant that Chiodo was summoned to the AHL, and it would be up to Andy Franck to be the man.  Franck went on to win 33 games, setting a Wheeling franchise record.  The Nailers themselves had an exceptional season, going 45-21-6, and their road record was beyond exceptional, at 23-11-2.  At WesBanco, Wheeling went 22-10-4.  Wheeling also swept the Dayton Bombers in the season series, winning all 12 head to head meetings.  The Nailers, the Storm, and the Royals battled for the top three seeds all year.  April 8th, the Nailers needed a win, and Toledo needed to lose in regulation.  The Nailers beat the Bombers, 4-3 @ Dayton, but the Storm knocked off Johnstown, 3-2 in a shootout, giving Toledo the North Division Title, edging the Nailers by a single point.  That meant for the Nailers, a date in the Kelly Cup Playoffs, with the Reading Royals.  The Nailers and the Royals had an epic playoff series, with the Nailers winning game 1 in overtime @ Reading to kick start the series.  The teams split two games at WesBanco Arena, and for the first time since 1993, the Nailers eliminated a playoff opponent on the road, with a 5-4 win at Reading, over the Royals.  That playoff win, was their first series win since 1998, and avenged a 2004 playoff series loss to the Royals.  Wheeling then matched up against the Toledo Storm, in the North Division Finals.  The teams split the first two games in Toledo, before Wheeling crushed Toledo, 6-0, in game 3.  The Nailers had a chance to move on, but lost game 4, 3-1, and saw the series go back to the Toledo Sports Arena.  Wheeling lost game 5 to the Toledo Storm, by the score of 3-2, and would bring the exciting season to a close.  The 2005-06 Nailers left nothing on the table, and have nothing to be ashamed of, this was an awesome season for the City of Wheeling and the fans of the Nailers.  In 2006-07, the Nailers will gain an old rival, the Cincinnati Cyclones will return to the North Division.

The Wheeling Nailers 2006-07 has come to a close.  The Nailers season may have started out with a bad omen in a 10-3 @ Charlotte on opening night, followed by two more losses on the road.  However, things looked bright on home ice as the Nailers won their first five out of six home games.  The road wins were not coming early in the season, it took until Nov. 10th at Cincinnati to win a road game.  The Nailers this season were also marred with very few winning streaks, a couple two in a row and two times a three game win streak.  Wheeling would fight to get back to .500, but the closest they made it was one game under.  The Nailers, remained in the post season hunt all season, as all the teams in the North Division were very close.  Wheeling made a late season push to the playoffs, with a season-high seven game winning streak.  Sadly though, it would not be enough, and the Nailers would miss the post season, for the second time in three seasons.  Wheeling finished two games below .500, at 32-34-6, but won their final game, a 5-4 win at Trenton.  Now we will wait and see what the 07-08 season brings.  The division will have one major change, as the Toledo Storm was granted voluntary suspension so they could build their new arena, Toledo hockey will return in 2009-10.  The Nailers, despite losing an arch-rival, gain a new division foe in the Elmira Jackals, as they defected from the UHL on 4/13/2007.  The Trenton Titans have been re-named the Trenton Devils.

The Wheeling Nailers saw the 2007-08 season come and go.  Wheeling opened up the season with a 4-2 win over the Johnstown Chiefs, as the two teams opened the ECHL's 20th season.  This win was very significant, as this was the first time the Nailers opened the season with a road victory.  Wheeling's road record would suffer severely after that, as they only won one more road game before the calendar flipped to 2008.  The Nailers home record that started off strong, but fell, and during a span from Nov. 25th to Dec. 31st, Wheeling lost 17 of 18 games.  Amid fan protest, Head Coach Glenn Patrick was relieved of his duties on 1/1/08, to become only the second coach to be let go mid-season.  Patrick left the team at 9-20-3, and the Nailers hired former Toledo bench boss, Greg Puhalski.  Wheeling busted out with a 4-0-1 streak to begin the 2008 portion of the season, only to see the Nailers fall back into their old ways.  The Nailers highlight came late in the season, with a four game road winning streak, that gave the Wheeling nine road wins on the season.  Wheeling set a dubious franchise record for fewest home wins with only 13, but did win their home finale, over the Dayton Bombers, 3-2 OT.  Puhalski ended the season at 13-23-4, and the Nailers overall record was 22-43-7.  Wheeling failed to qualify for the post-season for the second straight season.

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