For Immediate Release: November 11, 2017
Game 10 (Road Game 8)
Vs. Florida Everblades (8-2-0-1, 17 PTS)
Saturday, November 11, 2017 - 7:00pm ET
Germain Arena - Estero, FL
Overview: Cincinnati wraps up a three-game road trip against the Florida Everblades on Saturday night. The Cyclones continued to roll last night, earning a 4-1 over Florida, sparked by a hat trick from rookie forward Justin Danforth. Cincinnati has now won five games in a row, and six of their last seven games.
Last Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (6-2-1-0) secured a 4-1 win over the Florida Everblades. It was a career night for Cyclones forward Justin Danforth, who recorded his first career hat trick, while forward Shawn O’Donnell added a goal and two assists. Cyclones netminder Jason Kasdorf was stellar in net, stopping 28 of the 29 shots he faced to collect the win.
Wednesday Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (5-2-1-0) picked up a 4-3 shootout win over the Florida Everblades on Wednesday night. Forwards Justin Danforth, Rob De Fulviis, and Shawn O’Donnell tallied the goals in regulation for Cincinnati, while forwards Andrew Radjenovic and Jesse Schultz scored in the shootout. The ‘Clones were outshot, 39-32 on the night, with goaltender Anthony Peters turning aside 36 in regulation and both in the shootout to collect the win, in his first game against his former team.
Last Saturday Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones, (4-2-1-0) collected a 2-1 win over the Adirondack Thunder on Saturday night. Forward Jesse Schultz and defenseman Eric Knodel netted the goals for the Cyclones, who have won three in a row, and four of their last five. Adirondack outshot Cincinnati, 25-17 on the night, with Cyclones goaltender Anthony Peters stopping 24 in the win.
Previewing Florida: The Everblades are one of the hottest teams in the ECHL in the early going, currently sitting second in the League standings with 17 points (8-2-0-1) through their first 11 games. They suffered just their second regulation loss on Friday night, and two of their three defeats have come at the hands of the Cyclones. Special teams has been a major piece to their success, as they currently rank third in the ECHL with 22.4% power play conversion percentage (11/49). The Everblades have been strong defensively as well, only allowing 2.55 goals against this season, which is third in the ECHL. Offensively, they are led by forward Michael Kirkpatrick who has accounted for 14 points (5g, 9a) this season. He is followed closely by forwards Mitchell Heard (5g, 7a) and Clark Seymour (1g, 8a) who round out the top three. In goal, Martin Ouellette currently sits third amongst League netminders with a 2.19 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage, to go along with a perfect 5-0-0-0 record.
Inside the Series: This week marks the first time in two seasons that the sides have met, with the Everblades taking a 3-0 decision on March 4, 2015. With Cincinnati’s two wins on Wednesday and Friday nights, they now lead the all-time series, 13-12-1-0.
Next Game Preview: The Cyclones return home Tuesday morning for their annual Field Trip Game, presented by Mt. St. Joseph University, against the Quad City Mallards. Tuesday marks the first of nine meetings between the two teams this season.
NEED-TO-KNOW
HATS OFF: Forward Justin Danforth scored his first pro hat trick in Friday’s 4-1 win over the Florida Everblades, moving him into a tie for third place in League rookie scoring with 10 points (6g, 4a). He has five points over his last two games (4g, 1a), and has accounted for six in his last three skates (4g, 2a).
PILING UP THE POINTS: Forward Shawn O’Donnell has been a man on a mission as of late, currently riding a four-game point streak where he has totaled a pair of goals and six assists in that time, His 13 points (5g, 8a) leads the team in scoring, and he has points in all but one game played this season.
DISCIPLINED HOCKEY: The Cyclones currently rank as the ECHL’s second-east penalized team, having recorded 89 minutes in penalties through nine games. Cincinnati is also tied with the second-fewest major penalties at three, and have 10 or fewer penalty minutes in six of their last seven games.
