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By NICK BEDWAY
The San Diego Gulls and the Wheeling Nailers will be meeting for the first-time ever when they clash at 7:30 tonight at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling.
However, the teams were involved in a heated battle down to the finish line a year ago for the Henry Brabham Cup, awarded each season to the regular season points champion in the ECHL.
At the time, the conference alignments had the Nailers playing in the Eastern Conference and the Gulls in the Western Conference during the first year of the merger between the ECHL and the West Coast Hockey League.
Although Wheeling emerged as the Eastern Conference champion by setting a franchise record of 106 points, San Diego ended the regular season with eight straight wins for a total of 108 points to claim both the Western Conference title and the Brabham Cup.
The issue wasn't decided until the final day when the Nailers lost 4-3 to Atlantic City, while the Gulls won 5-2 at Bakersfield, Cal.
Ironically, both teams are in the same conference (National) as the ECHL realigned for the 2004-2005 season.
The Nailers currently share the North Division lead with the red hot Toledo Storm, both teams currently with 52 points. San Diego is fifth in the West Division with a record of 22-15-4 for a total of 48 points.
The Nailers and Gulls will play twice this weekend. San Diego concludes its week-long trip to the East Coast by facing Wheeling at 2 p.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, also at WesBanco Arena.
Both teams also are in action Saturday night.
While the Nailers visit the Trenton Titans, the Gulls play the Johnstown Chiefs at Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pa.
San Diego may be the most rested team when the clubs square off Sunday, as its trip from Johnstown to Wheeling is about four hours shorter than the bus ride the Nailers face in returning from Trenton.
With Dany Sabourin still with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League, Wheeling Coach Pat Bingham picked up a spare goaltender to support Joe Exter this weekend.
Joining the team is former Ohio State goaltender Mike Betz, a native of Elizabeth, Pa. Betz started 31 games for the Buckeyes last season and turned in a 17-13 record with a good goals against average of 2.67.
"It's a short term fix for the weekend,'' Bingham stressed. "Betz is still enrolled in school and will be leaving the team after Sunday's game.''
The hope is he will be able to spend his three days just watching from the bench while Exter continues his strong play between the pipes.
The Merrimack College product is coming off a week in which he went 3-0, including two shutouts and an 0.67 GAA. Exter's stellar play not only carried the Nailers to the top of the North Division standings but also earned himself ECHL Reebok Saver of the Week laurels.
Some other changes were necessary on the Wheeling roster the past few days. Leaving the Nailers were the recently signed Janis Tomans and Jarno Mensonen.
Tomans is returning to his native Latvia while Mensonen is headed to the Asheville Aces of the Southern Professional Hockey League.
Already gone is Armands Berzins, but he will be returning after representing his country (Latvia) in the European Olympic qualifying tournament. Berzins is expected to rejoin the Nailers after Feb. 14 while they are on their upcoming West Coast trip.
Good news in the injury department is that both Chris MacKenzie and Curtiss Patrick are expected to be back in uniform tonight while Stefan Brannare will be available to play in both weekend games against San Diego.
Bingham also added another player to the roster. Troy Ilijow, a 22-year-old right wing from Thunder Bay, Ontario, was picked up on waivers from the Pee Dee Pride of the ECHL. Ilijow appeared in six games for the Pride after playing 26 games with the Winston-Salem Polar Twins of the SPHL.
With Winston-Salem he managed 18 points and 38 penalty minutes. He's a 6-ft., 212-pounder.
Ilijow left South Carolina by car yesterday and is expected to be in uniform tonight.
Nailer defenseman Cliff Loya will be going up against his former teammates when he takes the ice tonight. The Pittsburgh native played for San Diego last season after graduating from the University of Maine where he was a four-year letterman.
San Diego has three players on its roster with National Hockey League experience. Curtis Brown, a 1994 draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres, played 10 seasons in the NHL with Buffalo and the San Jose Sharks, racking up 256 points in 554 games.
Mark Pederson was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 and played parts of five seasons with Montreal, the Philadelphia Flyers, Sharks and Detroit Red Wings. He accounted for 85 points in 165 games.
Mathieu Chouinard, 2000 draft pick of the Ottawa Senators as a goaltender, played in one game for the Los Angeles Kings last year but did not figure in the decision.
Wheeling and the Gulls will also meet a third time during the Nailers road trip, which includes three games against Alaska and one each in Barkersfield and San Diego.
This evening's promotion is Corona Beach Party Night. The first 1,500 fans entering WesBanco Arena receive a free lei. It will also be American Heart Association Night, all fans wearing red will receive $1 off the cost of their ticket.
Also, in conjunction with the Super Bowl to be played Sunday, fans attending the Nailer game that day will be eligible for a ticket discount.
Any fan wearing anything with the New England Patriots logo or the Philadelphia Eagles logo can purchase tickets for only $7 per person. Also, fans wearing any other NFL team logo can purchase tickets for $1 off the gate price.
"We know a lot of our guests are NFL fans when they come to watch the Wheeling Nailers and we wanted to be a part of the action on the NFL's biggest day,'' said Rob Brooks, president of the
Nailers. "Almost everyone catches Super Bowl fever on this day and the Nailers players and staff are no exception,'' Brooks added.
The discount will be honored on Sunday, Feb. 6, at the WesBanco Arena Box Office, beginning at noon.
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