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ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Host Reading Tuesday Night

February 2, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, the 2008 Kelly Cup champions, play four games this week. Tuesday night (Feb. 3), Reading comes to U.S. Bank Arena for a 7:30pm contest. It is a 'Big Beer Tuesday' with 24 ounce Labatts beers sold for two dollars each. The team kicks off its six game southern swing over the next two weeks during the weekend with three games at Mississippi.

MAX-FM GAMES: All four games this week will be carried on the Cyclones website: www.cycloneshockey.com. The games Friday night at Mississippi (8pm) and Sunday against the Sea Wolves (6pm) will both be carried on MAX-FM (97.7 and 99.5)

FIRST PLACE CYCLONES?: With a win on Tuesday night versus Reading, the Cyclones could move into first place in the North Division. Should Cincinnati take over the top spot, it would be the first time the club has held first place since the end of the 2007-08 regular season.

EIGHT OUT OF NINE AIN'T BAD: The Cyclones have now won eight of the last nine games they have played. During this stretch, the club has moved from fifth to third in the North Division standings.

THAT IS A DIVISION RACE: Beginning the new week, Johnstown and Wheeling are the co-leaders of the North Division with 54 points each. The Cyclones are third, just one point behind with 53 points. Elmira has the last playoff spot in the division with 52 standings points. Trenton and Dayton are tied for fifth with 47 points and Reading is at the bottom of the standings with 30 points.

JUICED UP: The Cyclones power play unit has been especially opportunistic in recent days. The man-advantage unit has jumped up to fourth place in the ECHL, clocking in at 20.3 percent (51 of 251). During January, Cincinnati has been deadly on the power play producing a 27.8 percent (20 of 72) power play efficiency. In the last seven games, the team is 15 of 39 (38.5 percent) with the extra attacker.

SHRINKING UP: The Cyclones other half of the special teams--the penalty kill, has been stronger in recent days as well. The shorthanded crew has killed 33 of the last 39 power plays presented to the opposition (84.6 percent) over the last seven games. Cincinnati has improved to 22nd in the league on the penalty kill at 78.1 percent (182 of 233).

SATURDAY NIGHTS AREN'T FOR FIGHTING -- THEY'RE FOR WINNING!: The Cyclones are 9-3-3 (.700 winning percentage) on Saturday nights this season. Since last season, Cincinnati is 23-10-5 (.671) on Saturdays. Under Head Coach Chuck Weber, the club is 35-16-8 (.661) on Saturdays.

ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones raced out to a 3-0 first period lead and held on to a 6-4 win at Dayton. Barret Ehgoetz scored with 4:08 remaining to break a 4-4 tie and give the victory to Cincinnati. Mike Salekin netted goal and had two assists, while Ehgoetz, Ben Gordon, Justin Johnson, Jimmy Kilpatrick and Mark Van Guilder all had multiple point games. Loic Lacasse stopped 30 shots in picking up the win.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones raced out to a 3-0 lead and then held off a third period charge from Dayton to secure a 3-2 win. Jimmy Kilpatrick had a goal and two assists, while Loic Lacasse turned aside 33 shots in collecting the victory. Mark Van Guilder and Mike Salekin had the other Cincinnati goals.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Cyclones are 14-7-1 (.659 winning percentage) on the road. The 14 wins are the second-most in the ECHL, as only Florida (18) has more. Cincinnati was a perfect 6-0 away from U.S. Bank Arena during January. The Cyclones have not lost a road game since December 31, dropping a 6-1 verdict at Wheeling. Ironically, Cincinnati has won eight of its last nine road games. The Cyclones are 11-2 in away games since Thanksgiving.

SECOND HALF UNDERWAY: Cincinnati has a 4-1 record to start the post-All-Star Game portion of the year. In 2007-08, the Cyclones went 29-4-2 (.857 winning percentge) after the All-Star break.

ABOUT WEDNESDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones opened up a 3-1 lead midway through the first period but could not hold on in a 6-4 loss to Elmira. Jimmy Kilpatrick netted a pair of goals and dished off an assist in the loss. Loic Lacasse took the loss after stopping nine shots in relief.

STREAKING...: Cyclones rookie forward Mark Van Guilder has a nine-game point scoring streak. Rookie forward Jimmy Kilpatrick has a seven-game stretch with at least a goal and at least an assist in each of those games.

