CINCINNATI, OH- The Cincinnati Cyclones (20-21-4-0) earned a 5-2 win over the Indy Fuel on Friday night. Forwards Dylan Nowakowski, Shane Walsh, Seth Ambroz, and Brandon McNally, along with defenseman Jonathan Diaby tallied the goals for the Cyclones, who have now won two in a row.
Cincinnati rushed out of the gate in this one, as just 4:51 into the opening period Walsh threw a shot towards the net from the left point that was redirected into the net by Nowakowski, putting the Cyclones ahead, 1-0.
That lead became 2-0 at the 8:17 mark of the frame, as forward Jordan Sims threw a pass from behind the net to Walsh at the bottom of the right circle, and he snapped a shot past Indy netminder Jake Hildebrand for his 12th goal of the season.
Cincinnati continued to fire on all cylinders and tacked on another 45 seconds later when forward Nick Huard brought the puck down the right side on a 3-on-1 rush, and he sent a cross-ice pass to Ambroz who tapped it in on the back door to put the Cyclones ahead, 3-0.
The Cyclones closed out their monster period with a little less than 10 minutes to play when forward Shawn O’Donnell forced a turnover behind the net and fed McNally out in the slot, and he fired it past Hildebrand to give Cincinnati a 4-0 lead after 20 minutes.
After a scoreless second period, the Fuel got on the board early in the third when Tyler Barnes found the back to the net to break up the shutout and pull Indy to within three at 4-1 2:52 into the frame.
The momentum for the Fuel did not last long, as 14 seconds later Diaby took a loose puck at the left point and hammered a slapshot that beat Hildebrand, putting Cincinnati up 5-1.
The Fuel tacked on one more late in the frame from forward Adam Phillips on the power play, however that was all the offense they were able to muster, and Cincinnati held on for the 5-2 win.
Cyclones netminder Michael Houser was stellar for a second consecutive night, stopping 39 of the 41 shots he faced to collect the win. The Cyclones next welcome in the Elmira Jackals on Wednesday night. Face-off is slated for 7:35 p.m. ET.
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