ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Game Preview - Cincinnati Vs. Toledo

Published on March 25, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


DATE: Friday, March 25, 2011

TIME: 7:30pm

SITE: U.S. Bank Arena - Cincinnati, OH

RADIO: MAX-FM (99.5 FM)

WEBCAST: CyclonesHockey.com (American One)

NHL AFFILIATES

Cincinnati Cyclones: Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators

Toledo Walleye: Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks

NEXT HOME GAME

Saturday, March 26 vs. Toledo Walleye - 7:30pm

Child Abuse Awareness Night - The Cyclones will wear specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game to benefit the Northern Kentucky Children's Advocacy Center. The first 2,500 fans through the gates will receive a FREE Reminderband.

TONIGHT'S MATCHUP: After three weeks away home, Cincinnati finally returns to U.S. Bank Arena for the final three games of the 2010-11 regular season. However, the way the Cyclones have played of late - they could be far from finished. Jarrod Skalde's bunch have strung together six wins out of their last eight games and look to clinch a spot in the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Tonight, it's the first of three games in three days against the Toledo Walleye. This year, the 'Clones have gone 5-6-0-1 against their I-75 rivals and sit six points ahead coming into the weekend.

TONIGHT'S PROMOTION: Kids Eat FREE Night - all fans ages 2-12 will receive a free meal courtesy of John Morrell, Sunkist, and Sun Drop.

SCOUTING THE WALLEYE: Despite dwelling in the basement of the North Division standings for most of the season, Toledo is still in the hunt for a postseason berth. However, to stay alive, they'll have to get some help. The Walleye have gone 4-4-1-1 in their last ten games and would need to at least two wins out of this three game series to stay alive. All three of Toledo's top four scorers have returned from the American Hockey League; Andy Bombach, Tyler Doig, Evan Rankin, and Mike Hedden have combined for 199 points. Bombach is the active leader against the Cyclones as well, collecting 10 points in 10 meetings this year. Thomas McCollum has started in 15 straight games for Toledo and has earned a 9-8-1-1 record with a 2.88 goals-against average. This season against Cincinnati, he has won all three of his appearances and posted a stingy 1.33 goals-against average in those games.

An Eye on the East: As of today, here is a quick snapshot of how the Eastern Conference playoff race shapes up:

5 - Florida 74 points

6 - Wheeling* 73 points

7 - Elmira* 73 points

8 - Cincinnati 72 points

9 - Gwinnett 67 points

10 - Toledo 66 points

* Wheeling holds tiebreaker with Elmira

Magic Number Tracker: As it stands now, the Cyclones "Magic Number" to clinch a Kelly Cup playoff spot sits at 7. That number will shrink by two for each Cincinnati win and each Toledo loss.

The Go-To Guy: Cincinnati goaltender Brian Foster has been extremely busy between the pipes. He has now started in eight straight games, picking up his first two career shutouts and first career shootout win along the way. Foster's goals-against average sits at 2.16 - which ranks him second among all active ECHL goalies with at least 10 games played. On Wednesday morning, his 47-save blanking was the most by a Cyclones shutout-winning goaltender since the team resumed ECHL play in 2006.

The "Rise" of March: Cincinnati will need to wrap up a solid month on the ice to solidify a Kelly Cup Playoff spot. Including games this season, the Cyclones have earned a 31-17-3 record in the month of March. This season, they have gone 7-4-1 in March...they went 7-5-0 last year, 6-5-0 in 2008-09, and a remarkable 11-3-2 in 2007-08.

Living Up to the Word "Rivalry": Like most teams in the North Division, Toledo has proved to be an equal adversary for the Cyclones this year. The Walleye have a slight edge in the season series, and have outscored the Cyclones by the slimmest of margins: 32-27 collectively. Both teams are also very close in many other areas, including power play chances; Cincinnati has enjoyed 47 power plays in the series, while Toledo has had 44. Even the shots on net totals have been close - Toledo has a 368-367 advantage in this category.

SEASON SERIES (15 Meetings - 3 Remaining)

Oct. 29 Cincinnati 2 at Toledo 3 Final

Nov. 10 Toledo 1 at Cincinnati 2 Final OT

Nov. 12 Cincinnati 2 at Toledo 0 Final

Nov. 14 Cincinnati 2 at Toledo 1 Final

Dec. 5 Cincinnati 3 at Toledo 2 Final

Dec. 10 Toledo 5 at Cincinnati 2 Final

Dec. 28 Toledo 2 at Cincinnati 0 Final

Jan. 1 Cincinnati 2 at Toledo 6 Final

Jan. 23 Cincinnati 2 at Toledo 4 Final

Feb. 16 Toledo 3 at Cincinnati 2 Final SOL OT

Feb. 18 Toledo 1 at Cincinnati 5 Final

Mar. 5 Toledo 5 at Cincinnati 2 Final

Mar. 25 Toledo at Cincinnati 7:30 pm EDT

Mar. 26 Toledo at Cincinnati 7:30 pm EDT

Mar. 27 Cincinnati at Toledo 4:00 pm EDT

Check out the Cincinnati Cyclones Statistics

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