5 Top Performers From Friday ECHL Action

With a total of 13 games on Friday’s ECHL schedule, there were plenty of standout performances. Let’s look at five that stood out.

Joey Raats: Kalamazoo Wings

It’s been five years since Joey Raats lit the lamp for a team. His last goal came on Nov. 12, 2019, his debut season in the ECHL. That year, he totaled two goals and six assists for eight points in 38 games with the Utah Grizzlies.

Raats has been on quite a journey since then, spending the last two years battling cancer.

On Friday, the 28-year-old defenseman got his first goal since coming back from his diagnosis and signing with the K-Wings. The only downside was Kalamazoo lost the game, 3-2, in Toledo against the Walleye.

After the Walleye grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second period, Raats answered to tie the game just 39 seconds later. Quinn Preston took the initial shot, then Ayden MacDonald got the rebound to Raats, who put one in from the right circle.

Life is always bigger than hockey, but that may have been the biggest goal Raats has scored to date. Hopefully, there will be many more to come.

Gabe Klassen: Wheeling Nailers

In the only afternoon contest Friday, the Wheeling Nailers dominated in a 5-1 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones at Heritage Bank Center.

Klassen was a big difference-maker in the win, scoring two goals and adding an assist.

Klassen’s first tally came at 5:17 of the middle frame, tying the game 1-1 with a shot from the right faceoff dot into the top-right corner of the net. Jordan Martel set up Klassen and got the assist.

The Nailers took a 2-1 lead when Klassen set up Martel with a one-time pass. Martel’s initial shot from the left circle was stopped, but Matthew Quercia tucked in the rebound. Klassen and Martel were each credited with an assist.

The second goal from Klassen came in the third period, when he sent a Martel cross-ice pass into the top-right corner to make the score 4-1 in favor of Wheeling.

The victory gave the Nailers their seventh straight win, and the club is off to their best 15-game start since 2008-09 with 23 points.

Erik Middendorf: South Carolina Stingrays

In one of the top matchups of the night, Middendorf potted two goals in a 5-2 Stingrays win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at North Charleston Coliseum.

Middendorf, who signed an AHL contract with the Hershey Bears this past summer, scored his first tally of the night late in the first period to give the Rays a 2-0 lead, knocking in a loose puck in front of the net.

His second goal came midway through the second period, burying a wrist shot from the left circle for a 4-0 South Carolina lead.

The Rays move to 12-4-1, while Greenville drops to 9-5-1.

Anthony Repaci: Worcester Railers

The Railers captain continues his torrid pace with two goals in Friday night’s win at Wichita against the Thunder.

Repaci, who came into Friday tied for second in the ECHL in goals with 11, added two more in his team’s 3-2 victory in Wichita over the Thunder.

After Wichita took a 1-0 lead in the first period, Repaci knotted the game 3:46 into the second, after receiving a pass from Jordan Kaplan, then fired a shot into the back of the net.

Repaci added another on a power-play for a 3-1 lead in the third frame.

He led the team with seven shots on the night, and his two goals proved to be the difference in the game, improving Worcester’s record to 8-9-1.

Victor Ostman: Kansas City Mavericks

Ostman was stellar in net for the Mavericks, who took down Tulsa in a 3-0 shutout on the road at the BOK Center.

The Kansas City netminder stopped all 23 shots he saw, and got help from his team’s defense. David Cotton, Nolan Sullivan and Landon McCallum accounted for Kansas City’s three goals.

After falling to the Oilers in Tulsa on Wednesday, the Mavericks will try to win the series back home at Cable Dahmer Arena on Saturday. With a win, they would also take over first place in the Mountain Division.