Four goals in a 4:10 span during the third period helped the Cyclones complete a rally in their home opener, topping the Iowa Heartlanders 5-2 in front of 6,427 fans inside Heritage Bank Center Saturday night.
- Iowa got out to a 2-0 lead following a power play goal late in the first from rookie Kevin Conley and a second period breakaway by fellow first year pro, Tommy Parrottino. Iowa's first goal ended a stretch of 196:17 that the Cyclones had not fallen behind in a game. It is the longest stretch of time without trailing to start a season in franchise history.
- The Cyclones responded past the midway point of period two. While on a power play, Jalen Smereck shot a puck from the deep slot that was collected by Justin Vaive. The Cyclones captain turned and tucked the puck underneath Connor O'Brien to cut the deficit in half.
- After killing a penalty to start the third, the Cyclones opened the floodgates in their rally cry, beginning with a game-tying redirection from Matt Berry. The elite forward got his stick on a knuckling puck shot by Sean Allen that went five hole to knot the game at two.
- Louie Caporusso gave the Cyclones their go-ahead goal after being sent on a breakaway by Berry. Caporusso's initial shot was stopped, but the veteran center collected his rebound to slam into the goal.
- Arvin Atwal's first goal as a Cyclone since 2019 came just 18 seconds after Caporusso, as the defenseman planted himself in front of the net to get a pass from Emmett Sproule to make it 4-2.
- A power play tally by Lincoln Griffin put the game on ice when a one-timer from the right circle was blasted by O'Brien, making it 5-2 Cincinnati.
- Beck Warm was excellent in goal again for Cincinnati, stopping 30 of 32 shots. He has stopped 100 of 105 shots faced so far this season.
- The 'Clones look to go 5-0 on the new year with a Tuesday morning game against the Fort Wayne Komets. Puck drop is scheduled for 10:30am at Heritage Bank Center.
