ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Cyclones Win Three Of Four

February 9, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, the 2008 Kelly Cup champions, continue their six game road trip with three games at Florida this week. The Everblades, who own the ECHL's best record at 33-12-2, host the Cyclones on Wednesday (Feb. 11), Friday (Feb. 13) and Saturday (Feb. 14) at the Germain Arena. All three games will start at 7:30pm and the Wednesday and Friday contests will be carried on MAX-FM (97.7 and 99.5). The Cyclones went 3-1 last week to maintain first placr in the North Division.

FIRST PLACE CYCLONES!: The win on February 3 vaulted the third place Cyclones into first place in the North Division for the first time since the end of the 2007-08 regular season. Cincinnati sat in the division lead for 93 days in 2006-07, for 132 days in 2007-08 and now seven days in 2008-09. The 232 days are the most by any team in the North Division over the past three years.

ELEVEN OUT OF THIRTEEN AIN'T BAD: The Cyclones have now won eleven of the last thirteen games they have played. During this stretch, the club has moved from fifth to first in the North Division standings.

JUICED UP: The Cyclones power play unit has been especially opportunistic in recent days. The man-advantage unit has jumped up to fourth place in the ECHL, clocking in at 21.6 percent (59 of 273). During January, Cincinnati has been deadly on the power play producing a 27.8 percent (20 of 72) power play efficiency. In the last eleven games, the team is 23 of 61 (37.7percent) with the extra attacker.

SHRINKING UP: The Cyclones other half of the special teams--the penalty kill, has been stronger in recent days as well. The shorthanded crew has killed 47 of the last 55 power plays presented to the opposition (85.5 percent) over the last eleven games. Cincinnati has improved to 21st in the league on the penalty kill at 78.7 percent (196 of 249).

ABOUT SUNDAY NIGHT...: Mississippi raced to a 2-0 lead in the first period, but a three goal second period explosion helped propel the Cyclones to a 5-2 win. Ben Gordon, Dustin Sproat and Mark Van Guilder all scored a goal and added an assist to the cause. Ryan Nie stopped 20 shots in picking up his ninth win as a Cyclone. The power play unit cashed in on two of six chances with the extra attacker.

ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones raced to a 2-0 lead with first period power play goals from Mark Van Guilder and Matt Syroczynski. Mississippi scored a power play goal 40 seconds after the second goal to close the lead and netted a pair in the second period to take the victory. The triumph ended a four game winning streak for Cincinnati and ended the seven game road winning streak as well.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones exploded for five unanswered goals to break open a 6-2 win at Mississippi. Six different goal scorers paced the attack--as the club won despite missing its top two point producers. The win was the seventh straight road win.

ABOUT TUESDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones surrendered a goal midway through the first period and was able to bounce back with a pair of third period goals from Ian McKenzie and Jimmy Kilpatrick to tie the game with Reading at two. Ben Gordon's power play goal 49 seconds into overtime proved to be the difference in a 3-2 triumph. Ryan Nie turned aside 23 shots to collect the win.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Cyclones are 16-8-1 (.670 winning percentage) on the road. The 16 wins are the second-most in the ECHL, as only Florida (18) has more. Cincinnati was a perfect 7-0 away from U.S. Bank Arena during January. Cincinnati has won ten of its last twelve road games. The Cyclones are 14-3 in away games since Thanksgiving.

SECOND HALF UNDERWAY: Cincinnati has a 7-2 record to start the post-All-Star Game portion of the year. In 2007-08, the Cyclones went 29-4-2 (.857 winning percentge) after the All-Star break. The club is 56-21-7 (.708) since the 2008 All-Star Game.

STREAKING...: Cyclones rookie forward Mark Van Guilder has a thirteen-game point scoring streak (7-15-22). Rookie forward Jimmy Kilpatrick has an eight-game stretch with a goal.

KILPATRICK LOANED TO HOUSTON: Cyclones rookie forward Jimmy Kilpatrick has been loaned to the Houston Aeros (AHL). Kilpatrick is the club leader in goal scoring with 22. Jimmy, who was the In Glas Co ECHL Player of the Week last week, grew up 45 miles from Saint Paul, MN (in New Prague, MN). The Minnesota Wild (which play in Saint Paul)--are the NHL affiliate of the Houston Aeros.

NIFTY NIE: Goaltender Ryan Nie has won his first nine decisions as a member of the Cyclones, setting the club record for most wins from the start of his career with the team. Lance Leslie won his first five decisions with the Louisville River Frogs from Oct. 16-31, 1997. Leslie would go 5-0-1 before dropping his first verdict. Steve Briere also accomplished the five wins from Oct. 19-Nov. 4, 2001. Briere would lose his sixth decision and finished the season 10-12-4. Nie is 9-0 with a 2.77 goals against average and an .871 save percentage since joining Cincinnati.

THAT WAS A CROWD: The 8508 in attendance on January 24 marked the second-largest crowd for a regular season game in team history. Only the Fan Appreciation game last season had more fans (9615) for a regular season game. That night's crowd was the fourth-largest between the regular season and playoffs.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES...: The Cyclones welcomed forward Jake Deitrich to the lineup Friday night, making him the 43rd 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 30 different lineups this season.

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 $150--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 64,728 to the first 24 games at U.S. Bank Arena this season, an average of 2697--which is 20th in the ECHL. Through the first 24 games of last season, the club drew 57,590--an average of 2400. Cincinnati did not reach 64,728 until the 29th home game of 2007-08--reaching 68,181 through those 29 dates, an average of 2,351 as of March 7, 2008. Attendance this season is up 12.4 percent over the first 24 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.

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.

MORE ATTENDANCE: While the top four teams in attendance improvement are more than 20 percent better, attendance in minor league hockey has fallen 3.3 percent over 2007-08. Despite this trend, the Cyclones have increased attendance by 687 fans per home game--fourth-best in minor league hockey. Cincinnati's 687 fans per game is the biggest improvement in the ECHL (Dayton is up 487 per game to rank second).

NEXT HOME GAMES: Following the southern trip, the Cyclones return to U.S. Bank Arena on Friday, February 20 when Dayton is in on 'John Morrell Dollar Hot Dog Night' and then it is 'Twister Bobblehead Night' on Saturday, February 21 with Dayton in town. That night, the first 3000 fans through the gate receive a special commemorative of the Cincinnati mascot on his head with 'bobblelegs'. Faceoff for all games is at 7:30pm and tickets can be purchased at the U.S. Bank Arena Box Office or through TicketMaster at 5-13-562-4949 or www.ticketmaster.com.

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 117-57-16 mark (.658 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. Weber has 102 of those wins against North Division competition.

MILLER LITE CYCLONES COACHES SHOW: The Miller Lite Cyclones Coaches Show will be held Mondays 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. Due to the games in Florida this week, there will be no show this week. The show resumes on Monday, February 16. Because of other commitments, Weber will fly solo on the show that week.

Check out the Cincinnati Cyclones Statistics



ECHL Stories from February 9, 2009


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