ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Jump Checkers, 5-3

Published on March 3, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


CHARLOTTE, North Carolina - The Cincinnati Cyclones used a pair of goal from captain Barret Ehgoetz to claim a 5-3 win over the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday night. Ian McKenzie picked up a goal and had a fight to spark the club to the win. Jeremy Smith kicked away 31 shots to take the triumph.

The victory was Head Coach Chuck Weber's 170th regular season win---fourth-most among coaches in their first four full seasons in the ECHL. It was also the 18th different building that Weber has won a game in. He will have a chance to grab numbers eighteen and nineteen on the current southern trip.

The Cyclones opened the scoring with a shorthanded breakaway goal from Barret Ehgoetz at 11:45 of the first period. Ehgoetz pushed the puck between the legs of Charlotte netminder Ryan Munce for the opening marker-his 21st of the year. Scott Reynolds had the assist on Cincinnati's club record-tying 14th shorthanded marker of the season. On the same power play, the Checkers evened the scores when Kenny Roche picked up a puck at the right post and flipped it past Jeremy Smith for his 17th score of the season. Steve Ward and Michel Leville had the assists at 12:51. The shots favored Charlotte, 15-3, in the term.

Cincinnati grabbed its second lead of the night at 2-1 when Ryan Del Monte netted his seventh goal at 2:24. Brett Robinson, returning to the Cincinnati lineup after missing six games due to injury, added the assist. Charlotte's Matt Schepke picked up his 20th goal at 8:59 from Daniel Tkaczuk and Andrew Carroll. For the third time on the evening, Cincinnati grabbed a lead-this time at 3-2. Ian McKenzie dove through the low slot and tipped a puck past Munce for his second score of the campaign. Brett Motherwell and Reynolds had the assists. Before the period could end the Checkers tied the game at three each. Tyson Dowzak's first professional goal at 18:55 did the damage, as Roche and Mike Taylor assisted. The shots favored Charlotte, 10-7 in the period.

Max Lacroix would net the game winning goal at 15:27 of the third period on a power play score. Motherwell and Ehgoetz would hand out the helpers. Ehgoetz would seal the game with an empty net goal with 55 seconds remaining. Lacroix had the puck in the Checkers zone with the empty net in front of him-but chose to dish off the puck to a streaking Ehgoetz to close the scoring. The shots would favor Cincinnati in the final frame, 6-5-but the Checkers won the battle for the game, 34-15.

Jeremy Smith, an emergency starter for Robert Mayer, turned away 31 shots in taking his 19th win of the season. Ryan Munce would absorb the defeat in turning away ten shots. Cincinnati was one of three on the power play, while Charlotte would go one for five with the extra man.

Cincinnati is 37-19-3, while Charlotte is 30-20-6 The contest was the second game of a six game road trip and the first game of a four game southern swing. The Cyclones will return to U.S. Bank Arena on Thursday, March 18 for a 7:30pm showdown against the Johnstown Chiefs.

Cincinnati leads the North Division with 77 points. Kalamazoo is second with 71, while Toledo is third at 62 and Wheeling rounds out the division with 59 points. The Cyclones have led the North Division for 57 days this season and for 318 days over the past three-plus seasons. Cincinnati's ‘magic number' to clinching a playoff berth is now at 16.

Tickets for the 2009-10 Cincinnati Cyclones season are now on sale. The Cyclones Sales Department can be reached at 513-421-PUCK, extension 3. Selected Friday night games are carried on 1530-AM Homer, while all 72 regular season games can be heard on the club's website at: www.cycloneshockey.com. The next game on ESPN 1530 will come Friday (March 5), when the Cyclones travel to the defending Kelly Cup champion South Carolina Stingrays at 7pm.

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