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jevers
Administrator
USA
1367 Posts |
 Posted - 05/17/2010 : 4:57:50 PM
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CYCLONES RETURN HOME FOR FINAL TIME
Cincinnati Hosts Idaho Tuesday, Thursday and Possibly Friday For Championship
CYCLONES RALLY VS. READING, JUMP ON IDAHO: The Cyclones finished off their seven game series with Reading with a triumph and won the first two games at Qwest Arena in Boise this past weekend to grab a 2-0 edge. This is the championship round of the USA Collision Centers run for the title.
COMING UP: The Cincinnati Cyclones, the ECHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens and Nashville Predators, are back at home this week--playing what will be the final home games of the 2010 season. Tuesday night (May 18), the Cyclones will host the Idaho Steelheads in the third game of the Kelly Cup Finals. It will be a 7:30pm start time on 'Macaroni & Cheese Night'. Fans are encouraged to bring boxes of macaroni and cheese to use as a noisemaker throughout the evening. After the game, the boxes can be donated at barrels around the arena. Items collected will be turned over to Matthew 25 Ministries for distribution among the flood victims in Nashville. The fourth game of the Finals will be Thursday night (May 20) with another 7:30pm start. If a fifth game is needed in the best of seven affair--it would be played the next day (Friday, May 21) also at 7:30pm.
THAT'S THE TICKET: The Cyclones are offering a special Kelly Cup ticket package for fans. For $45 fans will be able to purchase tickets to games three, four and five of the championship series. This purchase price will allow fans the same great seats for all three potential games at U.S. Bank Arena and will be available only with phone orders to the Cyclones offices at 513-421-7825 x. 3. These will be on sale until 4pm on Tuesday, which will be the date of the first home game for Cincinnati. Individual tickets for games three and four are on sale now.
WEBER MOVES TO THE TOP: With the win Saturday night, Cyclones Head Coach Chuck Weber won his 43rd career Kelly Cup playoff game. He has passed former Alaska Aces coach (and current St. Louis Blues coach), Davis Payne with that total for most by a coach in any four year period in ECHL history. Payne accomplished his 38 win run from 2004-07.
SIX STRAIGHT WINS!: The Cyclones victory Saturday night was the club's sixth straight--establishing a club record. Last year, Cincinnati won five straight starting with the seventh game against Wheeling and then swept all four games from Elmira in the North Division Finals from April 20 through May 1, 2009. Two other times in team history Cincinnati has won five in a row in the postseason.
ROAD WARRIORS: The Cyclones have won eight road playoff games this season, most in the ECHL postseason. The club record for road triumphs is eight, set by the 2008 Kelly Cup champions. Cincinnati now surpasses Alaska and South Carolina for all-time road wins in the ECHL postseason. The Cyclones have 29 road wins all-time, while Alaska and South Carolina are next with 28.
BACKS TO THE WALL: The 2009-10 Cincinnati Cyclones have been pretty good in the postseason in facing elimination games, posting a 6-0 mark thus far. The club hurdled the first challenge in game five at South Carolina, taking a 3-2 overtime decision. The second barrier was the seventh game against Charlotte, a 2-1 gut-check win. The third task occurred on May 8 in Reading, a 6-4 triumph. The fourth, came in the 5-0 win at Reading on May 9. The fifth was Tuesday night (May 11) in the 6-3 victory and the sixth came Wednesday (May 12) in the 1-0 triumph.
ELIMINATION GAMES: Under Head Coach Chuck Weber, the Cyclones are 9-2 in games that require a win to keep a playoff season alive. On the other side of the coin--in the past four years Cincinnati is 9-5 in games when it can eliminate its opponent from the postseason. Since the start of the 2008 Kelly Cup playoffs that record is 9-2 with the ability to eliminate the opponent.
CHASING HISTORY: For the first time in ECHL history, a pair of coaches who have previously won Kelly Cup championships are meeting for the title. Chuck Weber won his title in 2008, while Derek Laxdal led Idaho to a championship in 2007.
ABOUT SATURDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones got the only goal of the evening off of a deflection from the hip of forward Dustin Sproat with 20.1 seconds to play in regulation time in the 1-0 win. Barret Ehgoetz flipped a puck into the slot for Mathieu Aubin to fire on goal, Sproat came to the front of the net and had it bounce off his leg for the score. Robert Mayer stopped all 18 shots he faced in taking the victory.
ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones got goals from Mark Van Guilder in the first and last minutes of the game to lead the club to a 3-2 win over Idaho in the opening game of the Kelly Cup Finals. Robert Mayer had 28 saves and Maxime Lacroix had a pair of assists in the triumph.
ABOUT WEDNESDAY NIGHT...: Cyclones center Barret Ehgoetz netted the lone goal of the game in the first period and Robert Mayer knocked away 25 shots in a 1-0 win over Reading. The triumph was the fourth straight against the Royals after dropping the opening three games of the series.
