Wheeling Nailers: Get To Know Matthew Quercia
On a Sunday afternoon after a game against a divisional opponent, Matthew Quercia sat down with Olde City Sports Network to talk about college, off-season training routine, and more. Prior to turning professional, Quercia spent three seasons at Boston University where he played in 81 games and tallied nine goals and nine assists. Quercia went to Michigan Tech for his fourth year and played in 14 games for them and notched two goals with two assists. Quercia touches on what he learned for his game during his time at both schools. “I mean, first off, it was a dream come true, that was the biggest thing for me. Growing up in Boston, obviously going to Boston University was really cool. Biggest thing I learned was just how I play and kind of how to structure my game. Biggest thing is playing hard, physical, fast and taking pucks to the net and banging bodies. That's kind of just what I took from my time there.”
Hockey is a small community and when players are at school, they make connections that carry for a lifetime. Quercia played with the likes of Vinnie Purpura, Nick Nardella, and Max Wilman.
“All those guys were good players. Max [Willman], obviously made it to the NHL, which is awesome. Had a little time with him at BU [Boston University], which was great. Obviously playing Vinnie today was pretty cool, he was my roommate in college. Nick [Nardella] was at Tech. I was with him for a little bit of time, but he was like a guy and it was a good time.”
Moving up levels is all part of minor league hockey. It aides in the player’s development, along with getting a look at their game and what they can improve upon. At the beginning of the 2024-2025 season, Quercia attended the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins training camp. He spoke on what the experience was like for him. “It's important. It was really cool to kind of be a part of it. Obviously last year, I got a few games up there, which was nice and I thought this year I made a good impact at camp and show I can I can play up there and it was cool to experience being around guys that have been at that level and coaches that have been at that level and just kind of putting my time and my work in there.”
Signing the first professional hockey contract out of college is always a big accomplishment for those players that want to continue their careers post graduation. Quercia was signed to a contract in the 2021-2022 season with the Wheeling Nailers and played in 19 regular season games. He tallied three goals and four assists. He helped the Nailers on their postseason run that season and dressed in 10 games with two goals and two assists. “Oh, it was cool. I mean, obviously that's what everyone dreams of as a kid is playing pro hockey of some sort. Obviously I wanna be in the NHL one day, but Arms [Head Coach Derek Army] did a great job of connecting with me and kind of pulling me in, welcoming me here and it’s been home ever since and I couldn’t be happier.”
Every player has a strength they can use on the ice to make the difference maker. Whether that be their speed, playmaking abilities, or physicality. Quercia touches on what his strength is on the ice and how he utilizes it during play. “I think for me, my strongest skill is just my physicality and my speed with it. I feel I'm a bigger guy that can skate. So I'll use that to my advantage of being physical and being tough to play against, and having to fight if I have to fight, just other little things like that. Just kind of installing some fear into the other team is my biggest thing.”
Some players adjust how they play the game due to the time and the score of the game. If the score is close, and enough time remaining, people may see a more physical game. “I think it's all based on, obviously, what you said about the score, like if we're down a goal, I think we play aggressive and hard. If you are up a goal, you kind of do the same thing, but there's time to be smarter with decisions, like puck decisions. Today we were chasing the game a little bit, just forcing the offensive side of it and continuing on that.”
Every player has a bad shift. Sometimes scoring opportunities were missed or just not going the players way. Quercia touches on how he handles a bad shift, or a missed opportunity to score on the ice. “You just gotta forget about it, honestly. We talk about it in the room all the time. Shift by shift, reset, take a deep breath. Obviously it gets frustrating sometimes, you have a bad shift or you don't capitalize on an opportunity and you just gotta move on from it. All the work you put it in practice will pay off eventually.”
Off-season training looks different for every player. Some players hop right into training for the next season, some take time off to recoup from the hard work put in all year. “Honestly, I take a month off just to take it easy. It's a long year and it's a hard working year. Especially out of this league and probably work out three to four times a week and skate three to four times a week and then I'll play a lot of golf. That's like my outdoor activity.”
Some players are more physical than others, and it’s not just looking at PIMS for that particular player. Physicality plays a big role in Quercia’s play on the ice. “It's the biggest thing for me, I think, creating that space, mentally and physically. I think just laying the body on guys early and making sure they know I'm coming after them on the forecheck and I think that's the biggest thing. If I’m not being physical, I’m not doing my job.”
Quercia is currently playing for the Wheeling Nailers this season. He has dressed in 47 games in the 2024-2025 season thus far and has tallied 13 goals with seven assists. Quercia and his father co-founded the Chew Dawg Hockey Academy in Massachusetts.
-Sam Wismer/ Olde City Sports Network
-Photo Credit: Wheeling Nailers
