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Cyclones Post Back-To-Back Wins In ECHL's Return To Cincinnati

Published on October 23, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL) News Release


ECHL hockey made its return to Cincinnati in an exciting fashion as the Cyclones beat Pensacola 3-1 on Friday and Toledo 4-0 on Saturday as more than 7,500 fans watched the team open with back-to-back wins for the first time since it joined the league in 1995-96.

The Cyclones are 2-0-0 and atop the North Division for the first time since Oct. 27, 2001. Cincinnati plays at Trenton on Friday, looking to open the season with three consecutive wins for the first time in club history, and is at Johnstown on Saturday.

The game on Friday marked the return of hockey to U.S. Bank Arena for the first time since Mar. 26, 2004 as the Cyclones requested and were granted a voluntary suspension for the past two seasons after reaching the Kelly Cup Playoffs twice in its three seasons since moving to Cincinnati in 2001-02. Chuck Weber became only the second coach in team history to win his first game, joining Warren Young who accomplished the feat on Oct. 13, 1995.

Cincinnati's goaltenders, Cedric Desjardins and Dov Grumet-Morris, have the Cyclones atop the league with a combined goals-against average of 0.50 and a save percentage of .983. Desjardins made his professional debut on Saturday and stopped all 37 shots he faced after Grumet-Morris had 31 saves on Friday.

Opening Weekend Has 10,112 In South Carolina, Sellouts In Alaska, Charlotte, Reading

The largest crowd since 1998 in South Carolina, sellout crowds in Alaska, Charlotte and Reading and over 4,000 welcoming hockey back to Cincinnati were among the highlights as the ECHL welcomed 134,575 fans to its 27 games on opening weekend for an average of 4,984.

The Stingrays had 10,112 at North Charleston Coliseum for their home opener on Saturday while a standing-room-only crowd of 6,451 packed Sullivan Arena on Friday to watch the Aces raise the banners recognizing their Kelly Cup and Brabham Cup championships. Charlotte had 9,245 for its opener on Friday while Reading had 7,215 on Saturday. The ECHL had 40 sellouts in the regular season a year ago including a league-leading 10 by Charlotte, four by Alaska and three by Reading.

Gwinnett had 7,014 fans watch as the team raised its American Conference championship banner while perennial attendance leader Florida and Bakersfield each drew almost 13,000 for their first two games. Florida has never drawn less than 220,000 or averaged less than 6,200 per game in its first seven years while Bakersfield raised its attendance for the third consecutive year and reached 200,000 for the first time since joining as an expansion team in 2003-04.

The Victoria Salmon Kings begin their second season at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre on Wednesday when they host Idaho.

Columbia, Pensacola, Utah and Wheeling all play their home openers on Friday with the Inferno hosting Augusta, the Ice Pilots hosting Texas, the Grizzlies hosting Las Vegas and the Nailers hosting Johnstown.

After leading the ECHL in total attendance with 228,364 and average attendance with 6,343 per game in their first season in 2005-06, the Stockton Thunder will open their second season on Saturday when they host Long Beach.

After being unable to play last season as a result of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Texas Wildcatters will welcome fans back to Ford Arena on Saturday when they host Pensacola.

The league has raised its average attendance each of the last three seasons and in 2005-06 averaged 4,372 per game, the largest per-game average since 1999-2000, as 13 of the 22 returning teams increased their average attendance.

Checkers Score 15 Goals In First Two Games

Charlotte scored 15 goals in two games, including 10 on Friday which is the most goals it has scored in a game since Feb. 15, 2002. The Checkers, who are 2-0-0 and in first place in the South Division, travel to Florida on Thursday and Saturday. Charlotte leads the league with 15 goals and 11 power-play goals.

Charlotte's Mark Lee leads the league with eight points while rookie teammate Jakub Petruzalek and teammate Dusty Jamieson have seven points each, tying them for second with Brad Schell of Gwinnett. Lee and Petruzalek are tied for second with seven assists while Jamieson leads the league with six goals and four power-play goals. Jamieson has led Charlotte in goal scoring each of the past three seasons, including 30 goals in 2005-06 and 31 goals in 2004-05.Chris Holt made 20 saves in a 10-3 win against Wheeling on Friday while Alex Westlund had 31 saves in a 5-3 win on Saturday.

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