Cyclones up and down in New Year

CINCINNATI, Ohio- The Cyclones continue the roller coaster like ride into

the New Year and make trades to shore up the offense. Coach Jarrod Skalde sends Evan Trupp and Ryan Annesley to the Bakersfield Condors in exchange for Centerman Matt Siska and future considerations.
 
The club is short on true centers and Siska fills a hole in the roster as well as adding scoring punch. He has 27 points (19 assists, 8 goals) in 34 games in this, his rookie season.
 
According to Coach Skalde, “He’s one of the top rookies in the league and (we) want to ease him in, tonight he made some nice plays and had an assist tonight , he will have some more opportunities tomorrow in his third game. We traded for him for a reason-we need a centerman who can distribute pucks and we’re going to need him.”
 
The power play continues to be of concern.
 
“It’s a challenge right now we’re just not getting pucks to the net. We are stressing it right now, using different personnel groups, it’s been tough. We’ve been through a five game stretch where we’ve struggled and it’s such an important part of the game,” Skalde said.
 
“The penalty kill unit has had to carry a big load as well in recent games,” Skalde added. ”We need to get those two units going.”
 
Recent changes throughout the lineup have caused havoc due to call ups and this has even affected the goaltending situation. Brian Foster was recalled by parent club Florida while Chet Pickard remained on the injured list leaving the club with no back up net minder.
 
Broadcaster Nick Brunker, a former goalie, was pressed into service to fill that role until Pickard was healthy and returned to the lineup.
 
Skalde said of Chet, “It’s important that we got him back for tonights’ game. After the loss last night it’s important to go back to him because he’s our guy.”
 
Brad Fogel has been in net during this recent period.
 
“We’re going to need Brad, we’ve got so many games coming up and we’re not going to see anyone from (our parent clubs) for awhile and we’re going to need Brad to come in and do a job for us,” Skalde said.
 
This has led to the up and down performance by the team in recent weeks. So much a part of a winning squad is the stability and cohesiveness that a regular lineup brings and the Cyclones haven’t had that this season so far.
 
With a locker room in constant flux it is difficult at best to meld the team chemistry for a consistently winning squad in a tough, competitive division such as the ECHL North.     
  Contact Rob.Huelsman@prohockeynews.com