Cincinnati's depth came through Sunday afternoon, as six different goal scorers contributed to a 6-5 win over the Atlanta Gladiators at Gas South Arena.
The Cyclones swept their three games in Georgia, outscoring Savannah and Atlanta by a combined 17-9 margin. With the win, Cincinnati is 27-12-5-2, and with 61 points they occupy second in the Central Division; just three points behind Indy.
- Patrick Polino (11) opened the scoring with his third goal in the last four games 6:51 into the first. The third-year pro entered the zone on a two-on-one with Lincoln Griffin, who shuffled the puck toward Polino on the right-wing side who slid it past Alex Sakellaropoulos to give Cincinnati the 1-0 lead.
- Atlanta responded just 17 seconds later when a turnover allowed Gabe Guertler to beat Beck Warm in-between the legs from the high slot. The Gladiators would get the lead before intermission when Sean Allen took a late penalty that Tim Davison capitalized on. With 1:57 left, the puck was flicked into the slot from behind Warm, where Davison stepped into a shot that found the net for a 2-1 Atlanta advantage.
- Justin Vaive (21) continued his successful trip to The Peach State, tying the game at two by slicing a backhand into the net at the 8:05 mark of the second. Lee Lapid (8) jumped into the lineup and onto the scoresheet for the first time this weekend at the 17:06 mark of the second, streaking down the right-wing side before picking a corner to beat Sakellaropoulos, putting the Cyclones up, 3-2. The lead lasted all of 11 seconds, as Noah Laaouan stole a puck and beat Beck Warm to send the game into the third period tied, 3-3.
- Josh Passolt (15) and Kohen Olischefski (4) got early third period goals for the 'Clones, beginning with Passolt driving the net on a feed from Olischefski 2:21 into the third. Cody Sylvester responded with a game-tying goal at the 4:12 mark, but Olischefski cranked a rebound by Sakellaropoulos 21 seconds later to put Cincinnati up, 5-4.
- Zach Berzolla (2) netted an empty-net goal with 1:19 left to make it 6-4. Sanghoon Shin would score moments later to allow Atlanta back within one, but Beck Warm bunkered down to finish the game with 34 saves and help the Cyclones complete the sweep via the 6-5 final.
- Seven of Cincinnati's next nine games come back home at Heritage Bank Center, beginning Wednesday on $2 beer night against Kalamazoo.
