For Immediate Release: March 3, 2018
Game 55 (Home Game 29)
Vs. Quad City Mallards (20-32-3-1, 44 pts)
Saturday, March 3, 2018 - 7:35pm ET
U.S. Bank Arena - Cincinnati, OH
FULL GAME NOTES | VIDEO PREVIEW | LAST GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Overview: The Cyclones have won three in a row and four of their last five games, and are coming off a 4-3 win over the Indy Fuel on Friday night; their first win of the season over the Fuel. The win extended Cincinnati’s lead to five points over the Kalamazoo Wings in the Central Division, with a pivotal meeting between the teams coming up on Sunday in Kalamazoo.
Last Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (31-21-2-0) overcame a two-goal deficit to collect their first win of the season over the Indy Fuel on Friday night, 4-3. Forward Winston Day Chief recorded his second hat trick of the season, while forward Justin Vaive added the game winner late in the third. Cincinnati was outshot, 34-30 on the evening, with goaltender Jonas Johansson steering aside 32 in the win.
Wednesday Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (30-21-2-0) took down the South Carolina Stingrays, 2-1 in overtime, on Wednesday night. Forward Justin Vaive netted the lone Cyclones goal in regulation, while forward Brandon McNally lit the lamp in overtime for the game-winner. The Cyclones were outshot, 23-18 on the evening, with goaltender Jonas Johansson stopping 22 in the win.
Saturday Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (29-21-2-0) earned a 2-1 win over the Kalamazoo Wings Saturday, on Cyclones Fight Cancer Night. Forwards Alex Kile and Justin Vaive netted the goals for the Cyclones, who are now back in third place in the ECHL’s Central Division. Goaltender Jonas Johansson turned aside 32 of the 33 shots he faced in the win, as Cincinnati was outshot, 33-19 on the night, while the power play converted in one of its three chances.
Previewing Quad City: The Mallards snapped their four-game skid with a 7-6 shootout win over the Utah Grizzlies on Friday night. The Mallards offense has come to life in recent games, as they have scored four or more goals in four of their last six games, including a pair of seven goal outputs. On the other side of that coin however, Quad City is allowing a League-low 4.14 goals per game, and have allowed four or more in six of their last seven games. They are led by forward Brayden Low who has accounted for 16 goals and 22 assists through 56 games this season. He is followed by forwards Tristan King (15g, 18a) and Matt Pohlkamp (14g, 18a) who round out the top three. In goal, Ivan Kulbakov leads the way with an 11-10-0-0 record , along with a 3.61 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.
Inside the Series: Cincinnati has had tremendous success against the Mallards, posting a 6-1-0-0 record and outscoring Quad City 36-22 in those meetings. The sides are slated to meet once more this season.
Next Game Preview: Cincinnati concludes their three-game weekend on Sunday in Kalamazoo against the Wings. The Cyclones are five points ahead of the Wings in third place, and have won the last two meetings in the seven-game season series.
NEED-TO-KNOW
Hats Off: Forward Winston Day Chief recorded a natural hat trick in Friday’s 4-3 win over the Indy Fuel. It marked his second hat trick of the season, and he joins forwards Justin Vaive (2) and Justin Danforth, as well as defenseman Eric Knodel who also have three-goal games this season. Additionally, four of the Cyclones’ six hat tricks have come against the Quad City Mallards. Day Chief is currently third on the team with 19 goals, and sixth with 26 points.
O’Donnell Returns: Cyclones forward Shawn O’Donnell has been released from his Professional Tryout Agreement (PTO) with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL) and has been returned to Cincinnati. The Halifax, NS, native only appeared in one game with the Wolf Pack, having suffered an injury in his first game. O’Donnell has appeared 28 games with the Cyclones and ranks second on the team with 36 points (13g, 23a). He is currently on a four-game point streak for the Cyclones (3g, 2a), and rode an 11-game heater from November 18-December 29 (4g, 13a).
FOUR!: Friday night marked the 24th time this season that Cincinnati has scored four or more goals in a game, and the ‘Clones now have a 22-1-1-0 record when lighting the lamp at least four times. Additionally, Cincinnati is successful when allowing fewer than four, boasting a 26-10-1-0 record when allowing three or fewer.
Home Cookin’: Cincinnati is one of the top teams in the ECHL on home ice this season, posting a 18-8-2-0 record at U.S. Bank Arena. They are outscoring the opposition, 92-80 on home ice this season, and have allowed more than three goals on just eight occasions. They boast a perfect 13-0-0-0 record when leading after 40 minutes of play, and the Cyclones have the second-best power play unit at home, converting on 24% of their man-advantage chances (25/104).
Power Surge: The Cyclones have at least one power play goal in 12 of their last 17 games, going 17-for-55 in that stretch (30.9%). They also have the second-ranked power play unit in the League overall with a 20.3% power play conversion rate (42/207).
Packed Schedule: Cincinnati will have their hands full in the second half of the season, playing their final 18 games over a stretch of 42 days, which is an average of one games every 2.33 days. Additionally, Cincinnati will play 12 of those 18 games against the Central Division, where they are 19-13-2-0 so far this season. Including this weekend, Cincinnati has five more stretches of three games in three days, two stretches of four games in five days, and one stretch of seven games in nine days.
Finishing What They Started: The Cyclones have a 21-1-0-0 record when leading through two periods this season. This is a continuing trend from last season, when the Cyclones were 23-1-3-1 when leading after one, and 26-1-2-0 when leading after 40 minutes.
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.
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