ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Down The Stretch They Come

Published on March 16, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, the 2008 Kelly Cup champions, play four games this week. Wednesday (March 18) and Thursday (March 19), the Gwinnett Gladiators come to U.S. Bank Arena for their first-ever showdowns with the Cyclones. Cincinnati hits the road for the weekend again with a pair of games in Trenton. Saturday's game (March 21) will be carried on MAX-FM (97.7 and 99.5).

ADAM KRUG SIGNED: The Cyclones announced on March 12, the addition of forward Adam Krug. Krug, 25, played at Adrian College this season, helping the Bulldogs to a 27-1-1 record. Adam netted 22 goals and 30 assists for 52 points in 28 games to rank as the third-leading scorer in NCAA Division III hockey.

ABOUT LAST NIGHT...: The Cyclones claimed a 3-2 win at Trenton on Sunday. Loic Lacasse stopped 26 shots in taking the victory, his seventh of the season. Matt Syroczynski scored a pair of goals in the contest and Jake Dietrich's goal with 3:30 to play in regulation time proved to be the difference.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones dropped a 5-2 verdict at Johnstown. The Chiefs cashed in on two-of-five power play chances, while the Cyclones went zero-for-nine with the extra attacker. The defeat was the first in 17 decisions (13-0-3) for Ryan Nie at the Cambria County War Memorial.

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 90 days in 2006-07, for 120 days in 2007-08 and now 41 days in 2008-09. The 251 days are the most by any team in the North Division over the past three years. Since grabbing the top spot on February 3, the club has only been out of first for three days (February 18-19 and March 14).

COMEBACK!: The Cyclone rally versus Trenton on Sunday marked eleven times this season that Cincinnati has registered a comeback win. Last season, the squad recorded 25 comebacks and in the three seasons under Chuck Weber, the club has rallied 49 times to win. Three times the Cyclones have erased two goal deficits in 2008-09. Seven comeback triumphs have occurred since Christmas.

DON'T BLINK...: The Cyclones collected three goals in a 1:43 span of the third period in the 5-0 win at Reading on March 7. At 1:41 of the final frame, Ian McKenzie lit the lamp. Just 49 seconds later (at 2:30), Barret Ehgoetz netted his goal. Another 54 seconds later (at 3:24), Ben Gordon scored his second goal of the night. The 103 seconds is the second-shortest period of time for three goals by Cincinnati players under Head Coach Chuck Weber. The squad netted three goals in a 1:07 stretch back on December 16, 2007 against Johnstown.

BLANKED!: The shutout by Loic Lacasse on February 25 was his first as a Cyclone and his third of the season (the other two were with Hamilton-AHL). It was the first time a Cincinnati netminder had posted a shutout since Cody Rudkowsky stopped 22 shots in a 6-0 win over Wheeling on March 12 of last season. Ryan Nie's shutout last Saturday night is the second whitewashing in five games.

NINE UP!: There are currently nine players who have appeared in games for Cincinnati this season that are currently in the American Hockey League. Besides Thomas Beauregard, Jimmy Kilpatrick, Olivier Latendresse, Matt Macdonald, Kyle Rank, Joe Ryan, Mark Santorelli, Stephen Werner and J.T. Wyman are all playing at hockey's 'AAA' level. This season, a total of 17 players have earned callups and played more than 280 games, scored 20 goals, assembled more than 60 points and collected six wins. At one point three weeks ago, the Cyclones had a season-high 13 players simultaneously on AHL rosters.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Cyclones are 19-12-1 (.609 winning percentage) on the road. The 19 wins are tied with Florida as the most in the ECHL. Cincinnati was a perfect 7-0 away from U.S. Bank Arena during January. Cincinnati has won 13 of its last 19 road games. The Cyclones are 17-7 in away games since Thanksgiving.

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. This week Mac Faulkner and Gerard Miller will be the guests.

SECOND HALF UPDATE: Cincinnati has a 14-8 record to start the post-All-Star Game portion of the year. In 2007-08, the Cyclones went 29-4-2 (.857 winning percentage) after the All-Star break. The club is 63-27-7 (.677) since the 2008 All-Star Game.

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.

NEXT MAX FM GAME: The next broadcast of Cyclones hockey on MAX-FM (97.7 and 99.5) will occur on Saturday night, March 21 from Trenton. The pregame show will start at 6:45pm and the faceoff comes at 7pm.

ATTENDANCE NUMBERS UP: The Cyclones have drawn 88,213 to the first 30 games at U.S. Bank Arena this season, an average of 2941--which is 19th in the ECHL. Through the first 30 games of last season, the club drew 69,883--an average of 2329. Cincinnati did not reach 88,213 until the 36th (and final) home game of 2007-08--reaching 90,778 through those 36 dates, an average of 2522 as of March 28, 2008. Attendance this season is up 26.2 percent over the first 30 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. That percentage increase is the second-highest among minor league teams (Tulsa-CHL 28.3%).

MORE ATTENDANCE: While the top four teams in minor hockey attendance improvement are more than 20 percent better, attendance in minor league hockey has fallen three percent over 2007-08. Despite this trend, the Cyclones have increased attendance by 612 fans per home game, second-best in minor league hockey. Cincinnati's 612 fans per game is the biggest improvement in the ECHL (Victoria is up 91 per game to rank second). The top per game average increases in minor league hockey are: Tulsa-CHL 1097, Cincinnati-ECHL 612, Springfield-AHL and Bridgeport-AHL, 569

ATTENDANCE CLOSER TO HOME: The Cyclones are one of three ECHL teams this season with an increase in attendance. Cincinnati is averaging 612 fans more per game this season, while Victoria (91) and Wheeling (89) are the other teams with increases in 2008-09.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGES...: The Cyclones welcomed three new players to the lineup Friday night (March 13), making them the 50th, 51st and 52nd players to dress 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 38 different lineups this season.

CHUCK HAS BEATEN THEM ALL: With the win on February 13, Cyclones Head Coach Chuck Weber has now defeated all 16 teams Cincinnati has been scheduled to play in regular season play in the three years that he has been in charge. With South Carolina and Las Vegas added to the totals in the postseason, Weber has victories over 18 all ECHL teams his clubs have been scheduled to play. The only teams he has not defeated are the only squads he has not faced--Alaska, Gwinnett, Idaho, Ontario, Phoenix, Utah and Victoria.

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 126-63-16 mark (.651 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 108 of those wins against North Division competition.

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.

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ECHL Stories from March 16, 2009


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