ECHL Cincinnati Cyclones

Nugent's Five Point Night Highlights 7-5 Cyclones' Win

March 21, 2014 - ECHL (ECHL)
Cincinnati Cyclones News Release


CINCINNATI, Ohio - A show-stopping four-goal performance by rookie Brian Nugent on Cyclones Hat Giveaway Night was enough to lift Cincinnati (34-21-2-4) over the Elmira Jackals (22-32-3-5) by a 7-5 final score in front of 4,567 at U.S. Bank Arena on Friday night. Ten different Cyclones recorded points in the high-powered, physical affair with Nugent notching five and Josh Shalla finishing with four tallies. Goaltender Magnus Hellberg (W, 9 saves, 1-0-0-0), who was assigned to Cincinnati from the Milwaukee Admirals of the American Hockey League on Thursday, turned aside 9 of the 13 shots he faced in his first ECHL start of the season.

The Cyclones kicked off the scoring frenzy when a blast from Paul Crowder resulted in a loose puck that Shalla poked past net minder Neil Conway (L, 42 saves, 8-6-1-2) at 5:02. However, the Jackals potted the equalizer 27 seconds later when Dane Walters recorded his eighth of the season on an odd-man rush. Much to the delight of the home crowd, Mike Dalhuisen and Harry Young dropped gloves for a brief scuffle at the 8:00 mark. But the cheers were much louder when former Wheeling Nailer Colin Mulvey, who Cincinnati claimed off of waivers on Wednesday, scored his first goal in a Cyclones sweater right off the face-off at 15:32. The intensity mounted as two more brawls broke out to the close the period, but the Cyclones, who outshot the Jackals 19-9 in the frame, entered the first intermission with a one-goal advantage.

The visitors knotted the score early in the second stanza when former Cyclone Daniel Koger buried a rebound 59 seconds into the period. However, Cincinnati regained the lead at 3:39 when Nugent fired the puck at Conway, gloved down his own rebound, and backhanded in his ninth of the season. Moments later, Elmira answered with a tally of its own when Jordan Ciccarello converted his first of the season at 5:02. Not to be outdone, Nugent backhanded in his second of the night at 7:07, giving the Cyclones a 4-3 advantage. Cincinnati extended their lead just over a minute later as Josh Birkholz tipped in a blast from the blue line by Devon Krogh at 8:39. 19 seconds later, Nugent completed his hat trick when he made some impressive moves in front of the net and converted yet again on the backhand. Shortly after the hats were cleared from the ice, the Cyclones were awarded a power play opportunity, but an unfortunate turnover allowed Jordan Pietrus to score a shorthanded goal at 9:42, drawing the Jackals within two before the final frame.

When asked when he recorded his last hat trick, Nugent responded, "I don't think since junior, since I was 19 or 20, so it's been a few years. It felt good tonight. I [have] to give credit to my teammates. My line mates gave me a lot of good opportunities, so fortunately a few went in for me."

The visiting team kept it interesting, however, when Colin Jacobs scored his second goal of the season and cut his team's deficit to one at 12:49. But fittingly enough, Nugent had the final say as he capped his career night with a fourth lamplighter, an empty netter, at 18:55, securing the win for the Cyclones.

"It's really tight in the standings right now and there aren't too many games left before the playoffs," said Nugent. "So, it's important to get as many wins as we can."

"I'm sure they'll come hard again," he added about Cincinnati's rematch with the Jackals tomorrow night. "I think tonight they came a lot harder at us than they did last Friday and I'm sure tomorrow is going to be a hard-fought battle, so we're going to have to be prepared."

The Cyclones will return to U.S. Bank Arena TOMORROW NIGHT when they again host the Elmira Jackals at 7:30pm! All fans ages 2-12 will receive a FREE meal courtesy of John Morrell! Call 513.421.PUCK or visit CyclonesHockey.com to secure your seats. Fans can also get the latest team updates throughout the season on Facebook and Twitter (@CincyCyclones).

Check out the Cincinnati Cyclones Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 21, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central