ABOUT TUESDAY NIGHT...: The Cyclones rallied from a two goal deficit early in the first period with a three-goal flurry in a 1:35 span midway through the first to grab a 6-3 win over Reading. Barret Ehgoetz and Dustin Sproat had two goal games, Brett Robinson had a three point night and Jeremy Smith came on in relief to stop all 14 shots he faced in the triumph.
THAT IS A LOT OF HOCKEY: The Cyclones have played six games--all victories--in the past eight days. During the win streak, Cincinnati has outscored the opponent--22-9. The stretch also included a pair of 1-0 victories for the Cyclones.
NARROW MARGINS: The Cyclones have played three 1-0 games in the postseason. The first came in overtime in the third game of the South Carolina series (April 9), as rookie Josh Heidinger scored in the 17th minute of bonus time to end the game. The second came against Reading in game seven on Wednesday night, when Barret Ehgoetz netted the only tally in the seventh minute of the game. The most recent was Dustin Sproat's lamplighter with 20.1 seconds remaining on Saturday night.
SEVENTH HEAVEN: The Cyclones were a part of the ECHL's 21st game seven in league history Wednesday night. Cincinnati has been a part of six seventh games--which also is a league record. The Cyclones are 4-2 in these games and have three triumphs on home ice.
STORK A SEVENTH GAME VETERAN: Cyclones Assistant Coach Dean Stork has been involved with nine of the 21 seventh games in ECHL history. Playing in four as a player and coaching five others with the Cyclones, Stork has a 7-2 record in these contests.
DIRECTOR OF COMEBACKS: Cyclones Head Coach Chuck Weber has guided the club to seven come-from-behind wins in these Kelly Cup playoffs and 17 in his four playoff seasons at the helm. In the four regular seasons under Weber's direction, Cincinnati has recorded 64 regular season comebacks.
PHILADELPHIA AND CINCINNATI SHARE BOND: The cities of Cincinnati and Phiadelphia share a special bond that was forged this week. On Wednesday night, the Cyclones became the sixth team in pro hockey history to eliminate a 3-0 deficit in a best of seven series to rally and advance in the postseason. The 1-0 win over Reading (about an hour away from Philadelphia) advanced the club to the Kelly Cup Finals. The Philadelphia Flyers won their best of seven series against the Boston Bruins on Friday night. The Flyers rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the series AND a 3-0 deficit in game seven. They become the sixth, and seventh, teams in pro hockey history to achieve this. The 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, 1960 Rochester Americans (AHL), 1975 New York Islanders, 1989 Adirondack Red Wings (AHL) and 1999 Orlando Solar Bears (IHL) are the others. Cyclones coach Chuck Weber worked in the front office of the Orlando club and went into coaching the following year.
CYCLONES AMONG LEADERS: The Cyclones have numerous players among the statistical leaders in the Kelly Cup playoffs. Dustin Sproat ranks third in scoring with 18 points. Barret Ehgoetz is tied for fourth in scoring with 17 points. Jimmy Kilpatrick is 15th in scoring with 13 points. Mathieu Aubin and Mark Van Guilder are tied for 18th in scoring with twelve points each. Hans Benson is second in penalty minutes (65) and Ryan Del Monte (41) is fifth. Maxime Lacroix and Brett Robinson are tied for the league lead in shorthanded goals with two apiece. Robinson is tied for second in rookie scoring (ten points) and leads in goals (seven). Matt Pierce is tied for second in shorthanded assists with one. Robert Mayer leads with a 1.17 goals against average and a .952 save percentage. Jeremy Smith ranks second in wins (nine) and eighth in goals against average (2.67). Brett Motherwell is tied for third in scoring among defensemen with nine points. Brian O'Hanley is sixth in rearguard scoring with eight points. Reid Cashman is tenth in defensive scoring with six points. Brock Sheahan's eight minor penalties are fourth-most among defensemen.
THAT IS ODD: The Cyclones have enjoyed success in the Kelly Cup playoffs in odd numbered games of a series (games one, three, five and seven), posting a 10-2 record. Cincinnati has struggled a bit in the even numbered games side (games two, four and six), turning in a 3-6 record--but has won the last three straight.
THE GOALIE COMBO: Cyclones Head Coach Chuck Weber's two-headed goaltending monster of Robert Mayer and Jeremy Smith has won an ECHL-high 13 games in the Kelly Cup playoffs, has a 2.48 goals against average--second-best in the league and a league-best .916 save percentage.
LISTEN IN!: For fans attending games at U.S. Bank Arena, bringing an FM radio will allow you to listen to the games. Tune in to 106.1 FM to listening to the internet call of the game.
http://tinyurl.com/2vjyp9h
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