Johnson, Marnell lead Cyclones over Americans

ALLEN, TX- The Cincinnati Cyclones (19-5-2-1) picked up their seventh win in a row, 6-2, over the Allen Americans on Wednesday night. Forwards Ben Johnson and Mike Marnell each netted a pair of goals, while forwards Shaw Boomhower and Brady Vail added lone markers for the Cyclones.

Cincinnati took a 1-0 lead midway through the opening period, when forward Nate Mitton cut towards the net a fired a shot that was kicked out by Americans netminder CJ Motte, but Johnson was there to bury the rebound for his first goal as a Cyclone. Cincinnati pushed their lead to a pair moments later when a point shot from defenseman Eric Knodel was once again kicked out by Motte, however Vail was in front to pop in the rebound to put the Cyclones up 2-0.

Allen was not deterred and cut their deficit to a goal with less than a minute to play in the first when forward Adam Miller pulled the Americans to within a goal, 2-1, after the first.

After an Allen power play goal late in the second from Riley Bourbonnais tied the game, 2-2, after 40 minutes, Cincinnati regained the lead early in the third when Marnell tucked a shot up under the crossbar and in off a face-off to give the Clones the lead back at 3-2.

That led became 4-2 moments later when Johnson found Boomhower in streaking in front, and he scored his third of the season to put Cincinnati up by a pair. The Cyclones continued roll and pushed their lead to a field goal at the 14:33 mark of the third when Marnell brought the puck into the offensive zone, burned by a defender and scored to give Cincinnati a 5-2 advantage.

Cincinnati put the game away 2:10 later while on the power play when a scramble for the puck in front of the Allen net resulted in Johnson slamming home his second goal of the night to propel the ‘Clones to the 6-2 win. The Cyclones outshot the Americans, 44-25, on the night, with goaltender Jonas Johansson stopping 23 in the win. The two sides continue their three-game series on Friday night, with the face-off slated for 8:05 p.m. ET.

Follow us on Twitter @prohockeynews