GREENVILLE, South Carolina – A late goal from Michael St. Croix broke a 2-2 deadlock and gave the Greenville Road Warriors (14-9-0-0) a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones (8-8-0-4) in front of 2,892 at Bon Secours Wellness Arena on Thursday night.
Despite being outplayed and outshot in the opening period, the Road Warriors struck first via the power play at the 13:00 mark when Ryan Hegarty blasted a left point shot past Sam Brittain (L, 20 saves, 3-4-0-1) to make it 1-0.
The Road Warriors extended their lead at 5:52 of the middle stanza when Paul Rodrigues caught a long pass from Spencer Humphries and buried a breakaway goal to make it 2-0. However, in the waning minutes of the period, Greenville's Emerson Clark was whistled for an unsportsmanlike penalty for spraying snow in the face of Brittain. In addition, the Road Warriors received an additional unsportsmanlike conduct for arguing the call - setting up a Cyclones two-man advantage. Just 34 seconds into the power play, Josh Shalla found the net by sniping in his team-leading 12th goal of the season past Jason Missiaen (W, 40 saves, 3-4-0) at 19:02 to cut the deficit to one after 40 minutes.
The Cyclones pulled even early into the final period when Kevin Sullivan beautifully shuffled a puck across the slot to the crashing Geoff Irwin, who buried his third goal of the season at 4:46 to knot things at two. Unfortunately, the Road Warriors would once again find the go-ahead, and eventual game-winning strike, as Michael St. Croix batted in a bouncing puck on a close play at the net - making it 3-2 Greenville. And despite a late power play chance and an extra skater for the Cyclones, the Road Warriors sealed the one-goal triumph.
After an off-day tomorrow, the Cyclones will close out its three-game road trip on Saturday night as they visit the Gwinnett Gladiators at 7:05pm. Coverage of the game on the Cyclones Radio Network beginning at 6:45pm. Fans can also watch the action LIVE at the Coors Light Viewing Party, which takes place for all road games at Game Time Sports Bar and Grill in Cheviot!
The Cyclones will be back on the ice at U.S. Bank Arena on Wednesday, December 17 when they host the Greenville Road Warriors at 7:30pm! Fans 21+ can enjoy $1 beers as we host our first-ever Santa-Con! Everyone is encouraged to dress as Santa, Mrs. Claus, or an elf! 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!
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Road Warriors Sneak Past Cyclones, 3-2
