ECHL: Cincinnati Cyclones Dominates the Iowa Heartlanders, Wins Second-Straight

In Cincinnati, Ohio, the Cincinnati Cyclones beat the Iowa Heartlanders 5-4 in the first of nine meetings between the two Central Division opponents. Cincinnati played its first overtime game of the season and improved to 2-3-0-0.

Roman Ahcan scored his first goal in a Cyclones uniform at 10:32 of the 1st period. The Minnesotan received a pass along the goal line in-tight and roofed it past Iowa’s Hunter Jones. Landon Kosior and Louis Boudon each found the net for the Iowa Heartlanders to take a 2-1 lead. 33 seconds after falling behind, Cincinnati Cyclones defenseman Steve McLean grabbed his first goal of the season with a wrister from the high slot.

Patrick Polino continued his impressive special teams play with a one-time blast on the powerplay from the left circle early in the 2nd. The Iowa Heartlanders responded with a shorthanded marker off the stick of Nick Campoli to tie the game at 3-3. With just over three minutes left in the frame, Jake Gaudet finished off a give-and-go rush with Patrick Polino to put the Cincinnati Cyclones back out in front.

Kamerin Nault scored from a Cincinnati Cyclones turnover in the 3rd period to force overtime. At 2:02 of overtime, Jake Gaudet skated in on a solo rush and went far-side on his forehand to give the Cyclones their first win at home this season. Both teams showed a lot of heart as they both put everything on the ice throughout the entire game, and the Cincinnati Cyclones pulled it out in overtime. The Cincinnati Cyclones have a chance to get back to even their record to 3-3-0-0 with a win on Saturday against the same Iowa Heartlanders team. 

During Saturday’s game in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Cincinnati Cyclones topped the Iowa Heartlanders 9-4 for the second night in-a-row against the Central Division opponent. The Cincinnati Cyclones brings its record to .500 for the first time this season and improves to 3-3-0-0.

The Cincinnati Cyclones needed just 12 seconds into regulation to find the mark, thanks to Louie Caporusso’s tap-in goal. At 8:42 of the 1st, Zack Andrusiak loaded up a wicked wrister that slammed off the back bar. Sahil Panwar scored his first professional goal off a deflection in the slot to give the Cincinnati Cyclones a 3-0 lead. Cristiano DiGiacinto earned his first fighting major of the season, dumping Michael Knaub to the ice.

Then, the Iowa Heartlanders got on the board 39 seconds into the middle frame on the powerplay. Defenseman Steve MacLean scored his second goal in as many games on a strong wraparound move below the goal line. The Iowa Heartlanders countered to make it 5-2 before Patrick Polino found his third shorthanded goal of the season on a breakaway. After the Iowa Heartlanders punched back again, the Cincinnati Cyclones rattled off two straight goals with reigning ECHL Player of the Week Jalen Smereck’s snapshot and Matej Pekar’s in-tight finish.   

With the Cincinnati Cyclones up 7-3 entering the final period, the Cincinnati Cyclones continued to pour on the pressure. Louie Caporusso scored his second of the game, and Jake Bricknell got his first goal of the season on a 4-on-3 powerplay. Ole Julian Bjørgvik Holm earned first-star honors with three assists. The Cincinnati Cyclones dominated the two games against the Iowa Heartlanders 14-8 and are above .500 on the season, which is a good sign for the team to make a run for the playoffs this season.