CINCINNATI, OH – From the beginning of the season, the Cincinnati Cyclones have had to endure some early chemistry issues and finding the right line combinations. The early power play woes have begun to ease a bit over the past several contests.
Ending October with more in the loss column than wins was hard of the players as well as the coaches. Exploiting positives in center / forward combinations as November began along with the addition of a few familiar faces turned the tide in the Cyclones favor more often, leading to a 7-6-1-0 record heading into the weekend before Thanksgiving week.
At one point, there were very few bright spots when it came to the forward lines. Dominic Zombo was a standout during the early going, leading the team in point scoring with four goals and three assists to go along with twelve penalty minutes. Currently, Andrew Yogan is atop the scoring stats with eight goals and seven assists for fifteen points.
Head Coach Matt Macdonald recently reunited the combo of Tommy Mele (2 goals, 0 assists, 2 penalty minutes) and Colin Mulvey (1 goal, 0 assists)in hopes of jump starting the pair. Centered by Jordan Sims (2 goals, 5 assists, 6 penalty minutes), the line looks to have promise going forward.
The blue line is a work in progress as different combinations of pairs attempt to coordinate their movements with the netminders. Six-foot, 200-pound Arvin Atwal has brought energy and a willingness to mix it up every time he plays. So far he has one goal and two assists to go with 22 penalty minutes. At 6’6″ and 225 pounds, Eric Knodel is no small fry but he has shown a bit of a scoring touch, posting two goals and four assists for six points and only four penalty minutes. Another D-man, Jaynan Rissling, tips the scales at 6’4″ and 204 pounds, offering an imposing figure in skates.
Between the pipes in net are Mark Visentin and veteran Michael Houser, who many may remember from his rookie season with the Cyclones. This year Houser has appeared in five games posting an overall record of 2-3-0-0. He has a 2.32 goals against average with a .927 save percentage.
The lions share of the work in goal has gone to Visentin who has an overall record of 5-3-0-0 in ten appearances. He is carrying a 2.97 goals against average and a .889 save percentage while working through some growing pains to start the season.
Trying to juggle the seemingly always shifting roster is Macdonald, who in his third year as head coach is attempting to find just the right combinations to send the Cyclones on a run.
Photos by Robert M. Huelsman
Contact the author/photographer at rob.huelsman@prohockeynews.com
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