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ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Weekly

March 3, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


WINNING STREAK ENDS AT ECHL RECORD 17 GAMES! Cincinnati Looks To Open 18 Point Lead In Division Tonight In Bakersfield!

COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, who had their ECHL record 17 game winning streak snapped Saturday night, end their four game California swing tonight with their first-ever game against Bakersfield. Cincinnati is 2-1 on the current road trip-which will be the last the club has until a March 14 trip to Wheeling.

ROLLING ON: The Cyclones won a club, and ECHL record 17 consecutive decisions prior to Saturday. Cincinnati, which had not lost a game since January 13 at Reading, is 17-1 since and has outscored the opposition, 69-30, during that stretch. The winning streak began, coincidently, with the start of the second half of the season and during this run the club has converted 25 of its 102 power play chances (24.2 percent). Ten of the 17 wins have been of the come-from-behind variety.

ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones dropped a 3-1 decision at Stockton on Saturday night. David Desharnais' third period goal cut the deficit to 2-1 just inside eight minutes remaining. Mathieu Aubin rang a shot off the goalpost inside 15 seconds remaining that would have tied the game with an extra attacker, but an empty net goal in the waning seconds secured the final score for the Thunder.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones picked up a 2-1 win at Fresno. Max Daigneault stopped 27 shots in taking the win and David Desharnais extended his assist streak to ECHL-record 19 games. David had the game winning goal and an assist in the effort.

AUBIN LIKES CINCINNATI: Cyclones forward Mathieu Aubin had a week to remember. After being re-assigned to the Cyclones by Hamilton on Monday, Aubin netted his second goal of the night, the game ending goal with 12.7 seconds remaining in overtime versus Dayton on Feb. 21. Had a goal and three assists-one of them on the game winning goal on Feb. 23. Then, chipped in with a pair of goals and added another in the shootout win over Elmira on Feb. 23. Aubin was named the ECHL's ‘Player of the Week' for his efforts. His first game after the honor, Mathieu netted a hat trick in the 5-0 win at Stockton on Thursday night (Feb. 28).

PLAYOFFS, HERE WE COME: The win on February 22, gave Cincinnati a berth into the Kelly Cup playoffs. It is the first time in team history that the squad has secured a postseason appearance in the month of February. The next step for Cincinnati is to secure home ice in the play-in round of the playoffs-which would be at least fourth place in the divisional standings. The Cyclones have a ‘magic number' of two over Johnstown to securing that. That could happen as early as a Cyclones win tonight at Bakersfield. Third place can be clinched with a ‘magic number' of eight over Dayton-which would secure a play-in round bye for Cincinnati. Second place has a ‘magic number' of 15 over Elmira. That would carry home ice in the first round of the playoffs. The North Division title has a ‘magic number' of 17 over Reading. That would carry home ice advantage of the first and second rounds of the North Division playoffs.

THERE'S ‘MAGIC' IN THOSE NUMBERS: Expanding the ‘magic number' information...the Cyclones are currently tied with Texas for the most possible points in the American Conference, which would translate into home ice in round three. Despite trailing the Wildcatters by eight points in the standings-the Cyclones have four games in hand. Cincinnati has a ‘magic number' of 37 to securing the spot. Conversely, Texas has a ‘tragic number' of 35 to eliminating the Cyclones from having the most points in the conference. The Cyclones now have a ‘magic number' of 25 over Las Vegas for securing home ice-should Cincinnati advance to the Kelly Cup finals.

THEY ARE CATCHING ON: The Cyclones drew 5178 for the February 23 game against Elmira, the fifth time this season that the club has exceeded 5000 in attendance for a game-four of these have happened since the start of the new calendar year. U.S. Bank Arena has had an average of 2330 check out the Cyclones through 28 home dates, an increase of 42.3 percent in attendance through an equal number of dates from a year ago. The last time the Cyclones had six or more crowds of 5000 in a season was back during 2002-03, when the club had it happen eight times. In the twelve games at U.S. Bank Arena since January 1, the Cyclones are averaging 3188 fans per contest.

