The Spire

Aiden Konold ’26

Chief Sports Editor

WHEELING NAILERS OFFER GALE AN AMATEUR TRYOUT

Two days after the Holy Cross men’s ice hockey season came to a close, senior goalie Thomas Gale checked his phone and noticed a text message pop up. The message was from Derek Army, the head coach of the Wheeling Nailers. The Nailers, based out of Wheeling, W.Va., are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Coach Army extended Gale the opportunity to participate in an amateur tryout (ATO). A solid showing in the tryout would earn Gale a spot on the Nailers’ roster. By this point, Gale already held extensive talks with his advisors from Pinnacle Hockey Management based out of Ontario, Canada. He wanted to see what his next steps should be, including the possibility to play in some camps over the summer. 

“And then, we just kind of heard from the Nailers, and it seemed like a pretty good gig,” Gale says. “Definitely an opportunity to not pass up.” 

In the days following Coach Army’s text, Gale spoke with Coach Army and the rest of the Nailers’ coaching staff to iron out the finer details of joining the Nailers. On Saturday, March 22, Gale was starting in goal for the Crusaders in the AHA title game against Bentley. On the Monday morning following that game, Gale worked out in the morning with Holy Cross goalie coach Drew Michals. Then, Gale received that text from Coach Army. 

The following day, Gale walked up to the Hart Center for another morning skate to stay fresh. Later that day, he met with 2025 Holy Cross class dean and Faculty Athletic representative, Sarah Petty, to make sure he could finish his coursework online in pursuit of his bachelor’s degree in psychology. 

Gale then emailed and subsequently met with his professors to let them know that the opportunity to play professional hockey presented itself, and that he would need to leave for Wheeling, W. Va. He would try to come back and forth between Wheeling and Holy Cross as best he could, but he needed to make sure that he had a back-up plan for the days that he couldn’t attend class.

“You can go do this [pursue pro hockey] and don’t have to worry about it, or be stressed about the fact that you’re missing class,” Gale’s professors told him. “But we’ll work with you on it.” 

Most of the players on the Nailers’ roster no longer have to balance hockey with academics having graduated or left college to pursue pro hockey full-time. But Gale still has to balance both, and he does so with a drive to finish what he started here and earn his degree. He does so without taking advantage of his professors’ willingness to work with him through the process. 

“I try my best to make sure I submit everything on time and to not fall behind,” Gale says. 

Following this past weekend’s series against the Reading Royals in Wheeling, in which Gale made 30 saves in a game 2 start, he flew back to campus to attend class on his off days. On the Tuesday following that penultimate regular season series, Gale can be spotted sitting at a table in Cool Beans, the Holy Cross campus center’s coffee shop, working on a group project and catching up with his teammates and classmates.

THE JOURNEY TO WHEELING

Back on Tuesday, March 25, after talking with his professors, Gale booked his flight to Pittsburgh, an hour outside of Wheeling and the home city of the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. 

One night later, Gale flew from Boston’s Logan International Airport into Pittsburgh International, where he was greeted by a member of the Nailers’ booster club, who drove Gale an hour to the Boury Loft apartments right across from Wesbanco Arena, where the Nailers play their home games. 

The Nailers organization houses all of their players in the Boury Loft complex to make it easier on the players. And it sure was nice for Gale, joining this late in the season, to have housing taken care of. It allows him to push forward with adjusting to the pro game, and lets him stay focused on his studies and getting assignments on time or as close to it as he can to stay on track to graduate this May. 

In Gale’s whirlwind of a week, he woke up the morning after his flight in the apartment that he shares with roommates Chase Pietela and Jack Works, who played college hockey at Michigan Tech this past season. Both recorded assists when they faced off against the Crusaders in the Coachella Valley Cactus Cup early this winter. It was one of the rare times that Gale wasn’t starting in net for Holy Cross. 

This same morning, Gale takes his physical and makes the trek across the street to the arena for his tryout. With everything happening so fast, Gale hasn’t really had the time to devote fully to preparing for the tryout. But he’s still pretty fresh off the season, and lets his instincts take over. 

THE TRYOUT 

“I was kind of ready to go do my thing that I’ve been doing all year,” Gale says. “No matter what level it is, at the end of the day, the job’s the same, you just gotta stop the puck, so I just tried to do what I did in college and transfer it to when I had signed [with the Nailers] as well.” 

What Gale had been doing all year at Holy Cross was pretty remarkable. He earned Atlantic Hockey Goaltender of the Year and Goaltending Champion honors, took home New England Hockey Writers Association All-Star honors, was a semifinalist for the Mike Richter award which annually goes to the best collegiate Division 1 men’s goaltender, and he was a Hobey Baker Award Nominee. In Atlantic Hockey play, Gale maintained a .940 save percentage, including a 45-save performance in a winning effort against Army in game one of the AHA semifinals. 

Gale just had one of the most historic performances by a goalie in Holy Cross program history, one might argue. He impressed the Nailers’ coaching staff in his 45 minute tryout, which consisted of post play drills, bump outs, and nailing down the fundamentals of the position that Crusader goalie coach Drew Michals has instilled so heavily in Gale. 

Shortly after the tryout, Gale was informed that he would join the four other goalies on the Nailers’ roster.

“It definitely was a little bit of an adjustment for the first practice,” Gale says. “But once I kind of got my feet under me and settled in, it was good, and it was a really good spot to be in, that’s for sure.”  

