CYCLONES GAME PREVIEW
Cincinnati Cyclones (24-21-1-4)
vs.
Reading Royals (34-14-2-1)
Click here for tonight's game note packet
DATE: Saturday, February 21, 2015
TIME: 7:30pm ET
SITE: U.S. Bank Arena - Cincinnati, OH
BROADCAST: Cyclones Radio Network, ECHL.TV
NHL AFFILIATES
Cincinnati Cyclones: Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators
Reading Royals: Philadelphia Flyers
NEXT HOME GAME (After Tonight)
FRIDAY, MARCH 13 - 7:30pm vs. ORLANDO
CYCLONES BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT
Tonight's Matchup: The Cyclones are back on the home ice tonight as they welcome in the ECHL’s hottest team - the Reading Royals. While Reading has claimed both of the previous two regular season match-ups, the all-time series between the pair of non-division foes has been extremely close. Since 2006, the Cyclones own a 35-21-5-4 record against the Royals.
Tonight's Promotion: 2nd Annual Fireworks Extravaganza presented by Cincinnati Bell - Fans will be treated to an awe-inspiring INDOOR fireworks show immediately following the game!
Scouting the Royals: Larry Courville’s club had its 14-game point streak snapped last night as they were defeated 4-1 by the Kalamazoo Wings. Pat Mullane leads the Royals, and ranks 11th in the ECHL, with 51 points (20g, 31a) in as-many games this season. Between the pipes, Miami University alum Connor Knapp has led the way with a 17-8-1-0 record and a 2.71 goals-against average. Kenny Reiter, meanwhile, has gone 2-0 in limited action for the Royals with a 3.00 GAA.
Last Time Out: A pair of second period goals and a strong night for Jeff Lerg proved to be enough as the Toledo Walleye (31-10-3-2) defeated the Cincinnati Cyclones (24-21-1-4) by a 3-1 final score in front of 5,536 at Huntington Center last night.
Playing Nice in the North: Contrary to most years, the North Division holds some of the ECHL’s least-penalized teams. The Cyclones rank fifth-lowest in average penalty minutes per game (14.04), while Kalamazoo, Indy, and Toledo all rank in the bottom seven of the league.
One is Good, Two is Better: Getting the game’s first goal is always critical. However, it’s been even more important for the Clones to jump ahead 2-0 early in games. They are an impressive 17-7-1 when lighting the lamp before their opponent but are a perfect 16-0 when pulling ahead by two.
Season Series at a Glance (3 games - 3 home, 0 away - 1 remaining):
Cincinnati's 2014-15 Record vs. Reading: 0-2-0-0
Jan 31 Reading 5 at Cincinnati 1 Final
Feb 11 Reading 5 at Cincinnati 0 Final
Feb 21 Reading at Cincinnati 7:30pm EST
