Cincinnati, Ohio - The Cincinnati Cyclones picked up their first victory of the season, defeating the Bloomington Bison, 2-1, on Friday night. Highlighted by a 34-save performance from goaltender Pavel Cajan and a two-point showing from Kyle Bollers, the Cyclones opened their three-game weekend with a win.
- Physicality would be a trend all night, but it started early with Steven MacLean and Max Neill squaring off in a fight just over three minutes into the game.
- Bloomington opened up the scoring at the 7:02 mark of the opening period. Forward Brett Budgell beat Cajan short side on the glove hand to give the Bison a lead in the first.
- Nearly five minutes later, Cincinnati would fight back with one of their own. Forward Kyle Bollers would receive a pass from Mathieu Gosselin and streak into the offensive zone. Bollers fired one on net, but Hugo Ollas couldn’t control it and kicked it into his own net. Bollers recorded his second goal of the season.
- Cajan would remain tough, making 16 saves in the first period to keep the score at 1-1 heading into the first intermission.
- In a back and forth second period, Bollers intercepted a pass in the high slot of the Cyclones zone and carried it through the neutral zone with pace. After entering the zone, Bollers found a streaking Gosselin who fired one high blocker side to give Cincinnati a 2-1 lead.
- Cajan would again slam the door shut, recording a notable save in the late stages of the period to keep the score at 2-1 heading into the second intermission.
- Both teams would record seven shots on goal in the final period, and serve two penalties each as well. The score would remain 2-1 despite a late push from Bloomington. One final clearance from Cincinnati would give the Cyclones their first win of the season.
- The Cyclones are now 1-6-3-0 this season following their victory on home ice.
The Cyclones continue their busy three-game weekend on Saturday, Nov. 16 in the second of a home-home series against the Bison. Saturday’s away game will start at 8 p.m. ET at Grossinger Motors Arena in Bloomington, Ill.
Call (513) 421-PUCK for tickets and more information to stay on top of all the latest team updates and information on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram, along with our website, www.cycloneshockey.com.
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