The Cincinnati Cyclones dropped a back-and-forth affair against the Wichita Thunder 5-4 at INTRUST Bank Arena. The game against the San Jose Sharks affiliate marked the first of three straight road games that the Cincinnati Cyclones play in three days against Mountain Division opponents.
The Cincinnati Cyclones opened the scoring for the first time this season thanks to a Justin Vaive deflection five minutes into the game, coming off a Zack Andrusiak wrister. Then the Wichita Thunder answered right back with a Ryan Finnegan backhander that beat Talyn Boyko. Minutes later, the Wichita Thunder converted off a Cincinnati Cyclones turnover to take a 2-1 advantage.
Then the Wichita Thunder expanded the lead to 3-1 in the second period with a powerplay goal from Aaron Miller at the left circle. The Cincinnati Cyclones got some much-needed momentum with 50 seconds left in the frame when Patrick Polino potted a rebound shorthanded.
The Cincinnati Cyclones trialing 3-2 entering the third, it took only seconds for Polino to record yet another shorthanded goal in the same minor penalty. Tied up at 3-3, Jay Dickman’s two goals in the final frame countered Zack Andrusiak’s 3rd period goal. Wichita Thunder won their first game of the season 5-4.
Next up, the Cincinnati Cyclones travel to Tulsa for a two-game set against the Anaheim Ducks ECHL affiliate. The Oilers and Cyclones drop the puck at 8:05pm ET on Saturday and 5:05pm ET on Sunday. Cincinnati returns home to Heritage Bank Center on Friday November 3rd at 7:30pm ET for “Shutout the Hate” night. The players will sport specialty ‘Shutout the Hate’ jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game.
