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Chiefs clipped by Cyclones

April 1, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


CINCINNATI, Oh. - The Johnstown Chiefs' playoff aspirations took a hit on Wednesday night as they dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision to the Cincinnati Cyclones.

Johnstown's record fell to 37-29-4, and coupled with a Wheeling win over Trenton the Chiefs slid back to fifth in the North Division standings; two points out of a playoff spot.

At a time in the season when gutsy plays can mean the difference between a win and a loss Todd Griffith might have made the gutsiest play of the season to help Johnstown take a 1-0 lead. Griffith lost his helmet early in his shift but stayed in the play and gave a hard effort on the backcheck. He was nearly rewarded for his efforts with a home-run pass from Toby LaFrance. LaFrance's pass was too far, though, and it died in the high slot. Griffith gave chase as Loic Lacasse raced from his net to knock it away. Griffith dove, without a helmet, at Lacasse's feet and helped deflect the disc to an open Blair Yaworski whose hard wrist shot found net. Cincinnati tied it on a power play goal from Dustin Sproat at 11:12 of the first, but Randy Rowe answered with a power play goal of his own giving Johnstown the one-goal lead right back.

An unlikely source, namely Frederic St. Denis, was responsible for igniting Cincinnati's comeback in the second period. St. Denis had 22 assists coming into action on Wednesday, but had yet to score a goal. That changed at 8:55 of the second when he banked a shot off of traffic in front of Kris Mayotte. Mark Van Guilder then scored from a near-impossible angle at 12:42 to give the Cyclones their first lead at 3-2. That all transpired after play was delayed for about five minutes thanks to a hit from Griffith on T.J. McElroy that knocked out a pane of glass in the Cincinnati zone.

Matt Syroczynski would extend the Cyclones' lead to 4-2 at 5:54 of the third period on the power play. Johnstown got back within one thanks to the hard work of Mike Bartlett. The second-year pro took a hard hit to gain the Cincinnati zone on the left wing, and left a pass back at the far point for Trevor Hendrikx. Lacasse turned the initial shot away but, Bartlett was right there on the doorstep to pot the rebound. Still trailing by one with 45 seconds left Johnstown was awarded a power play and kept Mayotte on the bench for the extra attacker. It would not pay off though as Cincinnati killed the penalty and clinched a playoff berth.

Mayotte turned in 24 saves, but was saddled with his 12th loss of the season. Johnstown's power play ended the night 2-for-10.

Don't forget that Chiefs playoff tickets are on sale right now. There are discounted packages available for season and non-season ticket holders alike. For more information on Chiefs' 2009 Kelly Cup Playoff tickets call the Chiefs' front office at 814-539-1799.

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