ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Claim North Division Title

Published on March 17, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


CINCINNATI - It has nearly twelve years since the city of Cincinnati celebrated a hockey divisional championship. The 1995-96 Cincinnati Cyclones of the IHL lofted a North Division championship, 13 points ahead of Michigan.

Monday night, the draught ended-as the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones claimed their first-ever North Division title in a 3-2 win over Johnstown. Cincinnati, with a record of 48-10-4, registered 100 points for the season in the standings with the triumph.

The first period ended in a scoreless draw, with Johnstown outshooting Cincinnati, 10-9.

In the second period, a pair of power play goals propelled the Cyclones to a 2-0 lead. The first came from Olivier Latendresse, with his fourth goal of the season from the slot at 12:07. T.J. McElroy and David Desharnais added the assists. A little more than two minutes later, at 16:08, Matt Syroczynski tipped home his 29th goal of the season, as Desharnais and Mathieu Aubin chipped in with the helpers. The Cyclones won the shots battle in the second period, 14-9.

Johnstown cut the deficit to 2-1 at 2:13 of the third period, as Randy Rowe collected his 22nd goal of the season from Joey Olson and Ryan Garlock. Cincinnati extended the lead to two, when Jason Deitsch netted his tenth goal at 9:53 from Latendresse and Sean Perkins. Less than a minute later-at 10:45, Alexandre Imbeault waited at the side of the net for a pass from Olson and Vincent Zaore to close the gap to 3-2. That would be the final goal of the night. Cincinnati would outshoot Johnstown, 31-26, on the night.

For the first time in club history, the Cincinnati Cyclones have captured the ECHL's North Division title. The club, which began in Louisville in 1995-96, is in its ninth season of operation. The IHL's Cincinnati Cyclones won one division title (1995-96). That edition of the Cyclones was the last team to crack the 100-plus point barrier in the standings, registering 111 points.

The Cincinnati Cyclones are 38 games above .500, with a 48-10-4 record and sole possession of first place in the North Division-21 points ahead of second place Elmira. The win gives Cincinnati a 32-4-2 record since December 15. Johnstown is 30-28-5 and in fourth place in the division. The 48 wins are the most ever by the club.

The Cyclones are next in action Wednesday morning (March 19) hosting Johnstown in a 10am showdown. The game will be carried on the internet at: www.cycloneshockey.com.

By winning the North Division, the Cyclones have a bye in the play-in round of the ECHL postseason and will host the winner of the fourth seed-fifth seed, best-of-three series at the end of the regular season. The first game of the best-of-seven series that the Cyclones will play, opens at U.S. Bank Arena on Friday, April 11 at 7:30pm.

Check out the Cincinnati Cyclones Statistics

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