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Week in Review
Wednesday, January 5 at Florida Everblades
Rookie goaltender Marc Cheverie stood on his head several times to hold the ECHL’s best offensive team, the Florida Everblades (21-15-0-1), to just one goal as the Cincinnati Cyclones (12-13-5-2) took home a 3-1 victory at Germain Arena on Wednesday night.
Cincinnati found the net just 18 seconds into the contest as Dustin Sproat potted his eighth goal of the season after finding a loose puck in the slot. However, Florida’s Francis Lemieux snuck into the Cyclones end during a line change and banged home a shot past Marc Cheverie (W, 27 saves 11,-7-2-2) to knot score at one after 20 minutes of play.
In the second period Cheverie wasn’t quite as busy, only facing four shots; however, all four were outstanding scoring chances that Cincinnati’s netminder turned aside with relative ease. Meanwhile, at the 12:02 mark, Matt Pierce tucked home a rebound left by Florida goalie Jaroslav Janus (L, 24 saves, 8-7-0-0) for his sixth goal of the year and a 2-1 Cyclones lead.
The third period was nothing short of a shooting gallery in the Cyclones zone; Florida peppered Cheverie with 12 shots in the final frame of regulation, but once again he stood tall on all of them. Then, at 17:24, Scott Reynolds back-handed home a big rebound to give the Cyclones a 3-1 cushion – one they would not relinquish.
Box Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Cyclones | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Florida Everblades | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Location | Germain Arena – Estero, Florida |
|---|---|
| Winning Goaltender | Marc Cheverie |
| Losing Goaltender | Jaroslav Janus |
| First Star | Dustin Sproat (CIN) |
| Second Star | Marc Cheverie (CIN) |
| Third Star | Francis Lemieux (FLA) |
| Attendance | 4,083 |
Friday, January 7 at Florida Everblades
Nashville Predators’ prospect Chet Pickard put a rare W in the win column on Friday night.
Rookie Christiaan Minella’s goal at 16:56 of the third period helped send the Cincinnati Cyclones (13-13-5-2) to a 2-1, come-from-behind victory over the Florida Everblades (21-16-0-1) at Germain Arena on Friday night. It was the sixth time this season that the Cyclones have rallied back to win a game.
Despite Cincinnati controlling the play throughout the first period, it was the Everblades who found the net first. Exactly three minutes into the opening frame, Matt Beca slid home his seventh goal of the season on a two-on-one with Francis Lemieux to make it 1-0 Florida.
Cincinnati continued to keep the pressure on in the middle stanza, sending 13 more shots on Everblades goalie Jaroslav Janus (L, 40 saves, 8-8-0-0). However, the Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick stopped them all, keeping his team ahead 1-0 after 40 minutes.
Just 15 seconds into the third, though, Barret Ehgoetz corralled a loose puck in front of the net and sent it past Janus for the game-tying goal – setting the tone for the rest of the way. Thanks to Pickard (W, 18 saves, 2-6-0-2), the teams stayed tied for nearly 17 minutes as he made several point-blank saves. Then, at the 16:56, Christiaan Minella grabbed a loose puck at center ice right off the bench and sent a wrist shot that eluded the pads of Florida’s netminder for a 2-1 Cyclones lead. Minella’s eighth tally of the season turned out to be the game-winner.
Box Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Cyclones | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Florida Everblades | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Location | Germain Arena – Estero, Florida |
|---|---|
| Winning Goaltender | Chet Pickard |
| Losing Goaltender | Jaroslav Janus |
| First Star | Christiaan Minella (CIN) |
| Second Star | Jaroslav Janus (FLA) |
| Third Star | Barret Ehgoetz (CIN) |
| Attendance | 5,123 |
Saturday, January 8 at Florida Everblades
2011 ECHL All-Star Brian O’Hanley netted the game winner in round six of the shootout to give the Cincinnati Cyclones (14-13-5-2) a 6-5 win and a three-game sweep of the Florida Everblades (21-16-0-2) at Germain Arena on Saturday night.
