After the Wings took a 1-0 lead 2:16 into the first on a goal from forward Kyle Thomas , Cincinnati tied the game on the power play when Jones took a pass from forward Brady Vail at the blue line, and he hammered in a shot in to tie the game, 1-1.
Cincinnati tacked on another at the 11:23 mark of the first when Powell came down the right side and fired a shot off the crossbar and in to give the Cyclones a 2-1 lead. The momentum was short-lived as 14 seconds later, the Wings capitalized off a mistake behind the Cyclones net and received a goal from forward Chad McDonald to even the game up, 2-2.
Cincinnati grabbed the lead right back at 16:19 of the first when Vail one-touched a pass to Aquin in the high slot, and he launched a shot in past Kalamazoo netminder Ivan Kulbakov to give the Cyclones a 3-2 edge after 20 minutes.
The Cyclones power play continued to produce in the second, as just 30 in, Schultz took a pass in the left corner and spun a shot on goal the beat Kulbakov to extend the Cincinnati lead to 4-2. Cincinnati was not done and added another 5:51 into the frame when Glotov entered the offensive zone and snapped a shot from just inside the blueline and in to put Cincinnati in front, 5-2.
Kalamazoo cut their deficit back to a pair with under five to play in the frame when forward Chris Collins lit the lamp to trim the Cyclones lead to 5-3. Cincinnati was not deterred and extended their advantage back to three when Glotov fed Peterson on a 2-on-1 rush and he snapped in a shot to extend their advantage to 5-3.
Cincinnati wrapped up the period with 36 seconds left in the frame when Vail sent a pass to Bisson in the left circle, and he took a shot that deflected off a Wings stick and in past new Kalamazoo goaltender Jake Hildebrand to put the ‘Clones up, 7-3, after two periods.
Kalamazoo managed one more in the third when Thomas netted his second of the night to trim their deficit to 7-4, however that is all the offense the Wings were able to muster as Cincinnati held on for the 7-4 win.
Cincinnati outshot Kalamazoo, 38-28 on the evening, with goaltender Michael Houser stopping 24 in the win. Game 2 of the series goes Saturday night at U.S. Bank Arena, with the face-off slated for 7:35pm ET.
With Cincinnati Cyclones release
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