Cyclones notebook: Too close for comfort

CINCINNATI, Ohio- The Cincy squad fell victim to their disastrous early March

road trip through the South. The six game set resulted in one win and led to the Cyclones falling out of the playoffs on the final day of the regular season.   The final week of the season resulted in three wins and one road loss to seal their fate. The Cyclones ended the season on a winning note by frying the Toledo Walleye in a Friday night contest and delivering the final blow to the now defunct Chicago Express on Saturday night.
 
The “win at home and lose on the road” pattern bedeviled the team for the majority of the campaign. Despite the general winning record the missed opportunity for making the post season rested solely on the inability to win just two more games on the road over the course of the months of December and March.
 
Fan dissatisfaction was evident as talk of the dislike for the coaching staff simmered most of this year’s campaign. It remains to be seen if the team ownership reflects similar feelings. Jarrod Skalde is a very likable person and has always been accessible to the media –win or lose.
 
Season’s end evaluation of the core areas of the team reveals some areas of delight and some concerns remain.
 
OFFENSE- The on again, off again scoring is a real area of concern. Some nights the squad was left searching for a goal at any cost. Also allowing the opponent to come back and score three or more unanswered goals usually ended in a Cyclones defeat. On the positive side of the puck are the nightswhen the offense was clicking and it didn’t matter whether the opposition had a six goal lead, the team found a way to come back and win. The POWER PLAY foundered for long intervals due to a dump and chase mentality and often suffered from too many passes and too few shots on goal.
 
DEFENSE- the defense was brilliant for most of the campaign but suffered lapses at critical times leaving the netminders on their own. Then there were the mental mistakes that leave one scratching the head wondering if the failure to clear rebounds was due to inexperience or lack of partner playing time. The PENALTY KILL unit was stellar and produced shorthanded tallies at crucial junctures.
 
GOALTENDING-Generally the play between the pipes was great. Exceptions were those times when the netminders played through injuries or failed to receive enough offensive support to secure a win.
 
INTANGIBLES-team chemistry was good and few rumors of locker room discord surfaced this season. Sixty or so call-ups to the AHL and NHL can play havoc on team unity. The Cyclones suffered through injuries to critical players and at inopportune times.
 
This was a season the Clones showed both promise and despair in equal measure by winning at home and inexplicably losing on the road against the same divisional foes. Troubling as this was the team will need to solve some issues before next season and find answers to the questions of offensive production on a consistent basis. The power play needs revamping in philosophy if not in execution as well. The defense was fairly consistent and only needs tweaking a bit. Goaltending was solid and consistent except in times of call-up.





 
Submitted by Rob.Huelsman @prohockeynews.com Photos by Rob Huelsman and Jake Murray