FORT WAYNE, Ind. – The Cincinnati Cyclones have all the momentum on their side in their best-of-seven ECHL Kelly Cup playoff quarterfinal series against the Fort Wayne Komets following a 3-2 win in front of 5,406 fans on enemy ice Saturday night.
Christiaan Minella’s goal with 33-seconds remaining silenced the crowd and marked Cincinnati’s second road win in as many days as the series now shifts back to U.S. Bank Arena.
Fort Wayne jumped on the board first on Garrett Thompson’s goal 5:46 into the contest. Cody Sol sent a centering pass towards Thompson in front of the crease that caught Tommy Mele’s skate and deflected into the net oast Brad Thiessen to make it a 1-0 Komets lead. Fort Wayne went on to hold a 12-11 shot advantage through the first while maintaining their lead heading into the first intermission.
The Cyclones took over the lead heading into the second intermission, following a pair of second period goals on just six shots.
Cincinnati answered back 8:45 into the middle frame on a shorthanded goal by Andrew Yogan, assisted by Zach Budish. After Budish blocked a shot in the defensive zone, Yogan jumped on the puck just inside the blueline, skated ahead and across the goal, pulling the puck from his forehand to hackhand and sliding the puck past Pat Nagle’s left skate to make the score 1-1.
Budish gave the Cyclones their first lead eight minutes later following an odd sequence of events. Yogan intercepted a pass in the defensive zone, skated down the right side and passed to Minella at the left circle, who then rang a shot off the post and back out to Budish. Budish then sent his first shot off of the post, before collecting his own rebound and sending the puck home through traffic at 17:04 of the second for a 2-1 lead.
Fort Wayne dominated the shots in the third period, out-shooting Cincinnati 14-3. And 14:10 into the final frame, it finally paid off with the game-tying goal from Kyle Thomas, assisted by Will Weber and Jamie Schaafsma.
With the Komets working the puck along the boards behind the net, Weber sent the puck to Thomas just inside the left circle. Putting every ounce of effort he had into the shot, Thomas fell to his knee as he sailed a wrist shot over the blocker of Thiessen and into the net to make it 2-2.
Minella put the proverbial nail in the coffin at 19:27 on assists from Joe Wilson and Nick Huard. Wilson sent a perfectly placed pass across ice to the top of the slot where Minella blasted a slap shot through traffic to put the Cyclones on top 3-2. The lead would stand for the remaining 33-seconds and Cincinnati escaped Fort Wayne with a pair of wins.
Both teams failed to score on four power play chances, while the Cyclones scored a shorthanded goal for the second-straight game.
Fort Wayne posted 33 shots on goal to Cincinnati’s 20, marking the second time in as many games that they dominated the shot total.
The seventh-seeded Cyclones now hold a 2-0 lead over the second-seeded Komets as the series moves back to Cincinnati. Game three is set for Wednesday night, while game four will take place on Friday. Game five, if necessary, is slated for Saturday.
Contact the writer: John.Hall@prohockeynews.com
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