Wheeling, WV - The Cincinnati Cyclones suffered a 4-1 loss to the Wheeling Nailers Saturday night at WesBanco Arena. A strong and well fought third period was not enough for the Cyclones to complete a comeback.
- A turnover in the Cincinnati zone led to the opening goal for the Nailers, with defenseman Isaac Belliveau scoring with 8:19 left in the first period. Belliveau gained control of the puck and had room in the slot for a wrist shot that beat Cyclones goalie Vyacheslav Peksa. Belliveau’s unassisted goal gave the Nailers a 1-0 lead.
- With 20 seconds remaining in the opening period, forward Gabe Klassen scored a power play goal for Wheeling. Klassen’s 15th goal of the season came off of a rebound after defenseman Mats Lindgren’s shot was denied by Peksa. The Nailers would take a 2-0 lead heading into the second period.
- Forward Matthew Quercia extended the lead to 3-0 for the Nailers with 11:30 left in the middle period. Quercia received the backdoor feed from forward Jack Beck for the goal. The Nailers carried their 3-0 lead heading into the final period.
- 53 seconds into the third period, the Cyclones finally broke through with forward Lincoln Griffin scoring his 24th goal of the season. A dish from forward Ty Voit gave Griffin the scoring chance in front of the net that fooled Nailers goalie Taylor Gauthier. Mathieu Gosselin picked up the secondary assist on Griffin’s 24th goal of the season as he made it a 3-1 contest.
- With 1:32 left to play forward Logan Pietila scored an empty net goal, icing the game as the Nailers won 4-1. The Nailers swept the season series against Cincinnati. Peksa made 39/42 saves for Cincinnati in the loss, his most in a single game this season.
The Cyclones return to Cincinnati to face the Kalamazoo Wings on Friday night at Heritage Bank Center in the first of two games on Fan Appreciation Weekend. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:35 p.m. ET and can be streamed on FloHockey and the Cyclones Radio Network.
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.
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