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ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Hold on to Defeat Wheeling 7-5

March 2, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


WHEELING, West Virginia - After pulling ahead 6-0, the Cincinnati Cyclones (32-20-1-2) held off a ferocious comeback effort by the Wheeling Nailers (28-23-1-5) and went on to win by a 7-5 final score in front of 2,015 at WesBanco Arena on Sunday afternoon. Byron Froese earned his first hat trick of the season while Dan Eves contributed with four assists in the tilt.

The Cyclones rocketed out of the gate with a pair of goals in the first few minutes; at 2:28 Jonathan Hazen caught a long pass from Paul Crowder, raced in on net, and tucked home his 17th of the season with a perfect bank-hander. Then, less than a minute later, Anthony Luciani banked a shot from behind the cage off of Eric Hartzell (L, 24 saves, 3-3-0-1) and in for his 21st lamplighter of the year. Luciani struck again at 14:02 when he buried his own rebound, extending the Cyclones edge to 3-0. The visiting team added one more before the stanza came to a close, as Byron Froese sent a high point shot past Hartzell's shoulder for his second strike of the season. And thanks to a 15-save performance from Scott Darling (W, 32 saves, 4-1-0-1) at the other end of the ice, the Cyclones led it by four after 20 minutes.

Cincinnati wasted little time in the middle period adding to their lead. Hazen and Froese each scored goals in the opening minute to give the Cyclones a 6-0 cushion. The Nailers, however, would answer back; Mike Ratchuck fired a shot from the left circle that beat Darling over the glove-side shoulder to stop the bleeding. Then, during a Nailers power play, Ratchuck made it 6-2 with his second of the contest as he beat Darling, who was at the bottom of a pileup after contact was made in the goal crease. Former Cyclone Christiaan Minella later batted home his fourth of 2013-14 to cut Wheeling's deficit in half at 6-3 through two periods.

The Nailers comeback bid continued early in the third when Minella beat Darling with a shot from the right circle to pull his team to within a pair. Minutes later, at 12:21, Dustin Stevenson redirected a point shot into the back of the net to make it a 6-5 affair. Fortunately, the Cyclones defense was steadfast in their efforts the rest of the way and with four seconds remaining Froese completed a hat trick performance with an empty net strike to seal a 7-5 Cyclones win.

The Cyclones will return to U.S. Bank Arena on Wednesday, March 5 when they host the Evansville IceMen at 7:30pm! In addition to $1 beers, we'll be hosting our first-ever Game Show Night - as we honor some of the most iconic game shows of all time! We'll be awarding great prizes all night long! Call 513.421.PUCK or visit CyclonesHockey.com to secure your seats. Fans can also get the latest team updates throughout the season on Facebook and Twitter (@CincyCyclones).

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