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ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Look To Even Series

April 13, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, the 2008 Kelly Cup champions, trail the Wheeling Nailers two games to one in the North Division semifinals series. Game four of the best of seven affair will be played Wednesday night (April 15) at 7:05pm at WesBanco Arena. The fifth game of the series will also be played at WesBanco Arena on Friday (April 17) at 7:35pm. Should a sixth game be necessary, it would be played at U.S. Bank Arena on Saturday (April 18) at 7:30pm. If a seventh game is necessary--it would also be played at U.S. Bank Arena next Monday (April 20) at 7:30pm. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Elmira-Trenton semifinal (series tied at one game apiece). The North Division Finals would be played during the April 24-May 6 timeframe.

GAME INFO: If a sixth game in the series is necessary, it will be ticket 'C' and the contest would be played on Saturday, April 18 at 7:30pm at U.S. Bank Arena. The seventh game (if needed), would be ticket 'D' and would be good for admission on Monday, April 20 at 7:30pm. If games are not played, the tickets would be good for games in the North Division Finals round.

ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones rallied from a first period deficit by scoring in the final minute of the opening frame and in the first minute of the second period--enroute to a 7-3 victory at Wheeling. Cincinnati got a pair of goals from Jake Dietrich and Dustin Sproat to roll to the victory. Loic Lacasse stopped 30 shots in picking up his first pro playoff triumph.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: Wheeling took a 3-1 win over the Cyclones Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the best of seven series. Matt Syroczynski's four-on-three goal was the only marker of the night for Cincinnati--which has lost back to back games for the first time since January 6 & 9.

ABOUT THURSDAY NIGHT...: Wheeling claimed a 4-1 win over the Cyclones Thursday night. Felix Petit's goal late in the third period brought the game to a 2-1 score--but a pair of late goals, one an empty netter, secured Cincinnati's feat. It was the first time in the three seasons that Chuck Weber has been the Cyclones coach that the team has dropped a game in the opening round of the playoffs (7-1).

DIVISION CHAMPS AGAIN!: The Cyclones completed their four game sweep of Johnstown in the final eight days of the season to claim the North Division championship. Saturday's 6-0 whitewashing of Johnstown slipped Wheeling into the final playoff spot in the division.

BIG WINNERS: Since the start of the 2007-08 season and through the playoffs of last season--the Cyclones have compiled a record of 113-44-12 (.711 winning percentage). It is the best winning percentage of any team in the ECHL.

WHEELING AND THE CYCLONES: The series with Wheeling marks the first time that the Cyclones have met the Nailers in the postseason. Wheeling won season series from Cincinnati, 6-5, including wins in three of five contests at U.S. Bank Arena. Under Head Coach Chuck Weber, the Cyclones are 20-21 against their opponent from West Virginia. All-time, Cincinnati has a 29-31-4 record versus Wheeling.

OPENING ROUND ATTENDANCE: The Cyclones welcomed 4047 for their second playoff game against Wheeling on April 10. It was the seventh-largest crowd ever to view a playoff game for the team. Through the first week of the postseason, Cincinnati ranks fourth in the ECHL in attendance at 3212 per game. The Cyclones are one of two teams in the league drawing more fans for its postseason competition than its regular season play (Alaska leads the ECHL at 4682). Alaska has increased its attendance by four percent in the playoffs, while Cincinnati is 3.5 percent better. If a sixth game is needed in this season, a Saturday, April 18 date should help that number.

MILLER LITE CYCLONES COACHES SHOW: The final Miller Lite Cyclones Coaches Show will be held next Monday night (April 20) at Jefferson Hall at Newport on the Levee. Head Coach Chuck Weber will be on hand and the show will either highlight the 2008-09 season or serve as a preview of the second round of the playoffs. If a seventh game is needed in this semifinal round, the show will be pushed back to Monday, April 27.

THESE TEAMS ARE OFFENSIVE: During the eleven games between these teams, a total of 102 goals were scored (9.3 goals per game). Wheeling outscored Cincinnati, 54-48. The Cyclones scored a season-high ten goals in a 10-4 triumph over the Nailers on Jan. 14. Wheeling netted a season-high nine goals in a 9-7 triumph over Cincinnati on Oct. 27. Florida led the ECHL with 269 goals, while the Nailers were second in the league with 263 goals and Cincinnati was third in scoring with 259 goals.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Cyclones finished the season 22-13-1 away from U.S. Bank Arena this season. The 22 victories are the most in the ECHL and will be one more than Florida will amass. During the 2007-08 season, the Cyclones led the ECHL with 26 road victories. The 48 triumphs away from home over the past two seasons is the most ever by an ECHL club over that time frame.

CHUCK IS GOOD IN OPENERS: Head Coach Chuck Weber has been in the coaching business for ten seasons and his teams have been to the postseason nine times. In seven of the eight campaigns that his clubs have gone to playoffs, they have won the opening round seven times.

FAMILIAR FACES: The Cyclones have four faces from the Kelly Cup championship team on the playoff roster for this season. Center Barret Ehgoetz, defenseman Matt Macdonald, defenseman T.J. McElroy and left wing Matt Syroczynski will have the opportunity to participate with the club in postseason.

HAPPY ENDING: The Cyclones 6-0 win on April 4 marked the first time in the three years that Chuck Weber has been head coach that the club has won its last game of the regular season. In 2006-07, Cincinnati dropped the last game at home against Charlotte that allowed Dayton to win the North Division title. Last year, a loss at Trenton finished the campaign--but help from Florida allowed the squad to capture the Brabham Cup for the league's best record.

COMEBACKS!: The Cyclones rally versus Johnstown on April 3 marked fifteen times this season that Cincinnati has registered a comeback win. Last season, the squad recorded 25 comebacks and in the three seasons under Chuck Weber, the club has rallied 53 times to win. Three times the Cyclones have erased two goal deficits in 2008-09. Eleven comeback triumphs have occurred since Christmas. Already in the postseason, the club has one comeback win and has seven playoff come-from-behind triumphs under Weber.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES...: The Cyclones welcomed Matt Dias to the lineup in the season finale, making him the 58th player to dress 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 employed 44 different lineups this season.

ATTENDANCE NUMBERS UP: The Cyclones drew 111,750 to the 36 regular season games at U.S. Bank Arena this season, an average of 3104--17th in the ECHL. Through 36 regular season games last season, the club drew 90,778--an average of 2522. Cincinnati had not reached 111,750 in regular season attendance since the end of the 2002-03 season when 131,141 passed through the doors.

MORE ATTENDANCE: While the top two teams in minor hockey attendance improvement are more than 20 percent better, attendance in minor league hockey has fallen 1.6 percent over 2007-08. Despite this trend, the Cyclones have increased attendance by 582 fans per home game, second-best in minor league hockey. Cincinnati's 582 fans per game is the biggest improvement in the ECHL (Wheeling is up 82 per game to rank second). The top per game average increases in minor league hockey are: Tulsa-CHL 1218, Cincinnati-ECHL 582, Springfield-AHL 550 and Grand Rapids-AHL 532.

ATTENDANCE CLOSER TO HOME: The Cyclones are one of four ECHL teams this season with an increase in attendance. Cincinnati is averaging 582 fans more per game this season, while Wheeling (82) , Victoria (52) and Dayton (15) are the other teams with increases in 2008-09.

ONE MORE ATTENDANCE NUGGET: Since the club moved to Cincinnati prior to the start of the 2001-02 season, a total of 589,981 fans have attended Cyclones games over that six year stretch.

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