TOLEDO, Ohio – Team captain Mathieu Aubin buried his club-leading fourth playoff game-winning goal at 3:05 of overtime to lift the Cincinnati Cyclones (4-2 playoffs) to a 4-3 victory over the Toledo Walleye (2-4 playoffs) in front of 4,333 at Huntington Center on Tuesday night. The victory also gave Cincinnati a 4-2 series win, as they will advance to play in the second round against Gwinnett.
The Walleye jumped ahead 1-0 for the third straight game after a fortunate bounce came to Trevor Parkes at the side of net, and he buried his third goal of the series at 19:34. Toledo carried the one-goal edge into the first intermission.
In another evenly played period, the Cyclones tied the game up at 18:22 when Mike Pelech banked a shot from beside the net past Jordan Pearce (OTL, 33 saves, 2-1 playoffs). And thanks to 18 middle frame saves by Michael Houser (W, 36 saves, 4-2 playoffs) at the other end, the teams were even at one after 40 minutes.
The Walleye pulled back out in front with a power play goal by Andrej Nestrasil at 2:50 of the final regulation period. However just 22 seconds later, David Pacan stickhandler around Pearce and tucked in his fourth goal of the series to knot the score again – this time at three. Toledo used yet another power play to their advantage at 10:24 when Joey Martin banged in a rebound to give his team their third lead of the game at 3-2. As the final seconds waned down, the Cyclones got the puck behind the Walleye net and dug hard for a loose puck; amidst the scramble, Garrett Wilson was able to bank in a shot off of Pearce to tie it with just five seconds left and force the contest into overtime.
Just 3:05 into the extra session, the teams fought for a loose puck at the side of the Toledo net and Mathieu Aubin was able to smash in the game winning goal past Pearce to end the contest and the series. The Cyclones prevailed on Tuesday by a 4-3 final and took the best-of-seven set 4-2.
The Cyclones Radio Network Stars of the Game are as follows:
First Star: Mathieu Aubin (Game-winning goal for Cincinnati)
Second Star: Adam Hobson (1 assist for Toledo)
Third Star: Joey Martin (1 goal, 1 assist for Toledo.
With the Quarterfinals now wrapped up, the Cyclones will travel to meet the Gwinnett Gladiators for the first of two games down south on Friday night at 7:35pm. Fans can hear all the action of the contest on the Cyclones Radio Network (FM 100 The FAN, CyclonesHockey.com, America One) at 7:15pm.
The Cyclones will return to U.S. Bank Arena on Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30pm for Game 3 of the series, featuring $1 PBR and Miller High Life!! Call 513.421.PUCK or visit CyclonesHockey.com to reserve your seats! On-air coverage of the action can be heard on the Cyclones Radio Network (FM 100 The FAN, America One, CyclonesHockey.com) starting at 7:15pm. Fans can also get the latest team updates throughout the season on Facebook and Twitter (@CincyCyclones).
Click here to view tonight's box score
Cyclones Advance with OT Thriller, 4-3
