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ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Game Preview: vs. Ft. Wayne

November 24, 2018 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


Game 18 (Road Game 8)

Vs. Ft. Wayne Komets (7-8-0-0, 14 pts)

Saturday - 7:35pm ET

Allen County War Memorial Coliseum - Ft. Wayne, IN

Overview: The Cyclones collected their fifth win in a row in Indy on Friday night, and enter Saturday's game 10-2-2-0 in Central Division play this season. Cincinnati is in the midst of a stretch of 10 straight games in division, and Saturday marks the second of a three-game weekend.

Last Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (12-3-2-0) defeated the Indy Fuel, 3-0, on Friday night. Brady Vail netted a pair of goals for the Cyclones, while forward Justin Vaive tallied a lone marker for Cincinnati. GoaltenderJonas Johansson was perfect, stopping all 32 shots he faced for his second shutout in the last three games. Indy outshot Cincinnati, 32-31, while the Cyclones penalty kill was a perfect 4-for-4 on the evening in the win.

Wednesday Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (11-3-2-0) collected a 6-3 win over the Kalamazoo Wings on Wednesday night, in front of 9,435 at U.S. Bank Arena. Defenseman Mitch Jones led the way with a pair of goals, while forwards Justin Vaive, Myles Powell, Pascal Aquin, and Vas Glotov notched singular tallies for the Cyclones. The Cyclones outshot Kalamazoo, 34-31 on the night, with goaltender Michael Houser stopping 28 in the win.

Last Saturday Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (10-3-2-0) squeaked by the Kalamazoo Wings, 2-1, on Saturday night. Forward Myles Powell and defenseman Anthony Florentino tallied the goals for Cincinnati, and the two sides combined for 102 minutes of penalties in the game. Cincinnati outshot Kalamazoo, 29-27, with goaltender Michael Houser stopping 26 in the win.

Previewing Ft; Wayne: The Komets enter Saturday having won two in a row after dropping four of the previous six, and are coming off a 4-2 win over the Kalamazoo Wings on Friday night. Despite to getting off to an uncharacteristically slow start, the Komets have proven to be one of the top special teams squads in the ECHL, ranking in the top 10 in both power play (10th- 17.9%) and penalty kill (6 th 87.1%). Additionally, Ft. Wayne has the third-best power play at home, converting at a 25% clips, and are 10thwith a 85.2% home penalty kill rate. They are led by forward Justin Hodgman who has accounted for six goals and 17 assists in 15 games played. He is followed by forwards Justin Kamrass (8g, 6a) and Phelix Martineau (5g, 5a) who round out the top three.

Inside the Series: This is the third game of an 11-game season series between the Cyclones and Komets, with the 'Clones taking the first two meetings and outscoring the Komets by a 9-3 margin. Saturday will be the first game of the season series played in Ft. Wayne, with four more set to follow.

Next Game Preview: Cincinnati wraps up their three-game weekend Sunday afternoon in Wheeling against the Nailers. Sunday will be game three of the eight-game season slate, and the first of three in Wheeling. Cincinnati has won the first two games by a combined score of 8-2, continuing the trend from last season where the Cyclones were 5-1-0-0 against the Nailers, and outscored them 21-15.

NEED-TO-KNOW

Familiar Foes: The Cyclones are in the midst of 10 straight games against the Central Division, and have won each of the first five games on their current stretch. Cincinnati is 10-2-2-0 against their divisional foes, and are set to play 51 total games against the Central this season.

The Wins Keep on Coming: Reigning ECHL goaltender of the Week, Jonas Johansson, collected his fifth win in a row in Friday's 3-0 win over the Indy Fuel. The Galve, SWE native has two shutouts in his last three games, and has only allowed six goals on his current heater. He is 6-2-1-0 overall this season, with a 2.45 goals-against average, and a .915 save percentage.

We're going Streaking!: Forward Alex Wideman pushed his point streak to nine straight with an assist in Friday's 3-0 win over the Indy Fuel, and has accounted for three goals and 11 assists in that time.

Approach with Caution: Several Cyclones have been enjoying tremendous offensive success as of later, including forward Myles Powell who saw his seven-game point and six-game goal scoring streak snapped in Friday's 3-0 win over the Indy Fuel totaling eight goals and three assists in that span. Forward Brady Vail has points in eight of his last nine games, accounting for six goals and four assists in that span, while defenseman Devante Stephens has points in six-of-seven with two goals and four assists. Additionally, forward Vas Glotov has points in five of his last seven outings, amassing a pair of goals and six assists.