NIFTY NIE: Goaltender Ryan Nie has won his first six decisions as a member of the Cyclones, setting the club record for most wins from the start of his career with the team. Lance Leslie won his first five decisions with the Louisville River Frogs from Oct. 16-31, 1997. Leslie would go 5-0-1 before dropping his first verdict. Steve Briere also accomplished the five wins from Oct. 19-Nov. 4, 2001. Briere would lose his sixth decision and finished the season 10-12-4. Nie is 6-0 with a 2.98 goals against average and a .860 save percentage since joining Cincinnati.

THAT WAS A CROWD: The 8508 in attendance on January 24 marked the second-largest crowd for a regular season game in team history. Only the Fan Appreciation game last season had more fans (9615) for a regular season game. That night's crowd was the fourth-largest between the regular season and playoffs.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES...: The Cyclones welcomed goaltender Ryan Nie to the lineup on January 9, making him the 42nd player to play for the club this season. Last year, a total of 46 different players appeared in games for Cincinnati en route to the Kelly Cup championship. The Cyclones have now employed 29 different lineups this season.

FAMILY FOUR PACK ON SALE!: The Cyclones Family Four Pack is now on sale. For $69 (including all handling fees), you get four tickets to any Cyclones regular season game, four hot dogs, four Pepsis, four Cyclones winter caps, four ice skating passes to SportsPlus and a SportsPlus game card. Valued at more than $150--this is a package that has something for everyone! Call the Cyclones Sales Department at 513-421-7825, x. 3 to order yours.

ATTENDANCE NUMBERS UP: The Cyclones have drawn 63,719 to the first 22 games at U.S. Bank Arena this season, an average of 2896--which is 19th in the ECHL. Through the first 22 games of last season, the club drew 48,607--an average of 2209. Cincinnati did not reach 63,719 until the 28th home game of 2007-08--reaching 67,474 through those 28 dates, an average of 2,410 as of February 23, 2008. Attendance this season is up 31.1 percent over the first 22 dates of a year ago--when the Cyclones had the highest percentage increase in attendance (36.8 percent) of any pro hockey team in North America.

MILLER LITE CYCLONES COACHES SHOW: The Miller Lite Cyclones Coaches Show will be held Mondays from 7-8pm at Jefferson Hall at Newport on the Levee. Head Coach Chuck Weber and a pair of players are present at the show each week. Forwards Ben Gordon and Mark Van Guilder are the guests tonight.

TICKETS! GET YOUR TICKETS!: Tickets for all Cincinnati Cyclones games can be purchased through TicketMaster at 513-562-4949 or by using their website at: www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets can also be purchased at the window day of the game. Season ticket packages can also be obtained by contacting the Cyclones offices at 513-421-PUCK (7825) x. 3.

MORE ATTENDANCE: While the top four teams in attendance improvement are more than 20 percent better, attendance in minor league hockey has fallen 3.3 percent over 2007-08. Despite this trend, the Cyclones have increased attendance by 687 fans per home game--fourth-best in minor league hockey. Cincinnati's 687 fans per game is the biggest improvement in the ECHL (Dayton is up 487 per game to rank second).

NEXT HOME GAMES: Following Tuesday's game with Reading and the two week southern trip, the Cyclones return to U.S. Bank Arena on Friday, February 20 when Dayton is in on 'John Morrell Dollar Hot Dog Night' and then it is 'Twister Bobblehead Night' on Saturday, February 21 with Dayton in town. That night, the first 3000 fans through the gate receive a special commemorative of the Cincinnati mascot on his head with 'bobblelegs'. Faceoff for all games is at 7:30pm and tickets can be purchased at the U.S. Bank Arena Box Office or through TicketMaster at 5-13-562-4949 or www.ticketmaster.com.

WEBER REACHES CENTURY MARK: Head Coach Chuck Weber picked up his 100th regular season victory on November 29. Now in his third season directing the Cyclones, Weber has a 116-57-16 mark (.656 winning percentage). The win on November 30 allowed Chuck to pass Warren Young for the club lead in regular season wins. Young needed three full seasons to post his 100-86-24 (.533) record. Weber has 102 of those wins against North Division competition.

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