ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Appreciate Fans In 5-1 Win Over Johnstown

Published on April 2, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


CINCINNATI, Ohio - The Cincinnati Cyclones dropped the Johnstown Chiefs, 5-1, on Friday night at U.S. Bank Arena. Jimmy Kilpatrick had a four assist night for the winners, while Jeremy Smith steered aside 28 shots to collect his 23rd win of the year. It was Fan Appreciation Night and the Cyclones treated their fans to five goals and three fights in the triumph. A total of 10,512 were on hand for the victory.

The crowd was the second-largest of the season, only behind the 10,940 fans that showed up for Throwback Night on November 6 and third-biggest in the club's regular season history behind the earlier game and last year's 11,417 for U.S. Bank Fan Appreciation Night. It was also the ninth time in 2009-10 that the Cyclones attracted more than 6000 fans to a contest. It was the eighth-biggest crowd in the ECHL this season.

The game was the final meeting ever between the Cyclones and Chiefs, as Johnstown will move to Greenville, SC next season. Cincinnati enjoyed contests against the Chiefs, posting a 47-18-8 record (.699 winning percentage) and a 30-9-4 mark (.738 winning percentage) under Head Coach Chuck Weber. The Cyclones won seven of the ten showdowns between the clubs this season.

Cincinnati exploded for three first period goals, as Jason Jozsa lifted the lid at 10:23 with his fifth goal of the season from the left point. Brian O'Hanley and Matt Pierce dished off the assists. The lead grew to 2-0 when Brett Robinson came down the right wing slot and took a feed from Jimmy Kilpatrick behind the net for his 15th of the year. Cullen Eddy recorded his first point as a professional with the second assist. The lead grew to 3-0 when Dustin Sproat notched his 14th score of the campaign. Pierce and Kilpatrick had the assists on the score. The shots favored Cincinnati, 16-6, in the term.

In the second period, the teams exchanged goals. Johnstown lit the lamp at 4:35 when Jim McKenzie worked a two-on-one into the Cincinnati end with Jeff Martens. The shot over Jeremy Smith's glove was his 16th of the season, as Bear Trapp added the second assist. The Cyclones would get the goal back at 16:35 when Jozsa slipped a shot from the right point off the leg of netminder Murray and trickled it inside the left post for his second of the evening and sixth of the year. Doug Krantz and Kilpatrick had the assists. The shots favored Johnstown, 18-10, in the period.

The only goal of the third period came from Doug Krantz, his fourth of the season on the power play at 10:48. The score came from Mathieu Aubin and Kilpatrick. The fireworks were reserved for the final half minute of play when Cyclones Brett Robinson fought Jeff Martens and Krantz battled Chanse Fitzpatrick. The shots were even in the period at five each. For the game, Cincinnati won the shots battle, 31-29.

For the home portion of the schedule, the Cyclones drew 139,919 to the 36 games scheduled at U.S. Bank Arena. It was the biggest single season for home attendance since the club moved to Cincinnati for the 2001-02 season, breaking the previous mark of 131,144 set during 2002-03. The attendance is third-best in team history as well.

For the U.S. Bank Fan Appreciation Night, the club had hundreds of gifts for fans valued at more than $5000. All fans in attendance received free Frosty coupons from Wendy's and had five dollar pulled pork barbeque sandwich coupons from City BBQ for reaching various scoring promotions on the evening.

Cincinnati is 44-24-3, while Johnstown is 18-42-11. The Cyclones close the regular season tomorrow night (Saturday, April 3) with a 6:05pm clash at Wheeling. The Kelly Cup playoff scenarios will be cleared up by the end of the games on Saturday, as Cincinnati still has four possible opening round opponents (Charlotte, Reading, South Carolina and Toledo) and six different schedule possibilities for the games.

The opening round of the Cincinnati Cyclones USA Collision Centers postseason will be during the week of April 5 and will be a best-of-five series. The format for Kelly Cup playoff games, opponents and dates will be determined as the postseason approaches. The latest information on the team and playoffs can be found at www.cycloneshockey.com. .

Tickets for the 2010-11 Cincinnati Cyclones season are now on sale. The Cyclones Sales Department can be reached at 513-421-PUCK, extension 3. Selected Friday night games are carried on 1530-AM Homer, while all 72 regular season games can be heard on the club's website at: www.cycloneshockey.com. All road Kelly Cup playoff games will be carried on ESPN 1530 as well.

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