WHEELING – The Wheeling Nailers snapped a 10-game winless streak, with a 2-1 victory over Cincinnati Cyclones Friday night at WesBanco Arena.
After two scoreless periods, the Nailers broke the scoreless tie on a gritty effort by Doug Rogers in front. Rogers brought the puck to the top of the crease and flipped a shot off the shoulder of Cyclones goaltender Brian Foster. The puck wiggled behind Foster and slid into the net to give Wheeling the 1-0 lead at 4:48 of the period.
Nearly five minutes later, the Nailers extended their lead to 2-0. Joey Haddad took the puck from an offensive zone faceoff win to the front of the net. Foster committed down to the ice early to attempt to make a save, but Haddad fired a backhand shot over the body of the Cylones netminder for the goal.
The game got ugly in the final four minutes, as a scrum in front of the net, erupted into a toe-to-toe fight between Cyclones defenseman Carl Hudson and Nailers goaltender Peter Delmas. Both Hudson and Delmas were tossed from the game, and Patrick Killeen came in relief in goal for Wheeling.
Moments later, Cincinnati capitalized on a delayed penalty. As play continued Samson Mahbod stepped onto the ice as the extra attacker, fielded a pass in the high slot and ripped a slapshot past Killeen to pull the Cylones within one. The Cyclones created some scoring chances in the game’s final seconds, but the Nailers held on to take the game 2-1.
The Nailers travel to Reading to take on the Royals tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m.
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