LEADING THE WAY: Forwards Shawn O’Donnell (3g, 5a) and Jesse Schultz (3g, 5a) sit atop the Cyclones leaderboard with eight points, while defenseman Eric Knodel (2g, 5a) is right behind them in second place with seven. All three have points in six of Cincinnati’s seven games played, and combined for five goals and six assists in Cincinnati’s four wins. Additionally, Schultz is currently riding a four-game point streak, totaling three goals, including a pair of game-winners and two assists in that time.
POWER PLAY PROWESS: Cyclones defenseman Eric Knodel currently leads all ECHL defensemen with seven power play points (2g, 5a), including a man-advantage tally in last Saturday’s 2-1 win over Adirondack. Not far behind are forwards Shawn O’Donnell (2g, 4a) and Jesse Schultz (6a) who are tie for second on the Cyclones with six power play points each.
WELCOME BACK: Wednesday’s 4-3 SOW over the Everblades marked the first time that current Cyclones Shawn O’Donnell and Anthony Peters faced their former team. O’Donnell spent 5 games during the 2014-13 regular season with the Everblades, totaling a goal and three assists in that time. Peters appeared in 100 games from 2014-17 with Florida, amassing a record of 60-31-2, along with a 2.64 GAA and a .908 SV% with six shutouts.
HEATING UP: Forwards Rob De Fulviis, Brandon McNally, Daniel Muzito-Bagenda, and Andrew Radjenovic have provided an offensive spark from the Cyclones second and third lines, accounting for 11 points (5g, 6a) over the last five games. De Fulviis netted a goal in Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout win over Florida, while McNally has six points (2g, 4a) in his last five games. Radjenovic has accounted for a goal and two helpers in that time, and Muzito-Bagenda had a goal and an assist in last Wednesday’s 4-3 win over Kalamazoo while totaling a game-high seven shots.
LEADERSHIP GROUP ANNOUNCED: As decided by a team vote, this season’s captain will be defenseman Eric Knodel, and serving as assistants will be forwards Justin Vaive and Shawn O’Donnell. Knodel was the captain at the University of New Hampshire during his senior year, while O’Donnell previously served as an assistant captain in college at St. Mary’s University in Canada.
WELCOME BACK: The Cyclones season-opening roster includes seven players from the 2016-17 season, including three of their top five and five of their top 10 scorers. This season’s returners include Shane Walsh, who ranked second on last year’s team in scoring, followed by Shawn O’Donnell who was fourth and Brandon McNally in fifth. New captain Eric Knodel placed eighth in team scoring in 2016-17, while forward Dominic Zombo came in 10th and defenseman Arvin Atwal was 13th prior to his season being cut short due to injury. Forward Rob De Fulviis accounted for three points last season, along with accounting for 36 minutes in penalties in 26 games played.
NEW AFFILIATION: This offseason, the Cyclones, in conjunction with the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Buffalo Sabres, announced a new affiliation agreement. For Cincinnati, the move comes following a 10-year partnership with the Nashville Predators, while the Sabres recently concluded a two-year relationship with the now-defunct Elmira Jackals. This affiliation will be a reunion of sorts for the cities of Cincinnati and Buffalo, as the Sabres’ American Hockey League (AHL) Affiliate from 1971-1974 was the Cincinnati Swords. The Rochester Americans will serve as Cincinnati’s new AHL affiliate, and have been the AHL affiliate of the Sabres since 2011. This is not the first time Cincinnati and Rochester have been affiliated, as the two clubs teamed up in 2010-11 when the Americans were affiliated with the Florida Panthers.
Stay Connected!: Follow the latest news on Twitter (@CincyCyclones), Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and more! Also, for all of the latest news and notes, head over to www.cycloneshockey.com.
The 2017-18 season is underway, and the Cincinnati Cyclones want YOU along for the ride! Call (513) 421-PUCK for information regarding Cyclones single game tickets, ticket packages, and Season and Group Tickets! Also, stay on top of the latest team updates on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram, along with our website, www.cycloneshockey.com!
