WICHITA, Kan. – The Cincinnati Cyclones collected a 4-3 win over the Wichita Thunder on Wednesday night. Forward Jordan Sims netted a pair of goals, while forwards Peter LeBlanc and Colin Mulvey pitched in lone tallies for Cincinnati.
After the Thunder took a 1-0 lead after the first period on a late goal from forward Matt DeBlouw, the Cyclones tied the game midway through the second when forward Shane Walsh came down the ice on a 2-on-1 rush and sent a cross-ice feed LeBlanc who fired it into the net to tie the game, 1-1.
That 1-1 score held up throughout the remainder of the second period, and in the third Wichita regained the lead 6:08 in when forward Gabriel Gagne found the back of the net to put the Thunder up, 2-1.
Not long after, The Cyclones offense came to life and tied the game when forward Colin Mulvey came down on a 2-on-1 rush and sent a pass to Sims who fired the puck past Thunder goaltender Drew Owsley to pull Cincinnati back even, 2-2, 10:57 into the final period.
Sims was not finished, as just 39 seconds later while on the power play, a scrum out in front of the net resulted in Sims tipping a centering attempt from Walsh to put Cincinnati ahead, 3-2.
The Cyclones continued to apply the offensive pressure, and with less than five minutes remaining they pushed the lead to 4-2 when forward Dominic Zombo came streaking down the wing and threw a pass to Mulvey who tapped it in for the third goal in the period.
The Thunder made things interesting in the final minutes, receiving a marker Gagne with1:09 to play in regulation with the goaltender pulled to cut Cincinnati’s lead to 4-3.
Wichita battled hard in the final seconds, forcing Cyclones goaltender Mark Visentin to make several big saves with less than 15 seconds to preserve Cincinnati’s 4-3 lead and the eventual win.
The shots were tied on the night, 28-28, with Visentin making 25 saves in the win. The Cyclones continue their three-game road trip on Friday night against the Quad City Mallards. Face-off is scheduled for 8:05pm ET from Moline, IL.
With Cincinnati Cyclones release