In Gale’s first two games as a member of the Nailers, in a series against the Cincinnati Cyclones, he backed up starter Taylor Gauthier, who allowed just one goal in the two games on 43 shot attempts. Before both games, Gale participated in the team’s morning skate sessions. 

Once the puck dropped, Gale gazed ahead from the Nailers’ bench and noticed the increased pace of pro hockey as compared to the college game. The shots were fired into the net at a rapid pace, with quicker releases, which makes it harder for the goalies to read shots. The releases are less showy, and the shot takers tend to be much older, most in their late 20s or early 30s with high hockey IQs, Gale says. 

“They [know] the game very well, which obviously helps,” Gale says of the ECHL players he’s watched over the past couple of games. “The pro game is very different from college. I mean, I don’t have that long of a history in a couple games that I’ve been a part of, [but] I mean, it’s definitely very skilled and very thought out.” 

As a pro, Gale now spends even more time at the rink than he did as a Crusader. He’s there in the morning, for practices and games, and at night. He works out after the Nailers’ 45 minute practices to work on adjusting to the ECHL’s faster pace.  

Gale has soaked up as much as possible in his first few days with the Nailers, watching Gauthier go through his pregame routine and paying attention to the way in which goalie Jaxon Castor goes about his day-to-day work. 

“It was really cool to kind of watch how they go about their days, and watching Taylor [Gauthier] go through his game day rituals, practice rituals, and see how he handles himself, just because, I mean, he’s been a pro now for a while… so he kind of knows the ins and outs,” Gale says. “And to be able to watch him on a daily basis was very eye opening for me, and I learned a lot just, obviously, seeing how he handles himself for the pro game, but also off the ice and in the locker room and stuff like that, too. It’s really cool to be able to look at those guys and take some pointers, I guess you can say.” 

MAKING HIS PRO DEBUT

After watching Gauthier start the first two games, Gale made his first pro start just over a week after his final start for the Crusaders, in the Nailers’ March 30 game against the Bloomington Bison. Gale’s former Holy Cross teammate Jack Robilotti, who spent a grad year this past season at UMass Lowell, is on the Bison’s roster. With a win, the Nailers would earn a spot in the Kelly Cup playoffs. 

“I definitely was a little bit nervous just because of the position that we were in when I had my first start, just kind of being able to win one game and be able to clinch a playoff spot was a huge spot to be put into,” Gale says of how he felt prior to his first start. “But I loved it and felt really good about it, and just kind of tried to play my game. And I felt pretty good about it once I got the first save under me, and then I kind of settled in.”

And settle in, he did. In Gale’s first pro start, he recorded 32 saves on 34 shot attempts, good for a .941 save percentage, slightly higher than his average in Atlantic Hockey play with Holy Cross this season. Gale’s dad and two of his good buddies from his time at Deerfield Academy were in attendance for his first pro start, a 3-2 win over the Bison. 

“To have them there and be able to share that moment with them afterwards, at the game, was awesome,” Gale says. “You’re always going to remember your first pro start, and to be able to get a win for it is a little sweeter and a little better. So, it was a great experience, and [I’m] looking forward to playing some more games, too.” 

GALE EARNS SECOND START

Six days later, Gale earned another start for the Nailers in their penultimate series against the Reading Royals, the ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers. In a game in which the Nailers committed nine penalties, Gale and his teammates were forced to be on the defensive for much of the game. 

On their power play opportunities, the Royals snapped the puck around their offensive zone, and fired shot after shot at Gale, who stood in front of the net. Royals’ players flew to the net in high volume, and tried to make Gale’s job as hard as possible. 

Still, Gale saved 30 of 35 shots, including a backbending play on a shot from Royals’ defenseman Sam Sedley. 

Sedley handled the puck into the Royals’ offensive zone, past the Nailers’ defensemen. He faked a shot from the right side of the net, and Gale went down in an attempt to make a save. Faking Gale out, Sedley drove towards the net and made his way around Gale. Sedley swooped in from behind the red line, and ripped a shot. But Gale turned himself around on his stomach, and extended his stick to keep the puck from trickling into the net. As Gale guarded the puck between the crossbar and the net, his teammates, Mats Lindgren and Louie Roehl, flew in from behind and cleared away the puck. 

“Gale played super hard on the fake by Sedley,” the play-by-play broadcaster remarked as he watched the replay appear on the Jumbotron. 

Though the Nailers lost 5-4, Gale’s performance signifies his ability to get to spots on the ice to make saves that are not expected. At 6-1 and 180 pounds, Gale is a shifty goalie, who shows up to the rink everyday ready to play his hardest. His number one goal has always been to do whatever he can to help his team win. 

And through his first two starts, Gale maintains an .899 save percentage with 62 saves on 69 shot attempts. Though he won’t be making the trip with the Nailers on their final regular season series trip to Trois Rivières, Quebec per certain stipulations within the contract he signed, Gale plans to rejoin his teammates prior to the start of the Kelly Cup playoffs. But after the season ends, he’s not quite sure what his hockey future holds. 

“I don’t really know too much about what the cards are going to show for myself for next year, but I’m trying to live in the moment right now and take it week by week and get the most of every opportunity that I do get, obviously, but very, very excited,” Gale says. “It’s a dream of mine to play pro hockey, so the fact that I’m fortunate enough to be able to work hard enough to put myself in this position is awesome. And I definitely won’t take it for granted any day that I do get to be a pro hockey player.”

Featured image courtesy of Holy Cross Athletics