ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

First Place Cyclones Hit Road This Week

Published on March 2, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, the 2008 Kelly Cup champions, open a four game road trip with a pair of games this weekend (Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7) at Reading. The club also plays a pair of games the following weekend away from home. The Cyclones welcome Gwinnett to U.S. Bank Arena for games on Wednesday, March 18 and Thursday, March 19.

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 26 days in 2008-09. The 251 days are the most by any team in the North Division over the past three years. After dropping out of the top spot for two days on February 18-19, Cincinnati regained first place on February 20 and has not trailed since.

ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT...: A three goal second period explosion propelled the Cyclones to a 4-2 victory over Elmira. Matt Syroczynski netted a goal and had an assist, while Barret Ehgoetz and Ben Gordon each had a pair of assists in the triumph. Loic Lacasse stopped 23 shots in picking up the victory.

DON'T BLINK...: The Cyclones established a club record with goals seven seconds apart in the win over Elmira on Saturday night. On a five-on-three power play, Dustin Sproat scored at 7:47 of the second period. While the crowd still celebrated the goal, Justin Johnson scored at 7:54 to give Cincinnati a 3-1 edge. The previous best was nine seconds apart set in an 8-6 triumph over Reading on January 5, 2008 as Jean-Michel Daoust and James Sixsmith scored their markers in the second period of that contest.

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones dropped a 4-1 decision to Elmira last night. A three goal third period explosion allowed the Jackals to claim the win. Justin Johnson scored Cincinnati's lone goal. Loic Lacasse turned aside 29 shots in the defeat.

ABOUT WEDNESDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones got a 34 save performance from Loic Lacasse and a goal and two assists for a career-high three points out of Ian McKenzie in a 5-0 win over Reading. Mark Van Vliet netted his first ECHL goal and forwards Ben Gordon and Matt Syroczynski each chipped in a pair of assists in the triumph.

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 kicked away 22 shots in a 6-0 triumph over Wheeling on March 12 of last season.

COMEBACK!: The Cyclones rallies against Dayton on Feb. 20 and 21 marked the ninth and tenth times this season that Cincinnati has registered a comeback win. Last season, the squad recorded 25 of them and in the three seasons under Chuck Weber, the club has 48 of them. The two goal deficit erased Friday was the third time the club had eliminated such a margin to win in 2008-09. The others were the November 30 triumph at Trenton and the February 8 victory at Mississippi. Six of the comeback triumphs have occurred since Christmas.

ELEVEN OVER!: With the victory Saturday night, the Cyclones tied their season-best mark of eleven games above .500 (32-21-5). The last time Cincinnati was twelve or more games above .500 was at the close of the 2007-08 season--when the club captured the Brabham Cup for the ECHL's best record at 55-12-5, which was 43 games above break even. A win by Cincinnati on Friday would put the team back at eleven games over.

THIRTEEN UP!: With the loan of Mark Van Guilder to the Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) on Friday morning and the loan of Ryan Nie to Milwaukee (AHL) Saturday morning, there are currently 13 players who have appeared in games for Cincinnati this season that are currently in the American Hockey League. Besides Van Guilder and Nie, Thomas Beauregard, Jimmy Kilpatrick, Olivier Latendresse, Matt Macdonald, T.J. McElroy, Kyle Rank, Joe Ryan, Mark Santorelli, Frederic St. Denis, 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 250 games, scored 16 goals, assembled more than 60 points and collected six wins during 2008-09.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Cyclones are 17-10-1 (.625 winning percentage) on the road. The 17 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 eleven of its last 15 road games. The Cyclones are 15-5 in away games since Thanksgiving.

SECOND HALF UNDERWAY: Cincinnati has a 12-6 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 61-25-7 (.692) since the 2008 All-Star Game.

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. Forward Chris Ferazzoli and defenseman Brett Beauchamp will be the guests tonight.

NEXT RADIO GAME: The next MAX-FM (97.7 and 99.5) game is Friday, March 6 at 6:45pm at Reading. The game on Saturday, March 7 also airs on MAX-FM at 6:45pm. All 2008-09 Cincinnati Cyclones games can be heard through the club's website at: www.cycloneshockey.com.

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 defensemen Brett Beauchamp and Mark Van Vliet and forward Chris Ferazzoli to the lineup on February 20, making them the 46th, 47th and 48th 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 35 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 123-62-16 mark (.652 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.

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.

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ECHL Stories from March 2, 2009


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