Houser backstops Cyclones to playoffs

Cincinnati, OH-  The Cincinnati Cyclones (37-16-7-1) defeated the Ft. Wayne Komets on Friday night, 3-0, at Heritage Bank Center. Defenseman Johnny Coughlin, along with forwards Justin Vaive and Ben Johnson scored the goals for the Cyclones, while goaltender Michael Houser stopped all 23 shots he faced to earn his first shutout out of the season.  The win coupled with a 4-2 loss by the Wheeling Nailers to the Kalamazoo Wings secures Cincinnati’s spot in the 2020 Kelly Cup Playoffs. 

After a scoreless opening period, Cincinnati jumped out to a 1-0 lead 6:12 into the second when Coughlin lofted a shot that snuck by Komets goaltender Cole Kehler to give the Cyclones the advantage. That lead became 2-0 with 3:08 to play when defenseman Matt Spencer sent a pass up to Vaive, and he slapped it in past Kehler for his first goal of the game.

Vaive was not finished and closed out the period with nine seconds left while on the power play when a shot from forward Ben Johnson was redirected in to send Cincinnati to a 3-0 lead after 40 minutes. 

The Cyclones locked the third period down defensively, limiting Ft. Wayne to just three shots in period to preserve their 3-0 win. Cincinnati outshot the Komets, 36-23 on the night, while the power play converted on one of five chances. The Cyclones wrap up their weekend on Saturday night against the Toledo Walleye. Face-off is set for 7:35pm ET.

With Cincinnati Cyclones release