Lukas Craggs and Brett Van Os scored, but timely scoring for the Nailers helped keep the Cyclones at bay in a 3-2 final that went the way of Wheeling Friday night.   

Cincinnati opens December with a loss and fall to 9-7-0-0 on the season. The Nailers have won four straight and improve to 9-6-0-0 on the year. 

• In a repeat from the teams' last meeting three weeks earlier, the Nailers opened the game with back-to-back goals in succession. After Josh Maniscalco fired the game's first goal, Nick Hutchison doubled the lead less than two minutes later with a shot in-between the dots to beat Mat Robson for the 2-0 advantage. 

• The 'Clones were awarded their first of six power plays on the night in the first period. Craggs raced through center ice before receiving a pass from Louie Caporusso to slam home his third goal of the season to cut the deficit in half.

• In the second period, Hutchison was awarded a penalty shot 10:16 into the frame after being hooked by Matthew Cairns. Robson made the save to keep Cincinnati within one.

• 1:05 later, Brett Van Os redirected a shot by Johnny Coughlin to tie the game at two. Van Os has scored in three of his last five games. Coughlin picked up the assist in his 100^th ECHL game. 

• Over a minute after Van Os' game-tying goal, Cam Hausinger darted down the ice and fired a shot from the right circle that went over the glove of Robson to give the Nailers a lead once more. The Cyclones would outshoot Wheeling in the third period, 11-4, but Lekkas was able to make each stop, including a breakaway save on Craggs, who hit the crossbar earlier in the game in addition to his power play goal.

• Robson falls to 7-5 on the season, making 22 saves. Lekkas got his second win against the Cyclones this season with 27 saves. His previous win over Cincinnati came as a member of the Fort Wayne Comets in early November.

The Cyclones return home Saturday night to host the Indy Fuel for a 7:30 puck drop.

Stay tuned all season for updates on important events, player signings, promotion and ticketing information and MORE! 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!