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jevers
Administrator
USA
1367 Posts |
 Posted - 11/09/2009 : 1:29:08 PM
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CYCLONES RETURN TO KALAMAZOO!
Cincinnati and K-Wings Renew Rivalry In A Different League
COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, the ECHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators, hit the road this weekend to play a pair of game at North Division leader, Kalamazoo. It will be the first meeting of the season between the teams. The games will be carried on the internet at www.cycloneshockey.com both nights. Faceoff for each game is 7:30pm.
HISTORY: While this will be the first 'official' meeting between the teams at the ECHL level, the Cyclones and K-Wings are not strangers to one another. Between 1992 and 2000, the teams were rivals in the International Hockey League (IHL) and both played inside the North and East Divisions. Cincinnati posted a 39-15-9 mark (.690 winning percentage) against the then AAA affiliate of the Dallas Stars. The last meeting between the teams at the IHL level was a 4-0 win for the K-Wings in Cincinnati on March 26, 2000. The last time the squads met in Kalamazoo was February 19, 2000--a 3-1 win for the Cyclones. Randy Petruk stopped 26 shots for the win and Todd Simon's third period power play marker was the game winner.
SEEING FAMILIAR FACES: Two former Cyclones players are currently with the Kalamazoo Wings. Veteran forward Sam Ftorek was one of the assistant captains of Chuck Weber's inaugural team in 2006-07 and holds the team record for empty net goals in a game (two). Ryan Nie, one of the goaltenders from last season's playoff run, is with Kalamazoo but has been loaned to the Portland Pirates (AHL).
ATTENDANCE ON THE WAY UP: The Cyclones drew 10,920 fans for the 'Throwback Night' game on Friday. That increases the club's season total to 17,666 fans through the turnstiles, an average of 5889 per game. Cincinnati currently ranks third in the ECHL in average attendance, behind Stockton (7096) and Toledo (6466). The club has never finished higher than twelfth in attendance.
MORE ATTENDANCE: The 10,920 on Friday marked the first time since November 7, 1998 that a crowd in excess of 10,000 attended a pro hockey game at U.S. Bank Arena prior to January 1 of a calendar year. That night, the IHL Cyclones defeated the Las Vegas Thunder, 8-3. The 10,920 was the second-largest regular season crowd in team history and the third-largest overall.
ABOUT THURSDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones spotted Johnstown a 3-0 first period and battled back to drop a 4-3 decision. It was just the third loss to Johnstown in the previous 16 games. Bryan Leitch, Mark O'Leary and Matt Pierce all lit the lamp for Cincinnati, while Jeremy Smith was tagged with the loss despite turning aside 26 shots.
ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones knocked off Toledo, 5-2. Cincinnati broke a two-all deadlock with three third period goals to put the game away. Dustin Sproat paced the offense with a goal and an assist, while Jimmy Kilpatrick added a pair of assists in the triumph. Robert Mayer collected the victory in goal with 20 shots for his second triumph of the campaign.
ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones played their first-ever game at Lucas County Arena and dropped a 6-5 verdict at Toledo. After spotting the Walleye a 2-0 lead, Cincinnati rallied to tie the game three different times but could never grab the lead. Dustin Sproat had a pair of goals and Reid Cashman handed out four assists in the loss.
WE DON'T DO OVERTIME MUCH...: The Cyclones are the only team in the American Conference of the ECHL not to have gone into overtime yet this season. Cincinnati has had important overtime games in its most recent extra sessions--but none have occurred yet in 2009-10.
...BUT WHEN WE DO THEY ARE CLASSICS!: The last time the Cyclones went into overtime was April 25 of last season, the second game of the best of seven series with Elmira in the North Division Finals. Trailing 4-1 with three and a half minutes to play in the second period, Mac Faulkner finished off his hat trick with a pair of goals to set up Dustin Sproat's power play goal with 2:08 to play to force an extra session. Jimmy Kilpatrick's goal 1:46 into the bonus time sent the Cyclones on to a four game sweep of the Jackals. Five days earlier (April 20), in game seven of the North Division Semifinals, Matt Syroczynski netted a score 3:48 into double overtime to advance the squad. The last time Cincinnati played a regular season overtime contest was April 3 of last season--a 4-3 win over Johnstown that kept the Chiefs out of the Kelly Cup playoffs.
