Cyclone still experiencing ups and downs

CINCINNATI, OHIO – Home ice was not kind to the Cyclones at the beginning of December, losing three of five, with two of those to a streaking Florida Everblades squad. The wins came on the road over Trenton and Toledo respectively. The set of losses to Florida came on successive nights at home in front of a supportive crowd.   The ‘Clones scored first in each contest, but fell behind after allowing the Everblades to respond with unanswered tallies of their own.   The power play was anemic and the penalty kill unit overworked, as the Cyclones took too many penalties on each night. Some of the pugilism witnessed was unnecessary and resulted in Florida scoring tying or go ahead goals. Fortunately no game misconducts were meted on these nights, though the refereeing was somewhat suspect at intervals. Missed calls hurt the home team dearly in the second game especially, a 5-3 loss.   For the third game in three days over the weekend the team traveled north to face their Interstate 75 rival in Toledo.   The Sunday matinee proved to be a tough game, as the Walleye looked to lift themselves off their divisions cellar floor. Once again, rookie net minder Marc Cheverie carried the load as tandem partner Chet Pickard had been recalled to AHL Milwaukee due to an injury in NHL Nashville to Peca Rinne. His call-up meant that broadcaster Nick Brunker suited up for a morning skate on Friday (he’s a former high school goalie) to give the team two practice net minders. Nick did fairly well according to coach Jarrod Skalde, who regaled the press room with the story prior to Friday night’s game.   The Sunday tilt with Toledo began with the usual animosity between the two clubs. The ‘Clones came from behind to tie the game at two apiece, and then Dustin Sproat tallied his game winner late in the third period to the chagrin of the Toledo fans.   Sproat has contributed well to the Cyclones offense since his return from Nottingham of the EPL. The defense played relatively well this game and overall the team didn’t take any dumb penalties to sabotage the cause.   Next up was Tuesday night against the Bakersfield Condors from the Western Conference. This was an all out effort that saw the Cyclones score first, middle and last. The power play came alive for two goals and the penalty kill unit did not allow Bakersfield a single tally on the night.   The defense was solid in front of Marc Cheverie, who made twenty-seven saves for the contest. The offense scored three even strength goals, to augment the power play tallies. Tempers flared in each of the three periods of this rather chippy tilt resulting in fighting majors to members of both squads and one game misconduct penalty to Bakersfield.   In the end, the ‘Clones scored five unanswered goals while producing a shutout defensively.  The breakout at the expense of the visitors from California, delighted the fans who had ventured out on this very frigid night in the Queen City. In spite of the two power play scores the unit looked disorganized at times as it has most of this young season. Dump and chase ruled the effort mostly and some wasted time was spent recovering the puck in the Cyclones end. There were few defensive zone turnovers, a major improvement over the Florida contests, and the offense was aggressive in getting the biscuit deep into Condors territory.   The win boosted the Cyclones point total and evened up the past six contests at three up and three down. A two-game win streak followed two losses with another match against Toledo on Friday night at US Bank Arena gives the club a chance for redemption after last weekend.   Friday is Santa Bobblehead Night for the first 2500 fans through the US Bank Arena doors and should be a tilt worth seeing live.   The Cyclones are coming along in fine fashion, if not setting the division afire yet. The fans can look back at this juncture and see how far the club has come even though seeing the need for consistent improvement. It will be consistency that the club needs in order to master the North division as the other clubs are in solid stead for the most part.  The up and down nature of the Cyclones efforts lately means that a .500 club will sink in the standings as the season progresses. Already behind the conference leaders, the Cyclones must shore up their win totals to add points as the time goes by. Points gained in December surely will be valuable in the coming months of tough competition as the season grinds on.   Contact the writer/photographer at Rob.Huelsman@prohockeynews.com