KALAMAZOO, MI –Brandon DeFazio scored twice, including the game winner 2:17 into overtime to lift the Wheeling Nailers to a 3-2 defeat of the Kalamazoo Wings in game one of the Eastern Conference Finals played Wings Stadium Friday night. The Nailers take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
Kalamazoo started the scoring taking advantage of an extra attacker on a delayed penalty against Wheeling. Dean Strong jumped onto the ice as the extra attacker and received a pass from across the ice. Strong stepped into a slapshot at the right wing circle and ripped the puck past Nailers goaltender Peter Delmas for the Wings 1-0 lead.
Wheeling got into a little penalty trouble in the second, and the Wings took advantage on the power play. Ryan McGinnis held the puck in the zone at the blue line and centered a feed in the slot to Patrick Asselin. Asselin fired a shot which clipped off the right pad of Delmas and into the net to extend the Kalamazoo lead to 2-0 at 10:40 of the period.
The Nailers got things going halfway through the second as David Urquhart fired the puck from the blue line which clipped past Ryan Nie for the goal to pull the Nailers within one at 16:27 of the period. The goal was the first of the playoffs for Urquhart.
Nailers continued the attack in the third, and eventually tied the game. Brandon DeFazio found himself with the puck at the right wing circle and fired a wrist shot on the shortside past Ryan Nie to tie the game at two with 3:33 remaining in regulation. Neither team could find the back of the net in the final moments of the third, sending the game to overtime.
The Nailers started overtime with a 1:54 of power play time, and created a couple good scoring chances, including a shot by Jason DeSantis which clipped off the post. Kalamazoo killed off the penalty, but moments later Andrew Lord won a battle along the boards in the offensive zone and played the puck to DeFazio. DeFazio broke in again at the right wing circle and fired a shot past Nie on the shortside to seal the game in overtime 3-2. DeFazio’s goal was a near carbon copy of his first. The Nailers improve to 4-1 in overtime games in the postseason, and have now taken game one on the road of each of the three playoff series played.
The two teams will meet again for game two tomorrow at Wings Stadium beginning at 7:30 p.m.
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