DOESN'T HAPPEN OFTEN: The Cyclones played Friday and Saturday's games with the exact same lineup. It is the first time this season that this strange feat has occurred and the first time since March 19 and 21 of last season that the same 18 dressed for back to back games. That is fourteen games between matching lineups.
CASH-ING IN: Cyclones defenseman Reid Cashman ranks second among defensemen in the ECHL in scoring with ten points (1-9-10). He also ranks second among rearguards with nine assists and is second with seven points on the power play. His four assists in the 6-5 loss at Toledo on Saturday marked the first time a Cyclones player had four assists in a game since T.J. McElroy did it in a 10-4 win over Wheeling on January 14, 2009.
NEW FACES: The Cyclones have added several new faces in the last couple of days. Defenseman Brett Motherwell was signed by the club on November 2. Motherwell played last season for four games with Providence (AHL) before heading off to join Graz EC in the Austrian League. The club acquired veteran forward Adam Henrich on November 4 in a trade with Ontario that sent defenseman Jon Landry in return.
MORE HENRICH: Forward Adam Henrich is a sixth-year forward who has accumulated 109 games at the ECHL level, netting 50 goals and 57 assists for 107 points. Included in those totals are 31 multiple point games. Henrich already has a four-point and a three-point game with Ontario this season. The second round draft pick (#60 overall) of Tampa Bay in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft played parts of four seasons with Johnstown.
ALL'S NOT SO QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT...: There have been eleven goals scored at U.S. Bank Arena thus far this season, with nine of the scores coming in the west end (the end the Cyclones defend in the first and third periods).
NO GOAL PATROL STILL SOLID: The Cyclones penalty kill unit leads the ECHL in penalty killing at 92.3 percent--surrendering just three man-disadvantage goals this year. Last season, Cincinnati ranked 19th in the ECHL on the penalty kill--stopping just 79.9 percent of the shorthanded situations.
POWER PLAY TURNING AROUND: Cincinnati's power play unit ranks sixth in the ECHL in man advantage percentage at 20.8 percent (ten-of-46). Over the past four games, the Cyclones are cashing in on the power play 34.8 percent of the time (eight of 23).
TURNING UP THE JUICE!: The Cyclones power play unit has excelled against North Division competition, registering a 31.0 percent efficiency (nine of 29). Cincinnati has five goals against Wheeling and four versus Toledo. The Cyclones get their first cracks at Kalamazoo this weekend.
CINCINNATI--THE AHL'S FAVORITE CITY: The Cyclones have had five players spend time in the American Hockey League this season. Those players already have eleven games at the AAA level. The Cyclones, who used a club record 59 players in 2008-09, have already used 27 players in the first nine games of the year. The club currently is on pace to use 90 players in 2009-10.
HOMER CARRIES THE GAMES: The broadcast of each and every one of the 72 regular season Cyclones games can be found on the club's website at: www.cycloneshockey.com. Up to 17 selected Friday night games can be heard on 1530-AM Homer 'The Sports Animal' with a special half hour pregame show prior to each broadcast. The next game on the 50,000 watt juggernaut will occur on Friday, November 20 with a 7pm faceoff at Toledo.
DON'T ANSWER THE PHONE!: Friday nights postgame have become an ominous event for Cyclones Head Coach Chuck Weber. For three straight weeks to begin the year, a Cincinnati player was dispatched to the American Hockey League on a Friday. October 16, Kevin Roeder was loaned to Syracuse, Jason Jozsa was recalled by Milwaukee on October 23 and Hans Benson was loaned to Portland on October 30.
COORS LIGHT CYCLONES COACHES SHOW: The weekly Coors Light Cyclones Coaches Show gets started next Monday (Oct., 12) 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. Tonight (Nov. 9), the guests will be Jimmy Kilpatrick and Dustin Sproat.
http://tinyurl.com/ybctyhd
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