The anticipation that the home team could raise the Kelly Cup on Thursday night was hyped on television and radio stations around the
Cincinnati region. The chippiness that has developed over the series seemed to be increasing as the series progresses. However it never erupted past the pushing, shoving and jawing level as the 12,722 rowdy Cincinnati fans egged their team on.
photo by Rob Huelsman
The Cincinnati fans had waited 35 years for another hockey jewel for the Queen City ’s crown. The last championship in the city had been eighteen years ago when the baseball Reds won the World Series. After such a long delay the ‘Cincy fans were hungry for any championship.
Cincinnati Coach Chuck Weber tweaked the ‘Clones lines in Game 5 and the team responded with four unanswered goals and a decisive win. Las Vegas faced an uphill battle as these Cyclones have lost very few games at home this year. The first period opened with the teams probing for
defensive lapses and forcing turnovers in the neutral zone. Las Vegas had several furious opportunities but Cyclones netminder Cedrick Desjardins managed to keep all of them out of his basket. Finally offensive help for Desjardins came in the form of teammate J.M. Daoust who beat an out-of-position Kevin Lalande at 15:58. The Wranglers continued to agitate but the home team wasn’t biting on the bait.
photo by Rob Huelsman
The second stanza opened with more disciplined rushes and more set plays executed in an attempt to get a rhythm going and even the score. The desperation showed for Las Vegas and at 18:39 Adam Cracknell ended Desjardins spell and broke the Cyclones goaltender’s shutout streak at 132:25. The goal was scored when Cracknell shot a puck over the
sprawled Cyclones goalie into the top of the net. Jason Krischuk and Chris Ferraro assisted on the tally. The score was a five-on-three power play goal and Desjardins could hardly be totally responsible on that account.
photo by Rob Huelsman
After tying the game Las Vegas managed to shoot themselves in the foot before the end of the period with Gerry Burke taking a high sticking minor at 19:41.
The final period began with the ‘Clones on the power play and true-to-form they capitalized when the puck was fed to Matt Syroczynski outside the crease to Lalande’s left. The Cincinnati winger wound up and buried a shot into the back of the net just 35 seconds into the third. The goal would eventually be the Kelly Cup clinching goal for the Cyclones as Vegas never scored again. Cyclones defenseman Jon Gleed added an insurance goal at 6:33 assisted by Ryan Russell and Daoust to complete the scoring for the series.
“We had a power play to start the third, Las Vegas had just scored, so we wanted to get momentum right away,” said Syroczynski. “Matt MacDonald shot the puck, I got the original tip and the rebound came right to me and I put it in the open net.”
The remainder of the third period saw the visitors franticly try to pick up two more goals to force overtime. Those scores would never come as the Cincinnati defense strangled and suffocated the high-powered Wranglers offense. When actually tested, Desjardins again and again made stellar saves at point blank range to preserve the championship for the hometown team.
In the end Las Vegas was overpowered by this magical Cyclones squad. From the opening night against rival Dayton through the trials of the regular season these gentlemen never gave up and came from behind when needed to without panic. This team was cobbled together at times during the year, yet still continued toward the goal unabated.
“It’s such a grind,” said Cincinnati ’s Scott Reynolds. “Four long series, its unbelievable. When you lose (just) twelve games in the regular season you must be doing something right. It’s a great run, I’m glad the seasons over. I’ve never played hockey in June before-it’s time for baseball I think.”
The win was a tribute to coach Weber and assistant coach Dean Stork who had kept the winds howling and have perpetrated mayhem on division rivals. The path through the playoffs has been strewn with cuts, bruises and “undisclosed” injuries to teammate and foe alike. Cincinnati demoralized teams they had never faced during the season more than once in this Kelly Cup run. Las Vegas was a worthy foe, this is for sure
and the skill and talent when two number one seeds met in the Finals was amazing to watch as the games unfolded.
Photo by Jerry Gallegos
“Everything we did in the regular season earning home ice advantage paid off for us in the Finals,” said Weber. “We did it with guys who were in and out of the lineup, everyone stepped up at different times, and that was key for us, (everyone) contributed to our success.”
At the end of the game Desjardins was awarded the playoff MVP for his role in backstopping the Cyclones to the title. The Cyclones Chad Starling received the Kelly Cup from the commissioner and began skating with the hardware to the delight of the home crowd. In the end it turned out to be a memorable and exciting twentieth anniversary season for the ECHL and Cyclones fans everywhere.
“We knew we needed a good effort defensively to beat a team like ( Las Vegas ),” said Desjardins. “We didn’t want to give them a chance we shut down their offense a couple of games. The five-on-three goal we weren’t perfect…so (overall) we’re pretty proud right now.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.