The Cyclones ended 2021 on a high note, beating the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in a shootout, 3-2, in front of 6,488 Cyclones fans inside Heritage Bank Center.
The 'Clones improve to 17-11-1-0 and take hold of second place in the Central Division. Greenville has one win in its last eight games, sitting 9-11-3-2 on the 2021-22 ECHL season.
- Matt McLeod helped get the Cyclones on the board first for the fifth straight game. Brett Van Os skated through center ice on the left wing side, softly sliding a puck to McLeod who burst ahead past Greenville's defense to jam a puck through John Lethemon for the 1-0 advantage over seven unites into the first.
- After Liam Pecararo served a minor penalty, the Swamp Rabbits forward jumped out of the box and collected a puck in center ice to bust into the Cyclones end and beat Sean Bonar to tie the game. Pecararo would score again 1:24 into the middle period on the power play to make it 2-1 with his 12th goal of the season.
- The Cyclones found their answer under five minutes into the third period. Justin Vaive flipped a backhand shot on Lethemon, where the goaltender stopped the puck, only to push it toward the blue line where Johnny Coughlin found it and shot home his fourth goal of the year to tie the game and eventually force overtime.
- Both teams exchanged a flurry of chances in the extra session, with the most notable being Dajon Mingo's breakaway, as the Cyclones defenseman skated from center ice down to the crease of Lethemon with less than 10 seconds to play. Lethemon extended his left leg to deny Mingo with just 1.8 seconds remaining.
- The three round shootout saw no goals from either side through the first two rounds. In the final round, Greenville sent Pecararo to the center ice dot, only for the team's leading scorer to be denied by Bonar in-tight. Patrick Polino was given the chance for the Cyclones in round three. The rookie forward peeled right before going through the five hole of Lethemon for the game-winning-goal.
Cincinnati will open 2022 with Throwback Weekend, starting next Friday against the Fort Wayne Komets.
Stay tuned all season for updates on important events, player signings, promotion and ticketing information and MORE! Call (513) 421-PUCK for tickets and more information, and stay on top of all the latest team updates and information on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram, along with our website, www.cycloneshockey.com!
