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ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Prevail in Wild Affair, 6-5 over Stingrays

December 21, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


CINCINNATI, Ohio - After jumping out to a three goal lead, the Cincinnati Cyclones (16-8-2-0) twice found themselves tied with the South Carolina Stingrays (13-14-1-1) in the third period before David Pacan scored the final goal of the night to give the home team a wild 6-5 victory in front of 2,845 at U.S. Bank Arena on Friday night.

Cincinnati went out in front at the 7:56 mark of the opening period as Mike Pelech sent a pass from behind the South Carolina net to David MacDonald who was waiting in the slot; the Cincinnati defenseman slapped the puck past Stingrays goalie Ryan Zapolski (L, 9 saves, 10-5-0-0) for his second goal of the year to give the Cyclones the early advantage. South Carolina had several opportunities to tie the game, however, Cincinnati net minder Michael Houser (W, 31 saves, 2-0) made several spectacular saves to help keep his team ahead 1-0 at the first intermission.

Early in the middle frame, Dan Eves picked up his first of two goals on the evening on a power play after sending in a rebound left after a John McFarland shot, giving the Cyclones a 2-0 cushion. Just a few minutes later Cincinnati had another power play opportunity after Damon Kipp found his way to the penalty box for playing with a broken stick. Eves was able to split between both South Carolina defenders near the blue line and beat Zapolski with a backhand shot over the pad with 12:29 remaining in the second period - putting the Cyclones up by three. The Stingrays finally got on the scoreboard with a power play of their own at 9:06 as Damon Kipp tapped a rebound past a sprawled out Houser cutting the Cincinnati lead to 3-1. Late in the period, Cincinnati's man-advantage unit struck for the third time in a row; Josh Birkholz caught a pass from Anthony Luciani and fired a shot from the right circle past Zapolski with only 4:06 left in the stanza to give Cincinnati a 4-1 lead. Jarrod Skalde's team carried the three-goal edge into the third period.

In surprising fashion, the Stingrays roared back with three straight goals; at 3:02, Hunter Bishop found the net followed by strikes from Matthew Pistilli and Justin Courtnall at 5:47 and 6:26 respectively to knot things at four. Cincinnati answered back to take the lead as John McFarland potted his seventh goal of the season at 8:25 - pushing the Clones to a 5-4 advantage. Once again, South Carolina would answer; Art Bidlevskii found himself open in the slot and fired a wrist shot over Houser's glove to once again tie the game, this time at five. Not even two minutes later, though, the Cyclones would light the lamp one last time; after McFarland rushed down the right side, he fed a beautiful pass through the middle to David Pacan who slid in his fifth goal of the season - which turned out to be the game winner at 12:13. It was the rookie's first-career game-winning lamp lighter. A late-game flurry by the Stingrays was snuffed out by Houser and the Cincinnati defense as the Cyclones prevailed 6-5.

The Cyclones Radio Network Stars of the Game are as follows:

First Star: John McFarland (1 goal, 3 assists for Cincinnati)

Second Star: David Pacan (1 goal, 1 assist, GWG for Cincinnati)

Third Star: Dan Eves (2 goals for Cincinnati)

The Cyclones will return to the ice at U.S. Bank Arena TOMORROW when they play host to the South Carolina Stingrays one last time at 7:30pm. The first 2,500 fans in attendance will receive a 2013 Cyclones Calendar! Plus, all fans can enjoy $1 John Morrell Hot Dogs all night long! Call 513.421.PUCK or visit CyclonesHockey.com to reserve your seats! Fans can also get the latest team updates throughout the season on Facebook and Twitter (@CincyCyclones).

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