Cincinnati, Ohio - The Cincinnati Cyclones collected a hard-fought point but fell to the Iowa Heartlanders, 4-3 in overtime on Friday night. Despite goals in back-to-back games for Dante Sheriff and Lincoln Griffin, Iowa defeated the Cyclones at Heritage Bank Center.
- The Heartlanders would score first a little over six minutes into the contest. Forward Ryan Miotto found the back of the net when he backhanded a shot in the slot, giving the Hearltnaders a 1-0 lead.
- A little over five minutes later, forward Marko Sikic scored the equalizer on a redirected goal for the Cyclones. Forward Remy Parker won the face-off in the Cyclones offensive zone and passed the puck back to defenseman Elijah Vilio. Vilio then flung the puck towards the net. Sikic, in a good position, redirected the shot and scored.
- The Cyclones would capitalize on a five-minute power play a minute into the second period. Dante Sheriff scored his ninth of the season, with goals in back-to-back games, giving the Cyclones a 2-1 lead.
- With 11:15 left to go in the second period, the Heartlanders tied the game 2-2. Forward T.J. Walsh recovered the puck near the Cyclones net and passed it to forward Yuki Miura. The Iowa captain shot and scored to record his 16th goal of the season.
- The third lead change of the game came off a Cyclones shorthanded goal with just under six minutes left to go in the second period. Forward Lincoln Griffin snapped a quick wrist shot to beat the Heartlanders goalie William Rousseau.
- Griffin, coming off a two-goal performance in the previous win over Toledo, scored his 16th goal of the season. Defenseman Rhett Parsons recorded an assist on the goal that gave the Cyclones a 3-2 lead going into the final period. That marks yet another shorthanded goal for Griffin against the Heartlanders.
- With just under six minutes left to play in the third period, defenseman Kyle Masters scored and tied the game for the Heartlanders. Masters received the puck coming off the boards and wristed a shot to the net to score.
- Cincinnati would score late, but the goal was disallowed. The late call forced overtime, where another call from the officials went against Cincinnati and led to an Iowa power play. Masters would score in OT on the power play to give Iowa the extra point.
The Cyclones will once again welcome the Toledo Walleye to Heritage Bank Center a week from tonight on Friday night. The first 3,000 fans will receive a Cyclones Hat. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:35 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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