Nailers whip Cyclones, 4-1

CINCINNATI, Ohio– The first game of the north division semi-finals was a wild affair leading to a Nailers 4-1 win. The first period saw the Cyclone give up two goals on short breakaways just seconds apart by Aaron Clark and Billy Ryan.   For Clark it was his first playoff tally.

Bryan Ewing snuck past the defense and shoveled a pass to Ryan for the second score. Cyclone Matt Syroczynski received a 5-minute major for a boarding call and a game misconduct for arguing the call.   Syroczynski was convinced the boarding call was phantom. The Cyclones outshot the visitors 11-8.   The 5-minute power play carried over into the second period. No further scores were tallied and Cincy killed off the entire 5 minute major.   The Cyclones’ Jamie Coughlin was injured in an apparent boarding that was not called and did not return to the game . Generally the officiating was inconsistent the entire game.   The home team again outshot Wheeling 7-5 but  unable to solve Curtis Darling.
The final period saw the Cyclones make several quality scoring opportunities and finally at 14:44 rookie Felix Petit slipped the puck past Darling to halve the lead.
Wheeling returned the favor less than a minute later on a power play goal by Mitch Ganzak to re-establish the 2 goal lead. Wheeling added the empty netter to finalize the score at 4-1. While the defense kept Bryan Ewing from scoring a goal it was another multi-point game for the Rookie of the Year. Curtis Darling made his 36-save performance look routine while rookie Loic Lacasse absorbed the loss.
Cincinnati is 7-1 in opening round games. Game 2 is Friday night at Cincinnati with game 3 in Wheeling on Saturday.
Contact rob.huelsman@prohockeynews.com
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