Cyclones Game Preview - Cincinnati at Orlando

Cyclones Game Preview - Cincinnati at Orlando

CYCLONES GAME PREVIEW

Cincinnati Cyclones (26-23-1-5)
vs.
Orlando Solar Bears (27-21-4-2)


Click here for tonight's game note packet

DATE: Monday, March 9, 2015
TIME: 7:00pm ET
SITE: Amway Center - Orlando, FL
BROADCAST: Cyclones Radio Network, ECHL.TV

NHL AFFILIATES
Cincinnati Cyclones: Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators
Orlando Solar Bears: Toronto Maple Leafs

NEXT HOME GAME
FRIDAY, MARCH 13 - 7:30pm vs. ORLANDO
CYCLONES BOBBLEHEAD NIGHT

Tonight's Matchup: After enjoying a rare weekend off, the Cyclones will close out their season-long road trip tonight with another match-up against the Orlando Solar Bears. Both teams have earned a victory this week, with last Thursday’s game getting decided in a shootout.

Scouting the Solar Bears: Vince Williams’ club finds itself clawing their way back into playoff position, sitting five points back of the fourth place spot in the East Division. Jacob Cepis remains atop the Solar Bears’ scoring leaderboard with 48 points (12g, 36a) in 43 games this season. Goaltender Garret Sparks, who earned the victory last Thursday, leads the club with a 14-6-2-0 record and a 2.45 goals-against average. Fellow net minder Maxime Clermont has gone 6-5-0-1 this year with a 3.43 GAA.

Last Time Out: Despite a remarkable performance from goaltender Rob Madore, the Solar Bears got past the Cyclones in a shootout by a 3-2 final score in front of 4,509 at Amway Center. Madore made a season-high 53 saves in the tilt, the first time since the club returned to ECHL play in 2006 that a Cyclones goalie broke the 50-saves plateau during a regular season game.

Reinforcements from Above: This week the Cyclones received a pair of big defensemen from the AHL. Both Josh McFadden and Garrett Noonan returned from San Antonio and Milwaukee, respectively. McFadden has earned the second most points of any Cincinnati rear guard (15) while Noonan has been a stable hand at the Triple-A level all year long - with nine points and a + 5 rating.

The Closer: Cyclones rookie forward Joe Basaraba has surged to the team lead with five game-winning goals this season. He needs just two more such tallies to tie Josh Shalla’s single-season high of seven from the 2012-13 campaign. Basaraba currently ranks second among all ECHL first-year players in that category.

Season Series at a Glance (6 games - 3 home, 3 away - 2 remaining):
Cincinnati's 2014-15 Record vs. Orlando: 1-2-0-1

Nov 13 Orlando 4 at Cincinnati 3 Final
Nov 18 Orlando 5 at Cincinnati 3 Final
Mar 3 Cincinnati 3 at Orlando 0 Final
Mar 5 Cincinnati 2 at Orlando 3 Final SO
Mar 9 Cincinnati at Orlando 7:00pm EDT
Mar 13 Orlando at Cincinnati 7:30pm EDT