ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cincinnati Splits Four Games Last Week

January 12, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, the 2008 Kelly Cup champions, play a home-and-home week with the North Division leading Wheeling Nailers. Wednesday (Jan. 14), the teams meet at U.S. Bank Arena for a 'Wet Wednesday' (with selected one dollar beers throughout the evening). Game time is at 7:30pm. Saturday (Jan. 17), the teams meet at WesBanco Arena for a 7:35pm start time. Both games will be carried on the club's website at: www.cycloneshockey.com.

THE SERIES: Wednesday's game will be the 60th meeting between these North Division foes. Cincinnati has a 26-29-4 record versus the Nailers. The Cyclones are 3-6 versus Wheeling this season, including a 1-3 mark at U.S. Bank Arena.

STRANGE SCHEDULE: Wednesday's game is the middle contest of a stretch of three consecutive games versus Wheeling. Cincinnati and Wheeling meet eleven times in the season's first 40 games and then do not face each other again in the remaining 32 games of the regular season.

EHGOETZ TO MAKE FIRST ALL-STAR APPEARANCE: Cyclones forward Barret Ehgoetz will be making his first appearance in the ECHL All-Star Game, a week from Wednesday (January 21) at the Sovereign Center in Reading, PA. Ehgoetz will be replacing teammate Olivier Latendresse, who is on AHL recall by the Hamilton Bulldogs and will be unable to attend. Ehgoetz will be in the starting lineup for the contest.

ABOUT SUNDAY AFTERNOON...: The Cyclones exploded for a three goal third period in securing a 6-4 win at Wheeling. Brandon Scero netted a pair of goals, T.J. McElroy had a goal and two assists and Dustin Sproat chipped in with three assists to pace the offense. Ryan Nie stopped 13 shots and nearly scored an empty net goal in the game's closing moments.

ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones took a 5-2 victory over the Trenton Devils on Saturday. Cincinnati build a 2-0 edge in the opening four minutes, as Jimmy Kilpatrick and Justin Johnson both netted goals. Ben McLeod picked up a pair of goals. Jamie Coghlan added three assists and Ryan Nie stopped 24 shots to take the victory--his first as a Cyclone.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: It only took the Trenton Devils 13 seconds to light the lamp and get the ball rolling in a 4-1 win over the Cyclones last night. Barret Ehgoetz scored a power play goal for the lone Cincinnati score. Ryan Nie came off the bench to stop six of seven shots in relief. Sixty minutes in penalties were called as a total of 14 power play chances were distributed between the teams.

ABOUT TUESDAY NIGHT...: Three third period goals by Wheeling allowed the Nailers to leave U.S. Bank Arena with a 4-2 victory on Tuesday night. Mark Van Guilder and Jimmy Kilpatrick scored the goals for Cincinnati, while Kyle Gajewski turned aside 20 shots in the defeat.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Cyclones are 9-2 away from U.S. Bank Arena since Thanksgiving. Cincinnati's eleven road wins this season are third-most in the ECHL and the .605 away winning percentage (team record 11-7-1) is seventh-best among visiting teams in the ECHL. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, the Cyclones are 38-14-3 (.718 winning percentage)--which is best among all teams in road games in the league.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES...: The Cyclones welcomed goaltender Ryan Nie to the lineup Friday night, making him the 42nd player to play for the club this season. Last year, a total of 46 different players appeared in games for Cincinnati en route to the Kelly Cup championship. The Cyclones have now employed 26 different lineups this season.

McELROY HITS THE LEADERBOARD: Defenseman T.J. McElroy has eight goals on the season, second-most among blueliners in the ECHL this season. McElroy has the third-best shooting percentage of any ECHL rearguard at 16.3 percent. T.J.'s four power play goals are the second-most among defensemen in the league as well. He has 17 points (8-9-17), 18th most in the league.

LEAGUE LEADERS: The Cyclones are second in the ECHL with 52 first period goals, one behind Wheeling.....Cincinnati has surrendered 51 third period goals--most in the league.....The Cyclones have played a league-high nine overtime games....Cincinnati has seven shorthanded goals scored, seventh-most in the league.

WEBER REACHES CENTURY MARK: Head Coach Chuck Weber picked up his 100th regular season victory on November 29. Now in his third season directing the Cyclones, Weber has a 110-56-16 mark (.648 winning percentage). The win on November 30 allowed Chuck to pass Warren Young for the club lead in regular season wins. Young needed three full seasons to post his 100-86-24 (.533) record.

FAMILY FOUR PACK ON SALE!: The Cyclones Family Four Pack is now on sale. For $69 (including all handling fees), you get four tickets to any Cyclones regular season game, four hot dogs, four Pepsis, four Cyclones winter caps, four ice skating passes to SportsPlus and a SportsPlus game card. Valued at more than $100--this is a package that has something for everyone! Call the Cyclones Sales Department at 513-421-7825, x. 3 to order yours.

ATTENDANCE NUMBERS UP: The Cyclones have drawn 48,427 to the first 19 games at U.S. Bank Arena this season, an average of 2,548--which is 21st in the ECHL. Through the first 19 games of last season, the club drew 38,619--an average of 2,033. Cincinnati did not reach 48,427 until the 22nd home game of 2007-08--reaching 48,607 through those 22 dates, an average of 2,209 as of February 6, 2008. Attendance this season is up 25.4 percent over the first 19 dates of a year ago--when the Cyclones had the highest percentage increase in attendance (36.8 percent) of any pro hockey team in North America. The 25.4 percent increase is the second-highest among all pro hockey teams this season (Tulsa-CHL-42.0 pct., Bridgeport-AHL-25.3 pct., Springfield-AHL-24.3 pct.).

MORE ATTENDANCE: While the top four teams in attendance improvement are more than 20 percent better, attendance in minor league hockey has fallen 3.4 percent over 2007-08. Despite this trend, the Cyclones have increased attendance by 516 fans per home game--sixth-best in minor league hockey. Cincinnati's 516 fans per game is the biggest improvement in the ECHL, nearly 30 more than the next closest team in the league (Dayton up 488 per contest).

MILLER LITE CYCLONES COACHES SHOW: The Miller Lite Cyclones Coaches Show will be held tonight from 7-8pm at Jefferson Hall at Newport on the Levee. Head Coach Chuck Weber and a pair of players are present at the show each week. Tonight Cyclones rookie defenseman Jamie Coghlan and rookie forward Dustin Sproat will be the guests.

TICKETS! GET YOUR TICKETS!: Tickets for all Cincinnati Cyclones games can be purchased through TicketMaster at 513-562-4949 or by using their website at: www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the window day of the game. Season ticket packages can also be obtained by contacting the Cyclones offices at 513-421-PUCK (7825) x. 3.

Check out the Cincinnati Cyclones Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 12, 2009


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