Photo by Joe Lovell Wheeling goalie Sergei Murashov gloves the puck for one of his 32 saves during Tuesday morning’s game against the Fort Wayne Komets. The Nailers won 3-1 on Education Day inside WesBanco Arena.

WHEELING — There’s an old saying in hockey that it doesn’t matter how many shots you fire at the opposing goaltender, it’s how many tickle the twine and turn on the goal light that counts.

Such was the case for Wheeling during Education Day on Tuesday morning before a very loud WesBanco Arena crowd of 3,661. The Nailers handed the Fort Wayne Komets just their second loss of the ECHL season with a 3-1 victory.

“It was awesome. The kid’s games are always fun,” Nailers head coach Derek Army said. “The environment was incredible and I think the guys fed off of that. It was kind of a playoff atmosphere.”

Although they were held to just 12 shots through the first two periods, the hosts held a 1-0 lead, thanks in part to rookie Jack Beck. Wheeling was able to break a scoreless battle at the 7-minute, 8-second mark of the second period Beck recorded his first professional goal. Nick Hutchison found Beck in the right circle and Beck wristed a blast into the left side of the net past Komets’ goaltender Brett Brochu who suffered his first loss in five decisions.

“When the actual shots come out that we do, we’ll be right around 25,” Army noted. “I thought we did a really good job all game long. I thought we did a good job of responding to the way Fort Wayne started out pressuring us in the first 10 minutes. They were 7-1 and we knew they were a good team.

“Awesome job. It’s always a great feeling when you score your first professional goal,” Army said of Beck’s net-finder. “He’s been great for us all year, so it was nice for him to get his first. I’m sure it’s a huge weight off his shoulders.”

Hutchison and Chris Ortiz logged assists.

Before the young fans in attendance could get comfortable in their seats, Wheeling made it 2-0 just 65 seconds into the third period. Some outstanding forechecking by Dustin Manz freed the puck in the Komets end of the ice. He then sent the puck to the right side of the net where Quercia tucked it into the cage. Manz was credited with the lone assist.

“All he does is score big goals on that side of the net,” Army said of Quercia’s game-winner. “The goal resulted from some good forechecking. That line has been a real force since we put them together. We got a good bounce and Q was able to put it in the net.”

Manz then iced the cake with an empty-netter at 19:09. Hutchison earned the assist.

All the while, Wheeling net-minder Sergei Murashov was standing tall between the pipes. He stopped 32 shots, including a key denial of Fort Waynes’ Connor Corcoran early in the third period. Sprawling in the crease, Murashov was able to get a piece of his blocker pad on Corcoran’s point-blank blast from the right wing, deflecting the puck out of harm’s way.

“He was great tonight. I think it was a good night for him,” Army said of the Russian goalie who is now 4-2. “He’s starting to get some reps and he’s starting to see the puck really well. I thought it was another good showing by him.b He’s a guy that just needs to get his minutes in.”

The Nailers were very disciplined in their play, drawing just one two-minute minor.

However, shortly into the penalty kill, Fort Wayne’s Jack Dugan tipped in a rebound from a Kyle Mayhew shot from the point. Odeen Tufto also logged an assist.

“We knew coming in that it might be a low penalty-minute game because it was two good teams just playing hard,” Army added. “You want to stay disciplined in a game like that. You don’t want to take a bunch of penalties. That’s where we’ve been in trouble this year when we have to kill 5 or 6 a game.”

With two games against the Indy Fuel at home this weekend, Army said it was a nice way to start the week.

“Good start to the week. Actually a good followup to the weekend,” he acknowledged. “Now we have to keep going forward and stay focused. We’ll enjoy a day off ( Wednesday) and we’ll get back at it Friday when Indy comes to town for a pair of games.”

LOOSE PUCKS

— The Nailers improved to a fantastic 16-4-3 all-time record on Education Day.

— Wheeling remained unbeaten on the WesBanco Arena ice at 3-0-1.

— The game’s three stars were: No. 3 Quercia; No. 2 Beck; and No. 1 Murashov.

— The Nailers will play the Indy Fuel on Friday and Saturday, with both contests starting at 7:10. Friday’s game will be a Frosty Friday with select $2 beers. Saturday is Pittsburgh Pirates Night starring former Pirate Neil Walker, who is now a member of the Pirates broadcasting team. He will be signing autographs before the game and the Pirate Parrot will make an appearance. There will also be a hat giveaway and a trading card vendor showcase.

— The next Big-6 Promotional Game is Hall of Fame Night on Nov. 30 when Tomas Vokoun and Steve Gibson will be inducted into the Wheeling Hockey Hall of Fame.