vs.
SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS (13-13-1-3)
Click here for tonight's game note packet
DATE: Friday, December 21, 2012
TIME: 7:30pm ET
SITE: U.S. Bank Arena - Cincinnati, OH
WEBCAST: CyclonesHockey.com (America One)
NHL AFFILIATES
Cincinnati Cyclones: Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators
South Carolina Stingrays: Boston Bruins
NEXT HOME GAME (After Tonight)
Saturday, December 22 vs. South Carolina Stingrays - 7:30pm
CYCLONES CALENDAR NIGHT / $1 JOHN MORRELL HOT DOGS
TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: After disposing of the Fort Wayne Komets by a 4-1 final on Wednesday, tonight the Cyclones return home to close out their short, three-game season series with the South Carolina Stingrays. Cincinnati earned a 3-2 victory in the first meeting of the year on November 13 and now lead the All-Time Series (since 2006) by a total of 18-7-3-0. Of those 18 wins, 10 have come at U.S. Bank Arena.
TONIGHT'S PROMOTION: End of the World Party - If the Mayans turned out to be right, we'll all go out the way we should - watching some great hockey!
SCOUTING THE STINGRAYS: After stringing six straight wins together earlier this month, Spencer Carbery’s team has now dropped three in a row and remain the fourth place team in a closely-contested South Division race. Tyler McNeely and Hunter Bishop are the top two point-getters on the Stingrays roster. McNeely has posted 24 points (7 goals, 17 assists) in 30 games while Bishop has collected 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 27 contests. His goal totals are also best on the team. Last year’s ECHL Goaltender of the Year, Jeff Jakaitis, played his first two games for the Stingrays last week; while he suffered the loss in both games, both came in the extra session - running his 2012-13 record to 0-0-1-1 with a goals-against average of 3.27. A year go with Gwinnett, Jakaitis went 17-6-2 with a miniscule 2.03 GAA.
Plenty Of Cleanliness: Tonight’s matchup features two of the league’s least penalized teams. The Cyclones are averaging 14.92 minutes in the “sin-bin” per game - which ranks fourth fewest. The Stingrays have been whistled 464 minutes this season - averaging the sixth fewest in the ECHL (15.47).
Three is Magic: When the Cyclones allow three goals or less in a game, they have earned an astounding 13-1-2 mark this season and have gone 7-0-0 when scoring more than three goals.
Captains Passing in the Night: By the end of the week, Cyclones captain Mathieu Aubin will pass the former assistant captain Scott Reynolds for second on the club’s all-time games played list. Coming into tonight, Aubin has skated in 249 games in a Cincinnati jersey.
SEASON SERIES (3 TOTAL, 2 REMAINING)
Nov. 13 South Carolina 2 at Cincinnati 3 Final
Dec. 21 South Carolina at Cincinnati 7:35 pm EST
Dec. 22 South Carolina at Cincinnati 7:35 pm EST
