WHEELING, WV – The Cyclones took down the Nailers 3-2 on Sunday afternoon inside WesBanco Arena. Cincinnati improves to 3-5-0-0 against Wheeling in the regular season series with two more matchups to come.
* The Nailers got the scoring started on the power play 7:16 into the game. On a broken player Matt Koopman snapped a shot past Cincy’s Talyn Boyko from the near circle. Less than a minute and a half later, Jalen Smereck received a pass cruising down the left wing from Sahil Panwar and clapped it through Wheeling goaltender Garret Sparks.
* In the middle frame, Cincinnati jumped out to its first lead with a power play connection. Jimmy Soper got his first in a ‘Clones uniform off a pretty combination with Smereck and Kane. Wheeling responded right back when Jordan Martel pushed a backhander short side to tie the game 2-2. Back on the man-advantage, Smereck rocketed in his second of the game with a snipe over the shoulder of Sparks. It was the Cyclones second PPG and Smereck’s second goal of the game.
* Talyn Boyko hung tough in the 3rd period and finished with 31 stops, including 18 saves in the final 20 minutes. Cincinnati killed off two minutes of a 6-on-4 Wheeling advantage at the end to hang on and win 3-2.
Up next, Cincinnati gets back on the the road to visit the Wings Event Center in Kalamazoo. The Cyclones and the Wings drop the puck Friday March 29th at 7:00pm ET.
Call (513) 421-PUCK for tickets and more information and stay on top of all the latest team updates and information on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram, along with our website, www.cycloneshockey.com.
