A three goal first period led the way to the Cyclones getting back in the win column, grounding the Kalamazoo Wings on the road by a 6-2 final Sunday evening.
Cincinnati owns 21 wins on the season and have 48 points through 35 games (21-8-4-2). Their win ends a three game win streak for the Wings, who fall to 17-17-3-0.
- Justin Vaive was adamant after Friday's loss that the Cyclones had to come out ready to play Sunday afternoon, and the captain led that charge scoring 3:29 into the game with his 16th of the season. Vaive caught a rebound of a shot from Zack Andrusiak and tucked it by Kalamazoo's Pavel Cajan.
- Andrusiak (11) and Lincoln Griffin (13) padded the lead to 3-0 before the end of the first, scoring 1:48 apart late in the frame. Andrusiak's 11th goal in the last 14 games came as he slid a puck underneath Cajan on the right side of the goal. Shortly after, Griffin went to the front of the goal to catch a pass lobbed toward the net by Kohen Olischefski. This marked the second consecutive game in Kalamazoo that Cincinnati scored three goals in the opening period.
- Brandon Saigeon got Kalamazoo on the board early in the second by stealing a puck from Beck Warm behind his net to wraparound into the empty goal, making it 3-1. Warm played a big role in the second, stopping 15 shots in the period and eventually allowing Cincinnati to regain the three goal lead. Kohen Olischefski (3) netted a hard-working goal 12:18 into the frame, getting a second bounce in front to lift a puck over a falling Cajan for the 4-1 Cyclones lead.
- Mark Sinclair came in to start the third for the Cyclones and made 11 saves on 12 shots, being beat once by Leif Mattson late in the period. Prior to that, Cincy scored twice in 41 seconds, with Josh Passolt (14) slamming a one-timer by Cajan thanks to a feed from Matt McLeod. Moments later, Phil Lagunov was penalized for high-sticking, giving the Wings their only power play of the night. Down by four, Kalamazoo elected to take a risk, pulling their goalie for a two-man advantage on the power play with 14 minutes left. The gamble immediately backfired, as Jalen Smereck (3) ripped a puck the length of the ice into the empty net, giving the Cyclones six goals en route to their 6-2 win.
- The Cyclones venture back to Cincinnati to begin a three game homestand against the Newfoundland Growlers Wednesday night.
