CINCINNATI CYCLONES (27-25-6-3)
vs.
SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS (33-26-2-2)
DATE: Sunday, March 13, 2011
TIME: 4:00pm
SITE: North Charleston Coliseum - North Charleston, SC
RADIO: None
WEBCAST: CyclonesHockey.com (American One)
NHL AFFILIATES
Cincinnati Cyclones: Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators
South Carolina Stingrays: Washington Capitals
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.
TODAY'S MATCHUP: Fresh off of a 2-0 shutout triumph last night, Cincinnati will once again bid for a series sweep of the South Carolina Stingrays. In late January, the ‘Rays avoided the broomsticks by picking up an overtime win in that three game set at U.S. Bank Arena. With the Cyclones win last night, they have now taken four of the five regular season meetings and have outscored South Carolina by a combined total of 17-6. The victory, combined with a Toledo loss, has given Cincinnati sole-possession of ninth-place in the Eastern Conference playoff race and sit just one point behind eighth-ranked Gwinnett (who also won last night).
SCOUTING THE STINGRAYS: With another “L” last night, South Carolina has dropped four consecutive games and now sit just two points ahead of fifth-ranked Florida and four points ahead of sixth ranked Elmira. Despite their struggles, the ‘Rays still own the league’s fourth-best team defense by allowing an average of just 2.84 goals per-game and just over 29 shots per-game. With Rob Ricci and Josh Godfrey still in the American Hockey League, Tommy Goebel remains the ‘Rays leading scorer - posting 43 points (15 goals, 28 assists) in 51 games. On Friday afternoon, they dealt Jared DeMichiel to the Elmira Jackals which leaves Shane Owen to tend the pipes once again for the Stingrays tonight. This year, Owen has earned a 7-6-1-1 record with a 2.74 goals-against average.
Scoring Early = Success: This season when the Cyclones have jumped out to a lead, they’ve been very tough to beat. Cincinnati is 19-6-5 when striking first and are a perfect 10-0-0 when claiming a 2-0 advantage. The ‘Clones have scored the first goal in 10 of the 15 games against South Division opponents.
An Eye on the East: As of today, here is a quick snapshot of how the Eastern Conference playoff race shapes up:
6 - Elmira 66 points
7 - Wheeling 65 points
8 - Gwinnett 65 points
9 - Cincinnati 63 points
10 - Toledo 61 points
The Revolving Door: To date, the Cyclones have had 51 different players suit up for Jarrod Skalde’s team. In fact, only three players on this week’s active roster were on Cincinnati’s Opening Day roster on October 15.
Southern Comfort Resumes: The Cyclones have found their best success against the South Division this season...posting a 11-3-1 mark collectively in 2010-11. Although a small sample size, the special teams have been very solid against the ‘Rays as well; through three games, they’ve capitalized on 8 out of 22 power plays while killing off 15 of 17 penalties.
SEASON SERIES (6 Meetings - 1 Remaining)
Jan. 28 South Carolina 2 at Cincinnati 4 Final
Jan. 30 South Carolina 0 at Cincinnati 5 Final
Feb. 2 South Carolina 3 at Cincinnati 2 Final OT
Mar. 9 Cincinnati 4 at South Carolina 1 Final
Mar. 12 Cincinnati 2 at South Carolina 0 Final
Mar. 13 Cincinnati at South Carolina 4:00 pm EDT