Cincinnati, OH — Forward Jack O’Brien registered his first career hat trick (3g, 1a), Jaxon Nelson scored twice and the Iowa Heartlanders scored on their first two shots in an 8-2 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones Saturday at Heritage Bank Center. Iowa went 3-for-3 on the man up. 
Eleven Heartlanders registered points and five had multi-point games. Cincinnati’s only two goals came in a two-minute span early in the third. Other than that, Riley Mercer was flawless with 25 saves for his third win of the season.
Iowa scored three in the first to take a 3-0 lead. Nelson scored on the first shot of the game at 1:42 at the bottom of the left circle on the man up, assisted by O’Brien and Elliot Desnoyers. O’Brien scored on the game’s next shot at 3:39, whistling in a face-off win from Matt Sop at the bottom of the left dot. Alex Stennson created the next goal with 4:23 left in the first, juking a defender and potting it top shelf after receiving a left-point shot from Sop.
In the second frame, O’Brien and Nelson scored in a six-minute span in the middle of the period to establish a 5-0 edge.
Following Nolan Orzeck’s right-post strike at 2:44 of the third, O’Brien completed the hat trick and made it 7-2 by redirecting in a centering pass from Desnoyers at 3:29 of the third. Yuki Miura scored next after it struck off bodies. Elliott McDermott and Thomas Stewart assisted the goal at 4:35.
Kyle McClellan took the loss with 14 saves (7 GA). Ken Appleby allowed one Iowa goal in relief.
Iowa is on the road at Toledo Sunday at 4:15 p.m. Following Sunday’s road battle, the Heartlanders oppose Bloomington on the road Fri., Nov. 14 at 7:00 p.m. The Heartlanders’ next home game is Nov. 15 at 6:00 p.m. vs. Bloomington for Stick it to Cancer Night, presented by Dupaco Community Credit Union.
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