The Cincinnati Cyclones (0-0-1) will face off against the Fort Wayne Komets (2-0-0) on Friday night at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Komets enter their third game of the season off two narrow road wins over the Iowa Heartlanders, 6-5 (Friday night) and 2-1 OT (Saturday). On the other hand, the Cyclones will look to bounce back after a narrow 3-2 OT loss in Kalamazoo this past Saturday night. The Cyclones rallied back in the third period, with a game-tying goal scored by defenseman Ryan McCleary, sending the game to Overtime tied at two. Even though the Cyclones lost in OT, they picked up a point in the standings.
Cyclones Head Coach Jason Payne will have to decide who will be between the pipes ahead of Friday night against the Komets. Goaltender Pavel Cajan, recalled to the Cleveland Monsters last week, was sent back to the Cyclones on Wednesday. Cajan spent time with the Cyclones last season, as he had a 2-3-1 record with a 0.902 save %. Jon Gillies, who started in net against the Wings last Saturday, allowed in the first two shots of the game, and the final OT goal in a 3-2 loss. Taking Gillies’s place as he goes to the Reserve, Vyacheslav Peksa, who was assigned from the Toronto Marlies by the Toronto Maple Leafs. Peksa, a 22-year-old Russian goaltender, played 19 games for the defunct ECHL Newfoundland Growlers last season, posting a 0.890 save %, with a 5-11-1 record. I think we will see both goaltenders this upcoming weekend, with Peksa and Cajan both starting on different nights.
Newcomer Nikolai Knyzhov is the only defender on the roster with NHL experience. In the 2020-21 season, Knyzhov played in 56 games with the San Jose Sharks, tallying two goals and eight assists. Last year, he played ten games with the Sharks. He is a strong defenseman who likes to stay on the defensive end and does not like to rush attack the O-zone very much.
Offensively, a mix of veterans and younger players appears to be promising for this team. Expect plenty of production this coming weekend from the top lines, especially from Forward Lincoln Griffin, who scored a goal last Saturday against Kalamazoo. The Cyclones’ forward groups should continue to build chemistry as the season chugs along and expect them to see growth at both ends of the ice soon.
Captains Announced:
Captain: Justin Vaive
Assistant Captain: Matt Murphy
Assistant Captain: Louie Caporusso
Assistant Captain: Matt Boudens
Transactions:
added: Vyacheslav Peksa, G – assigned from Toronto Marlies by Toronto Maple Leafs
added: Nicolas Isaacson, F – activated from reserve
deleted: Jon Gilles, G – placed on reserve
deleted: Landon Cato, D – placed on 14-day injured reserve
Projected Lineup:
Vaive – Boudens – Ashbrook
Griffin – Sherrif – Voit
Frasca – Sikic – Gosselin
Bajkov – Parker – Bollers
Knyzhov – McCleary
Parsons – Sharpe
Burnside – Murphy
Peksa
Cajan
Players to Watch (Fort Wayne)
Brett Brochu: 0.968 Save %, 1-0-0 record on the season
Odeen Tufto: 0 Goals, 4 Assists on the season
Kyle Mayhew: 2 Goals, 1 Assists on the season
Players to Watch (Cincinnati)
Vyacheslav Peksa: Could earn his first start of the season, played for the Newfoundland Growlers
Lincoln Griffin: 1 Goal, 0 Assists on the season
Nikolai Knyzhov: 0 Goals, 1 Assist on the season
Where to Listen:
Fort Wayne Audio: webcast.komets.com:888/kometcast.mp3
Cincinnati Audio: Cincinnati Cyclones
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Go cyclones!