A 4-0 start helped the Cyclones hang on to prevent a Fort Wayne rally, beating the Komets on the road Saturday, 7-5.
The 'Clones have won five of their last six games and have points in 10 of 11 games. They sit in a tie for first place in the Central Division with Toledo, owning a 29-12-5-3 record with 66 points.
- Cincinnati built itself a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the game, starting with Jalen Smereck (6) scoring on a right point shot that beat Ryan Fanti through traffic at the 3:12 mark. Kohen Olischefski scored his first of two goals in the period less than 90 seconds later when Matej Pekar slid the rookie center a pass to skate right in front of the goal, burying it by Fanti on the glove-side.
- Matt Berry (10) joined in on the fun 11:22 into the game when he struck from down-low due to the puck being worked there from Patrick Polino and Bray Crowder. The 'Clones capped the period off when Olischefski scored off a two-on-one rebound left out by Pekar at the 15:14 mark, giving Cincinnati a 4-0 edge.
- Mark Sinclair stood tall late in the first, as the Komets were afforded 1:47 of a five-on-three power play. He made 13 saves in the period and a season high-24 in the third.
- Tristian Pelletier got Fort Wayne on the board 6:53 into the second period, capitalizing on a turnover and converting after a cross-ice pass into the slot from Shawn Boudrias. The two teams traded goals later in the period, as Pekar (8) scored at the 11:59 mark when Matt Berry had a shot get blocked, but the puck then carried off a Komets defender and into the left-wing side, where Pekar found a puck and batted it into the net for the 5-1 advantage. With 2:06 remaining in the second, Mark Rassell got it back for the Komets on a power play goal in the low slot, making it a 5-2 game.
- The Komets scored three times in the third period, but Justin Vaive (23) remained hot and got the eventual game-winning-goal. After Matt Alvaro scored a power play goal 2:24 into the third to make it 5-3, Vaive scored in-between the legs of Fanti just 11 seconds later to again but Cincinnati up, 6-3. The captain collected a pass after Louie Caporusso entered the zone with the puck. Vaive fired a wrist shot that went under Fanti into the goal. The 33-year-old now has seven goals in his last five games.
- The Komets retaliated with another goal by Adam Brubacher midway through the third, then again when Adam Brubacher scored on a one-timer from the right circle during a five-on-three power play, making it 6-5. The score remained into the dying minutes of the game, when Caporusso was sent to the box,allowing Fort Wayne to pull the goalie and the Komets to get a six-on-four advantage. With 16 seconds remaining, Cincinnati intercepted a puck for Lee Lapid and Patrick Polino to skate down for an odd-man opportunity, ending with Polino slamming the empty net goal in, capping off a 7-5 win.
- The Cyclones are off until Wednesday night, when they return to home ice to take on the Norfolk Admirals.
