CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Cincinnati Cyclones (18-16-3-2) took down the Ft. Wayne Komets, 6-4, on Saturday night at U.S. Bank Arena. Forwards Branden Gracel and Andrew Yogan each accounted for a pair of goals and an assist, while forwards Zach Budish and Tommy Mele each added lone tallies for the Cyclones, who tie a season high with six goals in a home game.
After a scoreless opening period, the Komets drew first blood early into the second, when forward Mike Embach found the back of the net, putting Ft. Wayne up, 1-0, 45 seconds in.
That lead was short-lived, as midway through the frame, the Cyclones evened things up, when a shot from forward Jack Downing hit some traffic out front and bounced right to Budish who slammed it home, tying the game, 1-1.
Just 17 seconds later, the Cyclones struck again when forward Tommy Mele sent a pass to Gracel in the left-wing circle and he blasted a shot past Komets goaltender Pat Nagle, extending Cincinnati’s lead to 2-1.
Cincinnati wasn’t finished, as at the 17:44 mark of the second, Budish found Yogan coming over the offensive blue line, and he gained a step on a Komet defender and snapped a shot into the net, giving the Cyclones a 3-1 lead.
The Cyclones capped off their four-goal second period, when Gracel forced a turnover at the Ft. Wayne blue line and skated in on Nagle and fired a shot past him for his second of the period, pushing the Cyclones to a 4-1 advantage.
The Komets got one back, when forward Shawn Szydlowski lit the lamp on the power play late in the period, cutting the Cyclones’ lead to two goals, 4-2, after two periods.
The Cyclones continued to shine offensively in the third, as just 3:28 in, Gracel found Mele who skated in on Nagle and wristed a shot past him, propelling the Cyclones to a 5-2 lead.
The Komets made things interesting later in the frame, receiving goals from forward Brock Montgomeryand defenseman Will Weber, pulling to within a goal of the Cyclones, 5-4.
The momentum was short lived, and with just under two minutes left, Yogan stole the puck in the offensive zone and beat Nagle for the second time in the game, sealing the 6-4 win for the Cyclones.
The Cyclones outshot the Komets, 34-27 on the night, with goaltender Brandon Whitney turning aside 23 to collect the win. The Cyclones wrap up the three-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Indy Fuel. Faceoff is scheduled for 7:35pm ET.
With Cincinnati Cyclones release
All photos by Shawn Conkle
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