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jevers
Administrator
USA
1367 Posts |
 Posted - 10/26/2009 : 3:15:14 PM
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CYCLONES RUN WINNING STREAK TO THREE
Team Hits The Road For Pair of Games This Week
COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, the ECHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators, return to the road for a pair of games this week. Friday night (Oct. 30), the Cyclones head to Elmira for a 7:30pm clash. The Jackals are the only team to defeat Cincinnati this season. Saturday (Oct. 31) the club is at Wheeling for a 7:30pm tilt.
CHECKING OUT THE GAME: Friday's game (October 30) at Elmira will be carried on 1530-AM Homer - The Sports Animal. A special Coors Light Cyclones Coaches Show will be edited into a pregame format and the drop of the puck is at 7:30pm. Saturday's game (at Wheeling on Halloween Night)--like all 72 regular season games--will be carried on the club's website at www.cycloneshockey.com.
CIRCLE THOSE DATES!: The Cyclones battle both teams they faced during the North Division playoffs series last year during the weekend. Elmira was swept by the club in the Division Finals series, but gained a measure of revenge with the season opening win on Oct. 16. Cincinnati knocked off Wheeling in seven games in the Division Semifinals. The Cyclones have defeated the Nailers twice already this year. The club is at Elmira Friday and at Wheeling on Saturday.
ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones used a goal and an assist from Matt Pierce, a pair of goals from Chris Mueller and an 18 save performance from Jeremy Smith to claim a 3-1 win over Wheeling in the home opener.
PACKING THEM IN...: The Cyclones attracted 5086 to the home opener and the North Division banner raising ceremony. It was almost identical in size to last season (5183) when the club raised multiple banners celebrating the Kelly Cup championship. Cincinnati averaged 3104 for the season, an increase of 23.1 percent over 2008-09--second-best in minor pro hockey.
ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: Rookie Mark Voakes netted the first three goals of his pro career and the Cyclones smacked Wheeling, 5-2 at WesBanco Arena. Chris Mueller tallied a goal and an assist as twelve different players popped up on the scoresheet. Rookie goaltender Jeremy Smith kicked aside 18 shots in taking the victory.
EXTRA SPECIAL TEAMS: The Cyclones power play and penalty kill units have sprung to life in the early portion of the season. The penalty kill squad is a perfect 16-for-16 eliminating shorthanded situations--the last team in the league to not yield a power play goal. The 'No Goal Patrol' has even chipped in with a pair of shorthanded goals to tie for the league lead. The power play unit ranks 14th in the ECHL at ten percent. Last year, the Cincinnati penalty kill finished 19th in the league at 79.9 percent.
SMITH ENJOYING START: Rookie goaltender Jeremy Smith leads the ECHL in wins (three), is third in goals against average (1.00) and fifth in save percentage (.952). He is also tied for the league lead with a shutout. Smith is a second round draft pick of the Nashville Predators (#54 overall) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.
MORE SMITH: The first three games of Jeremy Smith's career have come against some pretty good competition. The three opposing goaltenders to begin his career have: two NHL wins (Adam Berkhoel), two ECHL All-Star Game appearances (Berkhoel, Kris Mayotte), 160 professional wins, 82 ECHL wins and 54 AHL wins.
VOAKES MARKS THEM UP ONE, TWO, THREE: Rookie center Mark Voakes scored his first three professional goals Friday night in the 5-2 win at Wheeling. Voakes scored in each of the three periods and his second frame marker proved to be the game winner. Mark is third among all ECHL first year players with five points. He is second among newcomers in goals scored (three), second in plus/minus (+6) and fourth in shooting percentage (27.6 percent).
DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE!: Friday nights postgame are becoming an ominous event for Cyclones Head Coach Chuck Weber. For the second straight week, following a Friday contest, a Cincinnati player has been dispatched to the American Hockey League. October 16, Kevin Roeder was loaned to Syracuse and after Friday night's game, Jason Jozsa was recalled by Milwaukee. The club is at Elmira this Friday night.
BEYOND THE NUMBERS: The Cyclones took their third win of the season Saturday night, last year the third triumph did not come until the eighth game (a 7-3 win over Reading) on November 5...The last time Cincinnati started 3-1 was the 2006-07 campaign, following a 3-1 win at Johnstown on October 28, 2006...Friday night's win marked the seventh time in team history that the club has started a season 2-1...Only three times in club annals has the club started a campaign 3-1...The club has started a season 4-1 one other time--in 2001-02, the first season the club was in Cincinnati.
