For Immediate Release: October 7, 2016
CYCLONES COMPLETE PRESEASON SWEEP OF WHEELING
Special Teams Play Major Role in Victory
Cincinnati, OH- The Cincinnati Cyclones completed the preseason sweep of the Wheeling Nailers with a 3-1 win on Friday night. Forwards Taylor Fielding, Joe Manno, and Greg Betzold collected the goals for the Cyclones, who sweep the Nailers in preseason action for the second straight season.
Similar to Thursday night, the Cyclones struck first early in the opening period, as Fielding stayed with a broken play and fired a shot from the bottom of the left circle past Nailers goaltender Spencer Bacon to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead 5:00 into the first.
That 1-0 lead held up throughout the remainder of the frame, and in the second the Cyclones found some special teams success as midway through the frame, Manno stole the puck in the neutral zone and skated in on goal where he launched a wrister past new Wheeling netminder Michael Doan to extend Cincinnati’s lead to 2-0.
Cincinnati’s power play got on the scoresheet late in the middle stanza, when Manno threw a strong shot into the chest of Doan, but the rebound came right to Betzold who popped it into the net to extend the Cyclones’ lead to 3-0 after 40 minutes.
The Nailers received a shorthanded marker of their own in the third from forward Johan Sorkin, but that is all the offense that Wheeling was able to muster, as Cyclones netminder Steve Racine turned aside 16 of the 17 shots he faced to collect the win.
The Cyclones kick off the 2016-17 ECHL regular season on Friday night in Indy against the Fuel. The face-off is scheduled for 7:05pm.
The countdown to the 2016-17 First Face-Off is underway! The Cyclones will return to U.S. Bank Arena on Saturday, October 15 when they host the Indy Fuel at 7:35pm. 2016-17 single game tickets and packages along with group and Season Ticket Packages are available NOW! Call 513.421.PUCK to reserve your seats. Fans can also get the latest team updates on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram, along with our website, www.cycloneshockey.com!
