Cincinnati scored five times in the second period Sunday evening in Toledo en route to a 6-4 win for the team's first victory of 2023.
The Cyclones are 18-6-3-2 with 41 points, occupying the second seed in the Central Division, while Toledo falls to 14-13-4-1, holding onto fourth in the division.
- Josh Passolt (10) continues to succeed whenever he faces a Walleye goaltender, burying his sixth of the season against Toledo on a pass from Phil Lagunov 14:52 into the first. Lagunov corralled a puck through center and carried it into the zone behind the net of John Lethemon, before turning and finding Passolt on top of the crease for the game's first goal.
- No time was wasted in the second period, with Cincinnati chasing Lethemon from his crease by scoring three times in a two-minute span. Louie Caporusso (13) kicked things off 1:48 into the period, angling the puck by Lethemon in front, while Zack Andrusiak (10) blasted a wrist shot over the Walleye goalie's shoulders before Passolt (11) found the back of the net again 3:48 into the second, giving the 'Clones a 4-0 edge.
- Lethemon was pulled in favor of Sebastian Cossa, who proceeded to give up two goals on eight shots in the second. Patrick Polino (7) slammed a one-timer past Cossa's glove after getting a pass dropped back to him by Matt McLeod at the 13:35 mark of the period.
- Matt Berry (7) earned his first goal against his former team this season on a buzzer-beater ahead of the third period. In the final second of period two, Berry drove the net and swatted the puck in off a feed from Jalen Smereck during a Cyclones power play, making it 6-0.
- Toledo outshot the Cyclones 15-3 in the final period and took a game from being out of reach into a close affair. Trenton Bliss ended the shutout bid of Beck Warm by redirecting a shot 4:02 into the third, before Brandon Hawkins went through the five hole and Gordie Green followed with a net-front drive, getting Toledo three goals in a 4:01 span. Hawkins scored again during a six-on-three sequence late in the third to make it 6-4, but Cincinnati held on to pull out of Toledo with the win.
- Beck Warm made 30 saves for the win, while Cossa ended up with the loss, making nine saves on 11 shots in his relief appearance.
- The scene shifts, but the opponent remains the same come Wednesday night when Cincinnati welcomes Toledo to Heritage Bank Center for a rematch.
