CINCINNATI, Ohio – Francois Bouchard’s goal in round three of the shootout proved to be the game-winner as the Cincinnati Cyclones (13-5-2-0) toppled the Evansville IceMen (8-14-0-2) by a 3-2 final score in front of 1,641 at U.S. Bank Arena on Wednesday night. The victory propelled Jarrod Skalde’s team to the top spot in the North Division standings.
The IceMen grabbed an early 1-0 lead when Dylan Clarke caught a pass from Sean Whitney and rifled a wrist shot past Cyclones goalie Brian Foster (W, 26 saves, 10-0-2) at the 4:17 mark. And despite having a 17-6 shots on net advantage, Cincinnati trailed by a goal at the first intermission.
The Cyclones found the equalizer midway through the second period when Charles-Olivier Roussel crashed the net and slammed in his second goal of the year at the 9:21 mark. The teams remained deadlocked through 40 minutes.
Most of the third period was a defensive stalemate, as neither team was able to break the tie. With less than three minutes to play in regulation, Francois Bouchard was denied by a great save from Allen York (SOL, 26 saves, 1-2-0); however, he was able to grab the ensuing rebound and bury his fifth goal of the year to give Cincinnati a 2-1 edge. Evansville opted to pull York in an attempt to tie it, and they did just that when Cody Beach potted a rebound at the 18:26 – making it 2-2 in the final minutes and forcing the game to overtime.
In the extra session, both teams traded a handful of chances but could not light the lamp; so the game was decided in a shootout. After Evansville’s Nathan Moon flubbed his first offering, Mathieu Aubin netted his second shootout goal of the season in round one to give Cincinnati the early edge. Dan Gendur followed in round two with a goal to even things up; and after a John McFarland miss, it was all-square through two rounds. Once Foster denied Dylan Clark in round three, Bouchard stepped up and delivered a beautiful deke move and goal to push Cincinnati ahead for good. His tally turned out to be the game-winner as Jason Dale missed the fourth opportunity for the IceMen and Josh Shalla sealed the win with a goal of his own.
It was Cincinnati’s second shootout win in as many tries and its fourth come-from-behind triumph of the season.
The Cyclones Radio Network Stars of the Game are as follows:
First Star: Francois Bouchard (Goal in regulation, GWG in shootout)
Second Star: Josh Shalla (1 assist, goal in shootout)
Third Star: Brian Foster (Winning goaltender, 26 saves, 3 saves in shootout)
The Cyclones will return to the ice at U.S. Bank Arena THIS FRIDAY when they welcome in the Kalamazoo Wings at 7:30pm. It will be Pucks N Pups Night where fans will be able to bring their four-legged friends to the game for just $2 in addition to a normal game ticket! Plus, the first 2,000 fans through the gates will receive a FREE Cyclones Dog Bowl. All fans will also be able to enjoy $1 John Morrell Hot Dogs all night long! Call 513.421.PUCK or visit CyclonesHockey.com to reserve your seats! Fans can also get the latest team updates throughout the season on Facebook and Twitter (@CincyCyclones).
Click here for tonight's box score.
Cyclones Knock Off IceMen in Shootout, 3-2