COORS LIGHT CYCLONES COACHES SHOW: The weekly Coors Light Cyclones Coaches Show gets started tonight (Oct., 26) at 7pm from Jefferson Hall at Newport on the Levee. Head Coach Chuck Weber is on hand to discuss what is happening with the Cyclones and to answer questions about the game of hockey at all levels. Hosting the show this season is 1530-AM The Sports Animal's Nick Brunker. Cyclones players Chris Mueller and Mike McLean will be the special guests.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Cyclones already have a pair of road wins this season. Cincinnati is one of seven teams already with at least two away triumphs in the early going. The club led the ECHL in road victories in 2008-09 with 22 in the regular season and then turned in a 5-2 slate during the playoffs. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, including the Kelly Cup playoffs, the Cyclones are 63-26-3 (.701 winning percentage) away from U.S. Bank Arena. The most wins and highest winning percentage of any ECHL squad over the same time frame.
NOT BAD AT WESBANCO!: During the 2009 calendar year, the Cyclones are a perfect 6-0 at WesBanco Arena--home of the Wheeling Nailers. The club won a pair of games last season in January, then claimed all three games in the thrilling North Division semifinals series during the Kelly Cup playoffs and took the win their last Saturday night. The six game win streak came after a stretch that saw the club go just 1-4 in the five games in the West Virginia rink before that.
CYCLONES VS. JACKALS: Cincinnati has a 14-6-2 mark all-time against Elmira, including a 4-3 slate during the regular season at First Arena.
STRANGE, BUT TRUE: This is the third season that Elmira has been a part of the ECHL. In each of those campaigns, the Jackals have defeated Cincinnati in the first meeting at Frist Arena--including this season. The Cyclones have rebounded by winning the second contest played in New York. Friday night's game (Oct. 30) will be the second trip to Elmira of the year.
BRING ON THE NAILERS!: The Cyclones have a 34-32-4 record versus Wheeling all-time and the clubs met in the opening round of the North Division playoffs in 2008-09. Cincinnati turned in a 5-6 mark again the Nailers in the regular season and after winning the regular season division title won the epic seven game struggle with a double overtime goal in the seventh game from Matt Syroczynski.
WEBER LEADING THEM AGAIN: The Cyclones will once again be led by Head Coach Chuck Weber. Now in his fourth season, Weber has compiled a 136-68-16 record (.655 winning percentage). Chuck led the Cyclones to the 2008 Kelly Cup championship--netting a club record 55 wins during the run. The 71 victories between the regular season and playoffs is also a club high water mark. The 133 wins in his first three seasons is the fourth-highest win total by an ECHL coach in his first three seasons--just five fewer than Dave Farrish had in his first three campaigns (138). Farrish also holds the mark for most wins in his first four seasons with 186.
DIVISIONAL ALIGNMENT: There are 20 teams in the ECHL this season, twelve in the American Conference and eight in the National Conference. The Cyclones are one of the teams in the American Conference, which is broken into three divisions each consisting of four teams. Cincinnati is in the North Division--which it has won in consecutive years--with Kalamazoo, Toledo and Wheeling. The East Division has Elmira, Johnstown, Reading and Trenton. The South Division is comprised of Charlotte, Florida, Gwinnett and South Carolina.
PLAYOFFS? WE'RE TALKING PLAYOFFS!: The American Conference will send its top eight teams to the Kelly Cup playoffs in April. The three division winners (East, North and South) will be seeded as the top three clubs, regardless of overall ranking in the conference. The next five highest point totals will be seeded fourth through eighth. The opening round of the playoffs will best a best-of-five. Matchups comprising teams within 350 miles of one another can play a two-two-one or alternating game series. Matchups over 350 miles in distance will have the higher seed deciding whether to play the first two or final games of the series on home ice. Starting with the Conference semifinals it becomes a best-of-seven matchup. The American and National Conferences meet in the Kelly Cup Finals during the end of May.
GOT THE TENT STAKES?: The Cyclones sent 18 players to American Hockey League camps during training sessions--the most of any team in the ECHL. Cincinnati has been a steady provider of players to the AHL over the past couple of seasons. A year ago, 16 players were recalled from the Queen City to AHL teams--including nine players that signed with the club. Over the past two campaigns, 40 players have been taken by the American Hockey League--including 18 that were signed initially by Chuck Weber.
ATTENDANCE KEEPS GROWING AND GROWING: Last season, the Cyclones enjoyed a 23 percent attendance growth--the second-largest in minor professional hockey. That came on the heels of a 36.8 percent increase to lead all of minor pro hockey in 2007-08. Cincinnati has the biggest percentage increase in attendance of any minor pro team since the end of the 2006-07 season at 68.3 percent.
PROMOTIONAL SCHEDULE SET: The 2009-10 season will be full of fun promotions for the family with the Cincinnati Cyclones. Starting with the Division Championship Banner being hung on opening night, there is a special every night on the schedule. Among the great events will be a pair of bobblehead giveaways, Throwback Night (wearing 1990s Cyclones jerseys), Salute to the Reds, Pink In The Rink, Military Night, four Kids Eat Free Nights, Kids Jersey T-Shirt Night and U.S. Bank Arena Fan Appreciation Night. The usual Wednesday and Thursday night beer specials will be in effect as well. For more information on these and all other great promotions, please visit the club's website at: www.cycloneshockey.com.
http://tinyurl.com/yjo85qh
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