ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Play Three At Home This Week

January 5, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, the 2008 Kelly Cup champions, return to U.S. Bank Arena this week for three important North Division games. On Tuesday (Jan. 6), the club welcomes Wheeling for a 'Big Beer Tuesday' with 24 ounce Labatts products sold for two dollars each. On Friday night (Jan. 9), Trenton visits on 'Automotive Bailout Night'--where a fan will drive away with a car. Saturday night (Jan. 10), it is 'Dollar Hot Dog Night' with John Morrell favorites distributed for a buck a pop--as Trenton again is the visitor. The weekend closes with a Sunday (Jan. 11) visit to Wheeling at 1:05pm.

ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones defeated Johnstown, 4-2, on Saturday night. Michael Cohen netted a pair of goals and Barret Ehgoetz tallied a goal and an assist, while Kyle Gajewski turned aside 31 shots in the triumph.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones got a hat trick from Michael Cohen, three assists from Ben McLeod and a 19 save effort from Kyle Gajewski, in a 6-1 win at Johnstown Friday night. Cincinnati got a three goal third period explosion to seal the verdict.

ABOUT WEDNESDAY NIGHT...: The Wheeling Nailers scored just 15 seconds into the game and then steamrolled the Cyclones in a 6-1 defeat. Jon Grecu and Bryan Ewing each lit Cincinnati up for a pair of goals in the most lopsided defeat of the campaign.

COHEN'S WEEK TO REMEMBER: Cyclones second-year forward Michael Cohen had a week to remember. Cohen collected six goals and an assist, to be part of the scoring on seven of Cincinnati's eleven goals last week.

GAJEWSKI ENJOYED HIS WEEK ALSO: Cyclones rookie goaltender Kyle Gajewski also had a solid week as well. Gajewski turned in a 2-1 record with a 3.00 goals against average and a .880 save percentage. Kyle's season record is 7-8-2, with four of the wins coming at the expense of Johnstown--the second place team in the North Division.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Cyclones are 8-2 away from U.S. Bank Arena since Thanksgiving. Cincinnati's ten road wins this season are fourth-most in the ECHL and the .583 away winning percentage (team record 10-7-1) is seventh-best among visiting teams in the ECHL. Since the start of the 2007-08 season, the Cyclones are 37-14-3 (.713 winning percentage)--which is best among all teams in road games in the league.

SMACKDOWN: The 6-1 victory Friday night (Jan. 2) marked the first time Cincinnati has won a game by five or more goals since a 6-0 drilling of Wheeling at U.S. Bank Arena on March 12 of last season.

NEED A CIGARETTE?: The goal scored by Kelly Miller 15 seconds into the game on Wednesday night (Dec. 31) was the earliest into a game that the Cyclones have ever surrendered a goal. Previously, Dmitri Tarabrin of Johnstown had scored 18 seconds into a Cincinnati win on February 17, 2007.

NOT SO NARROW MARGIN: The 6-1 defeat on Wednesday night was also the largest margin of defeat suffered by Cincinnati since a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of Trenton on March 13 of last season. Ironically, that defeat ended a 22 game (20-0-2) unbeaten in regulation time streak that the Cyclones had--dating back to Thanksgiving weekend in 2007. A year ago, the club responded to that thumping by going 6-0-2 over the next eight games.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES...: The Cyclones welcomed forward Dustin Sproat to the lineup on Saturday night, making him the 40th different 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 25 different lineups this season.

JANUARY 9 PROMOTION: Friday, January 9 the Cyclones will host 'Automotive Bailout Night'. During this evening, the club will assist fans with auto issues and concerns. One lucky fan will receive a 'Big Three' CEO's annual salary. Ticket stubs from the game will be redeemable for an upgrade on a future rental at Enterprise Rent-A-Car and one lucky fan will receive a free weekend rental from Enterprise. The Chuck-A-Puck prize that night will be a car. Boy Scouts attending the game can bring their Pinewood Derby cars and get a $5 gift certificate to the concession stands at U.S. Bank Arena. This evening will be more than a car-load of fun for fans!

DISCONNECTED FROM CANADA: Wednesday's game (Dec. 31) marked the first time since Head Coach Chuck Weber arrived in Cincinnati that there was not a Montreal/Hamilton player in the lineup for the Cyclones. It was the first time in his 207 games (regular season and playoffs) that Weber has not had a Montreal/Hamilton contract in the lineup for a game. The streak has now reached three games without a member of the Canadiens family on assignment here. The club is 2-1 without Canadiens/Bulldogs representation.

UNLUCKY 13: The Cyclones defeat on Wednesday night dropped the club's record to 14-13-5. The 13 losses are one more than the club had all of last season, as the team turned in a 55-12-5 slate en route to the club's first-ever Kelly Cup championship. The club has since improved to 16-13-5 after the wins this past weekend.

McELROY HITS THE LEADERBOARD: Defenseman T.J. McElroy has seven goals on the season, second-most among blueliners in the ECHL this season. McElroy has the fourth-best shooting percentage of any ECHL rearguard at 15.9 percent. T.J.'s four power play goals are the second-most among defensemen in the league as well.

LEAGUE LEADERS: The Cyclones are tied for the ECHL lead with Wheeling with 47 first period goals.....Cincinnati has surrendered 45 third period goals--tied with Mississippi for most in the league.....The Cyclones have played a league-high nine overtime games....Cincinnati has seven shorthanded goals scored, third-most in the league.

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 107-56-17 mark (.642 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.

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 $100--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 37,570 to the first 16 games at U.S. Bank Arena this season, an average of 2,348--which is 21st in the ECHL. Through the first 16 games of last season, the club drew 27,524--an average of 1,720. Cincinnati did not reach 37,570 until the 19th home game of 2007-08--reaching 38,619 through those 19 dates, an average of 2,032 as of January 16, 2008. Attendance this season is up 36.5 percent over the first 16 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. The 36.5 increase is the second-highest among all pro hockey teams this season (Tulsa-CHL-45.7 pct.).

MORE ATTENDANCE: While the top three teams in attendance improvement are more than 30 percent better (Tulsa-45.7%, Cincinnati-36.5% and Springfield (AHL)-30.5%), attendance in minor league hockey has fallen 3.9 percent over 2007-08. Despite this trend, the Cyclones have increased attendance by 625 fans per home game--sixth-best in minor league hockey. Cincinnati's 625 fans per game is the biggest improvement in the ECHL, 525 percent better than the next closest team in the league (Bakersfield up 119 per contest).

MILLER LITE CYCLONES COACHES SHOW: The Miller Lite Cyclones Coaches Show will be held tonight 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.

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.

Check out the Cincinnati Cyclones Statistics



ECHL Stories from January 5, 2009


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