CINCINNATI CYCLONES (28-25-6-3)
vs.
GWINNETT GLADIATORS (29-26-2-5)
DATE: Tuesday, March 15, 2011
TIME: 7:05pm
SITE: The Arena at Gwinnett Center - Duluth, GA
RADIO: None
WEBCAST: CyclonesHockey.com (American One)
NHL AFFILIATES
Cincinnati Cyclones: Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators
Gwinnett Gladiators: Atlanta Thrashers
NEXT HOME GAME
Friday, March 25 vs. Toledo Walleye - 7:30pm
Kids Eat Free Night - All fans ages 2-12 in attendance will receive a FREE meal courtesy of John Morrell and Sunkist.
TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: After wrapping up a three-game sweep of the South Carolina Stingrays on Sunday afternoon, the Cyclones kick off the second leg of their three-city road trip with tonight’s one game stop in Gwinnett, Georgia. The ‘Clones took the only other 2010-11 meeting with the Gladiators back in mid-November with a 4-3 shootout win at U.S. Bank Arena. Over the last five years, the teams have split four regular season meetings. Coming into the night, both teams are tied with 65 points apiece, which ranks 8th in the Eastern Conference Playoff race, however, the Gladiators own the tie-breaker (overall wins) and would take the final slot if the season ended today.
SCOUTING THE GLADIATORS: Gwinnett has been playing some very solid hockey of late, winning seven out of their last ten games and are fighting with several teams (including the Cyclones) for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Michael Forney ranks among the league’s top scorers, amassing 58 points (16 goals, 42 assists) in 56 games. His assist totals also place him fourth among all ECHL players. Gladiators rookie back-stop Chris Carrozzi has been a busy man this year, playing in a league fifth-most 2120 minutes while racking up 987 saves in the process.
Southern Success: The Cyclones continued their dominance of the South Division this past weekend, sweeping the Stingrays in three straight. Cincinnati now owns an astounding 11-3-1 record against those teams in 2010-11. Perhaps more surprising, though, is their goals-for/goals-against breakdown; this year, Cincinnati has outscored the South Division by a combined total of 57-39 while outshooting them by an average of 34-25 per game.
Bonus Hockey Has Been Good: On Sunday, the Cyclones played in their 17th overtime/shootout game of the season - which is 2nd most in the ECHL. With their shootout victory this past weekend, they’ve now won three straight extra-session games.
Rookie Pride: First-year defenseman Garret Suter has now posted points in two of his last four games (2 assists) while establishing himself on the Cincinnati blue-line. Eric Kattelus, meanwhile, has been a versatile player in his first few weeks with the team. Kattelus earned his first pro goal on Sunday vs. South Carolina.
SEASON SERIES (2 Meetings - 1 Remaining)
Nov. 13 Gwinnett 3 at Cincinnati 4 Final SO
Mar. 15 Cincinnati at Gwinnett 7:05pm EDT