ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cincinnati Cyclones Weekly News

January 21, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, unbeaten in regulation time in their last ten home games (8-0-2) put that streak on the line Friday night (Jan. 25) against the Wheeling Nailers. This is the front end of a home-and-home weekend series that concludes in Wheeling Saturday night (Jan. 26--8pm).

TAKIN' CARE OF BUSINESS: The Cyclones are the only ECHL team to have a better than .500 record against every team it has played this season. Cincinnati has played seven different opponents in 2007-08 and has at least one more win than loss against all of them. Las Vegas has an equal number of wins and losses to Victoria, but has otherwise accomplished the same feat.

WE'RE ONLY AT HOME WHEN WE'RE ON THE ROAD...: The Cyclones are 13-5 (.722 winning percentage) away from U.S. Bank Arena this season. Cincinnati has lost its last two contests on the road, but had a six game away winning streak prior to that. Since Nov. 13 at Dayton, the Cyclones are 10-3 (.769) away from the Queen City.

...NOT BAD AT HOME EITHER: The Cyclones have a ten-game unbeaten in regulation time stretch at U.S. Bank Arena (8-0-2--.900). During that run, the club has outscored the opposition, 50-27. Cincinnati is 13-3-3 overall (.763) at home. The Cyclones have not lost a regulation time game at U.S. Bank Arena since a 4-2 defeat by Dayton on November 24.

JUST WIN, BABY: The Cyclones, with a record of 26-8-3, are 18 games above .500. The club reached a club record 19 games above break even (25-6-3) on Jan. 5. On March 19, 1995 the Louisville Riverfrogs beat Erie, 5-1, to improve to 38-22-7--the only time in history that the organization had been 16 games above break even. The last time a Cincinnati pro sports team was at least 19 games above .500 was when the Cincinnati Reds were 96-67 after their game on October 4, 1999. The Cyclones have the ECHL's second-best winning percentage (.743--trailing only Texas at .812).

YOU'RE AN ALL-STAR, BABY...: The 2008 Chase Chevrolet ECHL All-Star Game is coming on Wednesday night (Jan. 23) at 10pm ET. The contest will be aired on NHL Network (channel 215 on DirecTV and channel 559 on Dish Network, among others). Cyclones Head Coach Chuck Weber and center David Desharnais will represent the American Conference at the game. Tuesday night (Jan. 22) at 10pm, the league's Skills Competition will take place. That event will not be televised, but it will be carried on the B2 Networks--free of charge for viewers on the internet.

DAOUST LEADING THE CHARGE: Cyclones right wing Jean-Michel Daoust leads the ECHL in scoring with 51 points (one more than Texas forward John McNabb and Dayton's Yannick Tifu) and also is second for the ECHL's goals scoring lead (27) goals. Last season, for the first time in club history, the Cyclones had the league's leading goal scorer (Mike Wirll, 47, who was a late season acquisition). The team has never had the circuit's top point producer. Should Jean-Michel continue producing points at his current pace, he is on track for 54 goals and 101 points. Both of those totals would be club records for a single season.

CYCLONES PLAYERS HELP THE AHL SUNDAY!: The Cincinnati Cyclones had several players deliver for American Hockey League clubs on Sunday. Jean-Michel Daoust opened the scoring for Wilkes Barre/Scranton in a 3-1 loss. Mathieu Aubin scored Hamilton's first goal in a 2-1 win. Milwaukee got a pair of assists, including the helper on the game winning goal from Bryan Schmidt.

WE ARE QUITE OFFENSIVE: The Cyclones have scored a league-high 154 goals, eleven more than Texas--which has the second-most. Cincinnati is averaging 4.16 goals per game, the most in the ECHL. Of the five leagues playing 'AA' hockey or higher (NHL, AHL, ECHL, IHL, CHL), that average is the highest in North America. Rocky Mountain (CHL) is the next best at 4.06 goals per game. Only Indiana (MAHL--an 'A' league) has a higher average, at 7.52.

ABOUT LAST WEDNESDAY...: The Cyclones netted second period goals 27 seconds apart from Cory Urquhart and Andrew Martin to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 lead and set sail for a 3-2 win over Dayton. Thomas Beauregard's 17th marker of the season in the third period proved to be the margin of victory. Cedrick Desjardins stopped 34 shots in the triumph, his tenth win of the year.

GUNNING FOR 27 WINS!: The Cyclones picked up their 26th win of the season in the Jan. 16 game vs. Dayton--setting a club record for earliest, and fastest, to the plateau. Previously, the 1995-96 Louisville squad had 26 wins on Feb. 2 to establish both records. The average date in club history to register 27 wins is March 7. Last season, the Cyclones collected their 27th win on February 18.

SHATTER THIS!: The Cincinnati Cyclones won more games than they ever have prior to the All-Star break. The club was 21-13-3 at the All-Star break in 2006-07. Cincinnati is 26-8-3 right now and a win tonight puts them 19 games above .500 for the second time this season (and club history). By January 25 of last season, the club already registered 16 losses.

CONSOLATION PRIZE: Cyclones right wing Jean-Michel Daoust was not selected to participate in the ECHL All-Star Game on Wednesday night, but he did get a nice consolation prize--a call-up to the American Hockey League's Wilkes Barre-Scranton Penguins. It was Daoust's second recall of the season, as he went to Rockford back in December for a game.

THAT'S MR. COACH TO YOU: Cyclones Head Coach Chuck Weber represented Cincinnati at the ECHL's All-Star Game on January 23. Weber was selected to be one of the coaches for the American Conference at the league's showcase event. Chuck is one of only seven coaches ever to be selected as an All-Star Game coach in his second season (six others have done it in their rookie year). The 34-year old has a 63-37-9 mark (.619) as the Cyclones mentor.

MILLER OUT: Cyclones defenseman Gerard Miller is expected to miss the reminder of the regular season with a lower body injury suffered at Reading on Jan. 13. His availability for the playoffs will be determined at a later date. Miller had three goals and 14 assists for 17 points in 28 games.

GREAT (RE)CALL: The Cyclones have had fifteen players appear in games with American Hockey League teams this season. Currently, nine players who have appeared in Cincinnati are on loan or recall to the AHL. The fifteen total players have appeared in 133 AHL games this season.

HE'S BACKKKK!: Center Jason Deitsch signed with the Cyclones on January 3. Deitsch, the first Cincinnati born player to ever play for the Cyclones, led the team with 71 points last season (26-45-71). Jason has goals in three of his five games back and has four points with his hometown team.

AROUND TOWN...: The Cyclones will be participating in the Fountain Square public ice skating events on Sunday, Jan. 27 and Sunday, Feb. 10. Two different players will be on the Square each hour from noon-4pm on both dates. This is a great opportunity to meet the players, collect autographs and chat about the Cyclones team.

MAGIC NUMBER: The Cyclones 'magic number' for clinching a playoff berth is 45. Last season, Cincinnati clinched its playoff spot on March 30 at Wheeling.

CYCLONES COACHES SHOW: The Cyclones Coaches Show airs every Monday from Jefferson Hall at Newport on the Levee from 7-8pm. The show, featuring Head Coach Chuck Weber, also has two players appearing. Because of the All-Star Game commitments Chuck Weber has and the team's break for the next three days, Cyclones equipment manager Chris Burke and athletic trainer Bob Case are the guests tonight.

Check out the Cincinnati Cyclones Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 21, 2008


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