Atlanta, Ga. - The Cincinnati Cyclones defeated the Atlanta Gladiators, 4-2, to open up the back-to-back weekend series with a victory on the road. With the victory, the Cyclones won their fifth consecutive game, going 5-0-0-0 since entering the new year. Highlighting the victory was a two-goal performance from Braeden Kressler and a two-assist game from Steven MacLean.
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The Cyclones opened up the scoring less than five minutes into the game. Jacob Frasca kickstarted the play to MacLean. The big defenseman then advanced the puck into the offensive zone and passed it backdoor to Kressler. He would strike to open up the scoring at 1-0.
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Kressler now has goals in back-to-back games, and recorded his fifth of the season at the time he tallied the game's first goal.
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The Gladiators would equalize despite a strong start to the opening period from Cincinnati. Blake Murray would score on a breakaway to record his ninth of the season to make it 1-1 heading into the second period.
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Cincinnati would have a much more persistent attack in the middle period. Just a minute and ten seconds into the period, a feed from MacLean led Tristan Ashbrook into a partial breakaway. Ashbrook picked the low far corner to score his first since returning from the AHL to make it 2-1, Cyclones.
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The Cyclones would continue pressing. Cincinnati captain Justin Vaive was at the forefront of the attack. The longtime Cyclone played his best game of the season, creating chance after chance in the first two periods.
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Finally, the captain connected. A feed to the netfront from Adam Tisdale found his blade and he would score his second goal of the season to give Cincinnati a much needed insurance goal.
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With his goal, Vaive recorded his 149th career goal with the Cyclones. The Buffalo native is now one goal away from becoming the first Cyclone in team history to reach 150 goals with the franchise.
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The Cyclones would weather an Atlanta storm of offense in the third period. However, Randy Hernandez connected late in the third to make it 3-2. The game would get more interesting with only 2:24 remaining in regulation.
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Kressler went on to sacrifice the body, blocking a shot from the point and springing into action. The young forward would chase the loose puck, score on an empty net, and give Cincinnati a 4-2 victory.
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With the win, Cincinnati records yet another victory when leading after two periods. The Cyclones advance to 11-0-0-0 this season when holding the advantage after forty minutes. The Cyclones recorded their first five-game win streak since March 18, 2023, when they defeated the Iowa Heartlanders, 4-2, at Heritage Bank Center.
Cincinnati returns to Gas South Arena tomorrow night against the Gladiators to close out their road trip to the Peach State. Sunday’s game is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET and can be streamed on FloHockey and the Cyclones Radio Network.
Call (513) 421-PUCK for tickets and more information and 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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