Photo by Joe Lovell Wheeling's Gabriel D'Aigle made his professional debut Tuesday against the Cincinnati Cyclones inside WesBanco Arena.

WHEELING – All good things must come to an end, and on Tuesday night at WesBanco Arena, the Wheeling Nailers saw their ten-game winning streak come to an end. Ryan Kirwan snapped a 2-2 tie during the third period for the Cincinnati Cyclones, who got a 38-save effort from Ken Appleby in a 4-2 road victory. Wheeling’s magic number to win the North Division remains at five points.

The Nailers controlled the majority of play in the first period with a 12-5 shots advantage, but found themselves behind 1-0 on the scoreboard. Cincinnati got its goal with seven minutes remaining. Gunnarwolfe Fontaine sifted the puck into the slot, where Gabriel Bernier reached out and guided a tip along the ice and into the right side of the cage.

The Cyclones temporarily extended their lead shortly before the midway mark of period two. Bernier bounced a pass to the left side of the crease, where the puck was tucked into the goal by Marko Sikic. Wheeling began to turn the momentum into its favor by breaking through with a goal at the 14:57 mark. Max Graham crashed the net from the left side, and ultimately forced a backhander to dribble in over the right side of the goal line. 2:10 later, the Nailers evened the score.

The play came on a transition rush, as the puck went from right to left across the offensive zone. Nolan Renwick made the first pass from along the wall to Connor Lockhart, who proceeded to lead Emil Pieniniemi in for a snipe from the left circle.

Cincinnati regained the lead at the 6:51 mark of the final frame. John Jaworski made a play off of the end boards to Ryan Kirwan, who stuffed in a shot from just outside of the crease. Wheeling applied plenty of pressure with 13 shots in the third period and 40 in the contest, but a tying marker wasn’t in the cards. Nick Rhéaume tacked on an empty netter to solidify the 4-2 win for the Cyclones.

Ken Appleby earned the win with a stellar performance for Cincinnati, as he stopped 38 of the 40 shots he faced. Gabriel D’Aigle made 16 saves on 19 shots in his professional debut for the Nailers. At 19 years and 137 days old, he is the second youngest player in team history.

The Nailers will play their next four games on the road, starting with three in Reading this weekend on Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon. Wheeling’s final regular season home game will take place on Saturday, April 18th against the Indy Fuel at 7:10 p.m. That game will be 80’s Night, which will feature a pregame tailgate and a postgame concert by Tongue ‘n Cheek.

The Nailers have clinched home ice advantage for the opening round of the 2026 Kelly Cup Playoffs. The first two home games will be played on Friday, April 24th and Saturday, April 25th.