Taking Away the Power: The Cyclones enter Saturday as the top penalty killing team in the League, having allowed just six goals in 59 shorthanded situations (89.8%). Additionally, Cincinnati also boasts the second-ranked home penalty at 91.9% (34/37), and have only allowed four power play goals on their last 39 chances. With a shorthanded tally from Pascal Aquin in Wednesday's 6-3 win over Kalamazoo, Cincinnati now has League lead with seven shorthanded goals.

Defensive Dominance: The Cyclones lead the ECHL team defense, allowing 2.24 goals per game with a pair of shutouts. Closing out games have been a specialty for Cincinnati, as they have only allowed four goals in the third period, and are outscoring the opposition, 20-4, in the final 20 minutes of play. Additionally, the Cyclones are a perfect 11-0-0-0 when leading through two periods, and has given up more than three goals in regulation just three times this season.

Johansson Named ECHL Goaltender of the Week: Cyclones goaltender Jonas Johansson has been named CCM ECHL Goaltender of the Week . The second-year netminder led Cincinnati to a pair of wins last week, posting a 0.50 goals-against average and a .981 save percentage, along with one shutout. His week started with a perfect 23-save performance in Tuesday's 9-0 win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in the Cyclones' annual Field Trip Game, marking his second career shutout. He was back between the pipes on Friday night where he turned aside 30 of the 31 shots he faced in a 4-1 win over the Ft. Wayne Komets.

Offensive Explosion: The Cyclones are 10-2-0-0 in their last 12 games, outscoring their opponents 50-22 in that span, including 46-12 in their seven wins. Cincinnati is the top offensive team in the ECHL, averaging 4.00 goals scored per game.

The Puck Stops Here: Goaltender Michael Houser sits atop the ECHL goaltending leaderboard with a 1.86 goals-against average and second with a .937 save percentage, while posting a 5-1-1-0 record this season.

Nine is Mighty Fine: Cincinnati's 9-0 win over the Greenville Swamp Rabbits last Tuesday marked the Cyclones' highest goal total since a 9-4 win over the Evansville IceMen back on March 3, 2013. It was also Cincinnati's highest margin of victory since a 13-2 victory over the Reading Royals on December 27, 2002.

Welcome Matt Thomas: The Cyclones enter the 2018-19 season with a new head coach. In early August, Cincinnati hired Matt Thomasas the team's new bench boss. He replaced Matt Macdonald who was named assistant coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins; American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. A native of Maple Ridge, BC, Thomas has extensive head coaching experience in the ECHL, spanning 11 seasons with the Atlantic Boardwalk Bullies, Fresno Falcons, and Stockton Thunder from 2002-2013. Thomas served two seasons as an assistant coach with Atlantic City, including helping the Boardwalk Bullies to a Kelly Cup Championship in 2003, before assuming the role of head coach and Director of Hockey Operations with the team prior to 2004-2005. He compiled a 42-22-8 mark in his lone season as Atlantic City's bench boss, and served as the head coach for the 2005 ECHL All-Star Game. He then moved on to Fresno prior to the 2005-06 campaign, leading the Falcons to a 43-15-14 mark along with a trip to the Western Conference Finals. Over the next two seasons in Fresno, Thomas compiled a 76-41-17 record, with trips to the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs on both occasions. He coached the Falcons during the first half of 2008-09, leading the team to an 18-10-2 mark before the team ceased operations midseason. Thomas was not out of work for long however, as he was named head coach of Stockton shortly after and finished the year with a record of 22-16-3, and a trip to the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Thomas went on to coach the Thunder for four more seasons, amassing a mark of 141-111-36, reaching the post season each year, including a trip to the 2013 Kelly Cup Finals. He enters the 2018-19 campaign as the ECHL's sixth-winningest coach with a career record of 342-225-80, just one win back of fifth place all time. He is also the all-time leader in playoff games coached with 97, and ranks third with 49 playoff wins.

The 2018-19 season is HERE, and the Cincinnati Cyclones want YOU along for the ride! Single game, Group, and Season Tickets are on sale NOW by calling (513) 421-PUCK! Stay on top of all the latest team updates and information on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram, along with our website, www.cycloneshockey.com!

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