Just like Friday night, Florida jumped out to an early 1-0 lead as Alexandre Imbeault scored his team-leading 18th goal of the season by beating Cyclones goalie Marc Cheverie (W, 25 saves, 12-7-2-2) on a two-on-one rush. However, Cincinnati responded with a pair of goals of its own; the first one came at 5:12 when T.J. Fast stepped out of the corner and sniped a wrist shot over the glove-side shoulder of Everblades goalie Bobby Goepfert (L, 42 saves, 13-8-0-2) to knot the score. Then, at the 16:58 mark, Matt Pierce finished a strong shift by scoring a similar goal just outside the right circle to give Cincinnati at 2-1 lead through the opening frame.
The second period was, in a word, physical. As tempers flared in the series finale, 11 penalties were whistled in the stanza – many of which coming after the play had already ended. Yet, the Cyclones padded their lead at 8:08 when Brian O’Hanley blasted home his sixth goal of the year on the power play, making it 3-1. However, on a Florida power play, Bobby Raymond batted home a one-timer with just 21 seconds left to pull his team within a goal, 3-2 at the second intermission.
The third period brought on an offensive explosion, with a combined five goals scored in the final frame of regulation. Cincinnati temporarily extended their lead when Pierce tallied his second of the night only 32 seconds in, making it 4-2. However, the Everblades raced back with goals from Francis Lemiuex and Imbeault only one minute apart to tie the score at four. At exactly the 15:00 mark, Sam D’Agostino poked home the go-ahead goal underneath a sea of bodies to push the Cyclones out front again, 5-4. Unfortunately, though, with just 1:03 left in regulation Bobby Raymond followed with a similar tally to once again even the score and send the teams in to overtime.
Thanks to a couple of Florida penalties, the Cyclones enjoyed a power play in the early going of the extra session but couldn’t bury the game-winner. So for the fourth time this season, the Cyclones decided their fate in the shootout. In the shootout, Piece, and Mathieu Aubin lit the lamp for Cincinnati while Florida’s Imbeault and Ernie Hartlieb found the net as well. With five shooters down, it came down to round number 6; the Everblades David Fischer was stopped easily by Cheverie and then Brian O’Hanley followed with the game-winner for Cincinnati to earn his team the extra point – 6-5 the final.
Box Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | OT | SO | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Cyclones | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| Florida Everblades | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Location | Germain Arena – Estero, Florida |
|---|---|
| Winning Goaltender | Marc Cheverie |
| Losing Goaltender | Bobby Goepfert |
| First Star | Brian O’Hanley (CIN) |
| Second Star | Matt Pierce (CIN) |
| Third Star | Alexandre Imbeault (FLA) |
| Attendance | 5,161 |
League Leaders
| Player Name | Category | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Marc Cheverie | Wins | 6th (12) |
| Marc Cheverie | Shutouts | 1st (3) |
| Dylan Hunter | SHG | 4th (2) |
| Benn Olson | PIM | 10th (87) |
Division Standings
| North Division | GP | W | L | OTL | SOL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheeling Nailers | 34 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 2 | 38 |
| Cincinnati Cyclones | 34 | 14 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 35 |
| Kalamazoo Wings | 32 | 14 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 31 |
| Toledo Walleye | 32 | 13 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 29 |
The Week Ahead
| Date | Time | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, January 12, 2011 | 7:30 pm | Kalamazoo Wings | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Friday, January 14, 2011 | 7:30 pm | Wheeling Nailers | Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Saturday, January 15, 2011 | 7:30 pm | Wheeling Nailers | Wheeling, West Virginia |
Quick Notes
- The Cyclones are 10-1-3 when holding the advantage after 40 minutes.
- Cincinnati put 117 pucks on Florida’s net during last week’s three-game set. Their 48 shots on goal on Saturday was the single game high this season.
- The Cyclones have a dual NHL-affiliation. They are also affiliated with the Florida Panthers. Chet Pickard is the only player on the roster currently in the Predators organization, while defenseman Scott Lehman is property of the Admirals. Goaltender Marc Cheverie, as well as Brady Calla, Adam Comrie, T.J. Fast and Carl Hudson are property of the Panthers. One player – Chris Clackson – is property of the Panthers’ AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. All other players are both NHL and AHL free agents.
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GAME RECAPS COURTESY OF CINCINNATI CYCLONES