Cyclones, Madore Stifle IceMen, 4-0

Cyclones, Madore Stifle IceMen, 4-0

CINCINNATI, Ohio – An excellent performance by Rob Madore and a three-point night from Josh Shalla highlighted a 4-0 win for the Cincinnati Cyclones (5-4-0-2) over the Evansville IceMen (5-6-0-1) in front of 2,774 at U.S. Bank Arena on Friday night.

After an early stalemate, the Cyclones rattled off a pair of goals in a three minute span to set the tempo in the opening period. At 14:51, Christiaan Minella slammed in a rebound past goaltender Chris Driedger (L, 33 saves, 2-5-0-1) to make it 1-0. Then, at the 17:51 mark, Geoff Irwin's turnaround shot from the right circle was redirected by Brian Nugent and into the net for his second goal of the season which extended the edge to 2-0 after 20 minutes.

The Cyclones played one of their best defensive periods of the season, allowing just two shots on net in the middle stanza. At the other end of the ice, they found the back of the net again at 12:02 when Josh Shalla sniped home his sixth goal of the year on a two-on-one rush to make it 3-0 Cincinnati after two periods.

The IceMen had their best frame of hockey in the third, peppering 13 of there 24 total shots on net in the final 20 minutes; however, Rob Madore (W, 24 saves, 3-2-0-2) was equal to the task - making some spectacular saves to keep his shutout bid alive. Then, at 18:24, Shalla netted his second lamplighter of the night with a laser right off of a face-off to make it a 4-0 tilt. Despite a late power play chance, Evansville couldn't solve Madore, who secured his seventh pro blanking with a 24-save performance.

The Cyclones will be back on the ice at U.S. Bank Arena tomorrow night as they play host to the Kalamazoo Wings at 7:30pm! In addition to a great night of hockey, we'll celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Simpsons with plenty of classic video clips and much more! Call 513.421.PUCK to secure your seats and for more details. Fans can also get the latest team updates throughout the season on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram!

Click here for tonight's box score