DESHARNAIS SHINES: Cyclones rookie forward David Desharnais has enjoyed his first pro season. After signing with the Cyclones prior to the season, Desharnais was invited to Hamilton's training camp. He was later signed by the Bulldogs and re-assigned to Cincinnati. David presently leads the ECHL in scoring among rookies with 69 (16-53-69). He represented Cincinnati at the 2008 Rbk ECHL All-Star Game and had an assist in the contest. Since Dec. 31, Desharnais has a 23-game point scoring streak, netting 36 points during that span (5-31-36). David had an ECHL record twenty-game assist streak snapped in Saturday's game (3-28-31). Desharnais' 23-game point streak is the longest in the ECHL this season. David has established the Cyclones team record with 53 assists on the season.

COMEBACK KIDS: The win over Fresno Friday night, marked the 20th come-from-behind victory this club has pulled off this season. Last year, the club rallied 13 times to win games. This season, the Cyclones have rallied to win five times when trailing by two goals. All three overtime/shootout losses suffered by the team have been rallies as well. Altogether, Cincinnati has earned 41 points in the standings after it has trailed in a game.

MORE COMEBACKS: The Cyclones have come-from-behind wins against every team in the North Division and has picked up at least one standings points with a comeback against every one of the nine teams it has played, prior to Thursday night. Cincinnati never trailed in the win over Stockton.

SEVENTEEN, EIGHTEEN, NINETEEN...: The Cyclones are riding a club record 19-game home unbeaten in regulation string (17-0-2). The run surpasses the eleven game stretch, set last year from Nov. 18 through Jan. 6 with a 9-0-2 mark. Cincinnati has not lost a game in regulation time at U.S. Bank Arena since Nov. 24, when Dayton beat the Cyclones, 4-2. The team is 22-3-3 (.839) at home.

THAT MAKES LITTLE SENSE: The Cyclones are 24-8-1 when scoring the first goal of a game. They have an even more impressive 18-1-2 mark when they ALLOW the first goal of a game. Trailing a game, 2-0, Cincinnati is 5-1-0 in those situations as well. The club has not trailed 3-0 in a game this season. Saturday night in Stockton was the first time this season (54 games) that the club gave up the first goal of a game and trailed 2-0 and lost a game.

THIRTY-THREE OVER!: With the 17 game winning streak ended, the Cyclones are 33 games above .500 for the second time in team history. Prior to this season, the last time a Cincinnati pro hockey team was 30 games above break even was March 3, 1996 when the IHL Cyclones were 42-12-9 (.738). No professional hockey team called the Cincinnati Cyclones has EVER been 34 games above the break even mark. The last time any Cincinnati pro sports team was more than 33 games above .500 was October 3, 1976 after the Cincinnati Reds finished their regular season at 102-60-42 games above the mark.

WE ARE QUITE OFFENSIVE: The Cyclones have scored ECHL-high 220 goals. Cincinnati is averaging 4.07 goals per game, the most in the ECHL. The club has also posted five games in which it has netted eight goals-which sets a team-record for most games with eight or more goals in a season. Cincinnati was the first team in the league to reach the 100 goal plateau this season and they were the first to 200 goals-reaching the mark on February 22. The squad is on pace to net 293 goals.

GUNNING FOR 43 WINS!: The Cyclones picked up their 42nd win of the season Friday night at Fresno-setting a club record for earliest, and fastest, to the plateau. Previously, the 1995-96 Louisville squad had 39 wins on March 23 to establish both records. The club record for wins was 39 set by the 1995-96 Louisville squad. Including the postseason in 2006-07, Cincinnati won 43 games. A win tonight would tie that mark-one game into the final quarter of the season.

CYCLONES AND MEIJER: The Cyclones will team up with Meijer stores this season for a series of appearances. Cyclones players will stop by selected Meijer stores to meet fans, sign autographs, cook up John Morrell snacks and unveil a special Cyclones clothing line that will be available ONLY at Meijer locations. The next stop will be Wednesday, March 5 from 4-6pm at the West Chester location.

CYCLONES COACHES SHOW: The Cyclones Coaches Show airs every Monday from Jefferson Hall at Newport on the Levee from 7-8pm. The show, features Head Coach Chuck Weber and two players each week. There is no show tonight (March 3), as the Cyclones and Bakersfield battle tonight.

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