Nailers Double Up Cyclones, 6-3

Nailers Double Up Cyclones, 6-3

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Wheeling Nailers (20-14-0-2) used a three goal first period and stingy defense to beat the Cincinnati Cyclones (15-14-5-2) by a 6-3 final score in front of 5,960 at U.S. Bank Arena on Friday night.

The Nailers stormed out to an early 3-0 lead with goals from Nick Petersen, Joey Haddad and Ben Street, all within the first seven minutes of the game.  With that, Marc Cheverie’s (L, 9 saves, 12-8-2-2) night was done as he got relieved by Chet Pickard (ND, 18 saves, 3-6-2-0).  Luckily, Cincinnati was able to stop the bleeding at 18:22 when Brady Calla poked home his first goal as a Cyclone after a Dustin Sproat wrap-around try left a loose puck underneath Wheeling goalie Patrick Killeen (W, 25 saves, 15-7-0-1).  With the late goal, it was 3-1 Nailers at the first intermission.

Wheeling regained their three-goal cushion at the 7:18 mark of the second period when Joey Haddad sent home his team-leading 17th tally of the season, making it 4-1.  Cincinnati responded, though, with a goal of their own as Mathieu Aubin sent a laser past Killeen at 10:56 to pull within a pair once again.  Yet, Wheeling’s Trevor Hunt slid one past Pickard not even three minutes later to push his team out in front 5-3.  Just like the first period, though, Cincinnati netted a late goal to pull within striking distance; Calla was camped out in the slot and blasted home his second of the night at 18:22, making it 5-3 Wheeling after 40 minutes.

Despite several great Cyclones scoring chances in the third period, Killeen and the Nailers defense kept Cincinnati off the scoreboard.  Casey Pierro-Zabotel tallied an empty net goal with just 23 seconds left in the game to seal the 6-3 victory for Wheeling.

The Cyclones Radio Network Three Stars of the Game are as follows:
1.    Ben Street (1 goal, 2 assists for Wheeling)
2.    Nick Petersen (1 goal, 2 assists for Wheeling)
3.    Brady Calla (2 goals for Cincinnati)

The two division rivals will meet again tomorrow night at WesBanco Arena with an 8:05pm opening face-off.  Hear all the action of the game LIVE on CyclonesHockey.com beginning at 7:50pm.

The defending Kelly Cup Champions will return to U.S. Bank Arena on Tuesday, January 18 when they will once again battle the Wheeling Nailers at 7:30pm.  It will be the final Big Beer Tuesday of the season, meaning $2 24-ounce Molson and Labatt Blue will flowing all night long in addition to $1 City Barbeque pulled pork sandwiches.  Discounted ticket packages and single game tickets for the 2010-2011 season are available now.  For more information, call 513.421.PUCK (7825) or visit CyclonesHockey.com.

Click here for tonight's box score.

More Than Just A Game

Download the Cyclones app & join Cyclones Rewards to get exclusive access, earn points, & win prizes!

Download Today

Tickets

Buy Now