ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Game Preview - Cincinnati at South Carolina

March 17, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


CINCINNATI CYCLONES (30-24-2-7)

vs.

SOUTH CAROLINA STINGRAYS (34-24-4-3)

DATE: Saturday, March 17, 2012

TIME: 7:05pm ET

SITE: North Charleston Coliseum - North Charleston, SC

RADIO: Cyclones Radio Network (1050-AM)

WEBCAST: CyclonesHockey.com (America One)

NHL AFFILIATES

Cincinnati Cyclones: Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators

South Carolina Stingrays: Washington Capitals

NEXT HOME GAME

Wednesday, March 21 - 7:30pm vs. Chicago Express

Wet Wednesday / Pucks N Pinot / Singles Night - Fans 21+ can enjoy $1 PBR and Miller High Life / Pre-game wine tasting / Singles Mixer

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: Less than 24 hours after snapping their four-game losing skid, the Cyclones are in South Carolina to visit the Stingrays for the final time this season. This past Sunday, the Rays escaped with a 3-1 victory over the Clones in this building but still trail in the season series 2-1. Cincinnati is 8-3-2 since 2006 at North Charleston Coliseum.

SCOUTING THE STINGRAYS: Spencer Carbery's team is stuck between Wheeling and Florida for the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference race despite dropping two of their last three games in a shootout. Their 34-24-4-3 record puts them one point back of the Nailers for fifth but only two points up on the Everblades for seventh. The Stingrays "bread and butter" this year has been their team defense; they are allowing an average of just 2.4 goals per game, which ranks second-best among all 20 ECHL teams. Goaltender Philipp Grubauer is the league's active leader with a stingy 2.22 goals-against average and a 23-13-4-1 record between the pipes. Offensively, the Stingrays are led by Trent Campbell who has amassed 48 points (16 goals, 32 assists) in 61 games. Pierre-Luc O'Brien, meanwhile, is close behind him with 46 tallies (23 goals, 23 assists) in 64 contests. Outside of those two players, though, South Carolina hasn't had many other big weapons; in fact, the next closest player (points-wise) to O'Brien is defenseman Zach Tarkir, who only has 29 points this year.

About Last Night in Gwinnett: Cyclones captain Mathieu Aubin registered his second professional hat trick to help the Cyclones defeat the Gladiators by a 6-3 final score in front of 6,054 at Gwinnett Center. Rookie Matt Carter also lit the lamp for his first professional goal, snapping the Cyclones four-game losing skid.

Eastern Conference Playoff Race: The top eight teams at season's end earn a Kelly Cup Playoff bid.

TEAM -- RECORD -- POINTS

1. Gwinnett* -- 37-18-7-4 -- 85

2. Elmira* -- 38-22-2-2 -- 80

3. Kalamazoo* -- 34-23-2-5 -- 75

4. Greenville -- 39-21-2-3 -- 83

5. Wheeling -- 35-23-3-3 -- 76

6. South Carolina -- 34-24-4-3 -- 75

7. Florida -- 34-24-2-5 -- 73

8. CYCLONES -- 30-24-2-7 -- 69

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9. Chicago -- 29-24-6-4 -- 68

10. Reading -- 30-27-3-4 -- 67

11. Toledo -- 27-31-2-4 -- 61

12. Trenton -- 19-37-3-5 -- 46

Hats Off For The Captain: Cyclones captain Mathieu Aubin registered his second three-goal (or more) game of his career last night. He is the second Cincinnati player to accomplish that feat this season (Anthony Luciani is the other). Aubin is on pace to pass his own career high of goals in a single season (30 in 2007-08). He leads the Clones with 62 points (28 goals, 34 assists) in 52 games.

Do You Like Magic?: The race to the Kelly Cup Playoffs is well underway. As of tonight, the Cyclones magic number to clinch a playoff spot is at 17. For every Cincinnati win OR Chicago regulation loss, that number will shrink by two. If the Clones win in a shootout or overtime, the number dips by one. That's also the case if Chicago falls in bonus hockey.

SEASON SERIES (4 Meetings - 1 Remaining)

Feb. 3 South Carolina 3 at Cincinnati 4 Final

Feb. 4 South Carolina 2 at Cincinnati 3 Final

Mar. 11 Cincinnati 1 at South Carolina 3 Final

Mar. 17 Cincinnati at South Carolina 7:05 pm EDT

Check out the Cincinnati Cyclones Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 17, 2012


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