Cyclones lead division

CINCINNATI, OHIO – The ‘Clones have returned to the top with a streak of ten games in which they have achieved at least one point. Despite several disappointing overtime losses to rivals Reading and Kalamazoo, the Cyclones first place standing in the North division remains.   This has definitely helped ease the worries of the faithful fans here in the Queen City that Jarrod Skalde had a cellar dweller on his hands. First rounder Chet Pickard and tandem mate Marc Cheverie have risen to the occasion to provide reliable netminding and the offense has come alive.   Newcomer Sam D’Agostino has a couple of game winning tallies to his credit and is one of the team leaders on the score sheet. Captain Barett Ehgoetz has picked up the pace and is back to scoring timely goals for the squad.   Returnee Dustin Sproat has picked up where he left off last season and has provided a spark in the offensive zone. Brett Robinson has a multi-goal game to his credit as well.

Barett Ehgoetz and Kalamazoo%27s Riley Gill

  Defensively the Cyclones blueliners have managed to keep the games close as the team is on a pace to record about fifty single goal contests this season. Of late big Ben Olsen has become a lightning rod for the opposition pugilists and has won more than he has lost in the fisticuffs category.   Brian O’Hanley, Brock Sheahan,and T.J.Fast have steadied the ship and kept many scoring chances from getting to the goaltenders. Grinding it out in the corners and clearing the biscuit has become the defensive units’ stock in trade of late, thus keeping the scoring chances low.   The power play unit is middle of the pack at this point, as they have seemed disorganized and easily ruffled at stages; scoring a few times, but mostly dumping and chasing rather than crisply handling the opportunities given them. Down the stretch, this will be an area in need of improvement, if the Cyclones are to keep the pace in the Conference and atop the Division. Rivalries have dominated the beginning season schedule and so most of the games have been against fellow North division teams.

Brian O%27Hanley

  In games against conference foes the ‘Clones have fared well except for the aforementioned losses to heated rival Reading. Winning against Trenton recently to end a long holiday road trip, the offense broke out for five goals.   The return home to the friendly confines of US Bank Arena for most of December should give the team a chance to recharge, as there are only a couple of road games during the month. This also gives the home fans a chance to show their support and root for the squad on a consistent basis before the long middle of the season stretch.   Broadcaster Nick Brunker is shaking off the rust of not being a radio voice for a few years and is getting smoother with each passing game. If he could just fix the internet glitches that crop up in other barns from time to time it would be perfect to tune in to the broadcasts. Dropped feeds and commercials playing simultaneously have occasionally been a problem for the fans at home but overall he has been doing a super job keeping the games interesting and fun to listen to. He also has kept the media informed with his blog posts and reports from the road. This has been critical for this correspondent to keep up with the teams’ activities on a regular basis when not at home.  

T.J. Fast

All in all, the season is taking shape to be a work in progress that will be worth following. Given the strong rivalries within the North and some of the developed ones in the conference the season looks to be an intense one as we enter December.   The upcoming month will hopefully be as strong of a showing as last December was, and propel the Cyclones further onward toward the goal of another division crown for the Queen City squad.   Once the coaching staff has established itself, it should only become easier to convince the doubters that the changes made during the off season were for the good. Winning games cures a lot of ill will and playing in a position to contend for another crown makes the team more popular for sure. The die hard faithful have seen that establishing a winning tradition takes skill and effort from all involved and surely the commitment to excellence has taken root here. Beginnings are unpredictable times and when they develop as envisioned, such sweet times for all.   Contact the writer/photographer at Rob.Huelsman@prohockeynews.com