ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones March update

CINCINNATI, Ohio – After taking two games of three, during this past week, the Cyclones find their playoff hopes stabilizing a bit. The early week loss to the division leading K-Wings has been followed by exciting shootout and overtime wins. The Cyclones battled the Kalamazoo Wings on Monday and Wednesday and had the first meeting with the Greenville Road Warriors at US bank Arena took place on Friday. Mondays’ 4-2 loss was a disappointing one for the annual Kids Club crowd, as the home team was unable to mount enough offense or solid defense to keep the Michiganders at bay. The penalty kill was again problematic for the Cyclones defenders as the team took a number of ill timed trips to the sin bin. Offering Kalamazoo the man advantage is dangerous and proved costly, when it was important to try and stay ahead on the scoreboard. The Wednesday rematch began with the home squad keeping the Wings off of the score sheet for the first period. The second stanza was hard fought to say the least, as rival netminder Riley Gill was spectacular in net, despite the Cyclones vain attempts to penetrate the twine.  The lack of power play success by the ‘Clones has the home faithful still exasperated at times during the man advantage. The penalty kill unit stood out this contest and goaltender Chet Pickard was outstanding in defense of the home goal.   The Cyclones clawed back, to tie the game and take the lead, only to have the K-Wings re-tie the score in the third period. Four-on-four time was chippy and the overtime ended without further scoring by either side.   The shootout presented Pickard the opportunity to reclaim his winning ways as the Cyclones one-upped the northern visitors for the win. Friday night the Road Warriors invaded the arena for the first time this season and Dean Storks’ crew was ready for the conflagration. The former Cyclones assistant has proved his coaching mettle so far this season, with a well assembled squad and a winning record for this relocated franchise.   Formerly the Johnstown Chiefs, the now Greenville group, is a fast and well disciplined team that doesn’t give up when behind. The first period was played to a scoreless tie and showed both squads grit and determination on defense.  Netminders Brian Foster (Cyclones) and Cam Talbot ( Greenville) were both up to the task and well focused on the skittering puck. Second period action saw the teams’ trade man-advantage opportunities to no real advantage. Often times the chippiness threatened to spill over into pugilism but the zebras kept it calm on the ice. The period ended in a 1-1 standoff. The final period saw the Cyclones take the advantage to a goal, but the visitors roared back to tie the score. Then with little over four minutes remaining take the lead.  Coach Jarrod Skalde rallied the troops and with 26 seconds remaining in regulation, Dustin Sproat scored the tying goal in a vicious scrum in front of netminder Talbot. The atmosphere grew tense as the crowd waited for the extra period to begin. The Cyclones had lost six overtime and two shootout contests so far this season. With that said, it was T.J. Fast who claimed the game winning tally on a rocket shot into the Greenville twine at just over two minutes into the overtime. The fourth game of the week was on Saturday night in the cozy confines of K-wings stadium in Kalamazoo. Coach Skalde emphasized the importance of each pair of points at this stage of the season. His tone was obvious as he discussed the momentum that the days contest could provide for the winner.   The Cyclones were given an early power play; the unit has been outstanding of late. The K-wings killed off the power play, only to have a turnover in the ‘Clones zone and Kory Karlander put the puck behind Chet Pickard for a one goal lead by the division leaders.   The K-wings were given a two-man advantage to no avail, luckily for the visiting Cyclones. The Kalamazoo squad scored however, to gain a two goal lead with less than ten minutes gone in the contest, only to turn around and score again for a three goal lead early in the game.   The Cyclones Dustin Sproat answered with a tally to trim the lead, but the K-Wings reestablished the three goal margin on a late period power play.   The Cyclones began the second period on the penalty kill. Brian Foster replaced Chet Pickard in net. Penalties continued to plague the Cyclones as seven of the last eight infractions went against the Cyclones. Another power play goal cashed in by Kalamazoo gave the Wings a four goal lead at 5-1.   The third period saw the Cyclones zero for seven on the power play for this game. The Cyclones remain winless this season at Wings stadium. The loss keeps the Cyclones firmly in chase mode behind the K-Wings and the Nailers. As the team enters March they certainly have their work cut out for them in trying to remain in the playoff picture. Coach Skalde has much to work on, as this group remains in up and down mode entering road swings this month, which have been difficult to find wins during the past several months.   Contact the writer/photographer at Rob.Huelsman@Prohockeynews.com