The Cincinnati Cyclones (0-1-2) faced off against the Kalamazoo Wings (2-0-0) in a road matchup following a tough 1-0 overtime loss to the Indy Fuel during their home opener at Heritage Bank Center. This was the Cyclones’ third game of the weekend; they had also fallen 5-4 to the Fort Wayne Komets on Friday night. Struggling to find offensive rhythm, the Cyclones were outshot 30-14 by the Fuel on Saturday. Meanwhile, Kalamazoo came in with an undefeated record, having delivered a dominant performance against the Fort Wayne Komets, winning 9-2 on Saturday night.
In contrast to Saturday night, the Cyclones fired a barrage of shots, registering a total of 14 (which was their total on Saturday night), while the Wings managed 9. In his debut start, Canucks draft pick Ty Young showcased his talent, making several impressive saves, including a remarkable toe save on a breakaway by Mathieu Gosselin. The first period ended as neither team was able to find the scoresheet.
The Cyclones finally found the scoring sheet in the second, with a wrist-shot goal scored by Nick Issacson, making it a 1-0 game.
Josh Bloom later scored his second professional goal as he wristed a shot past Cyclones goaltender Vyacheslav Peksa to even the game at 1-1 near the end of the second period. The period ended tied at one.
The Cyclones continued outshooting the Wings, but their defense and rookie goaltender Ty Young remained stellar. The Wings eventually found the back of the net with a little over five minutes left in regulation, as Ben Berard wristed the puck past Peksa’s glove to take a one-goal lead.
The Cyclones did not give up and continued to pound shots at Ty Young, but they could not put it past him.
With 15 seconds left in regulation, the Wings finished off the Cyclones with an empty-net goal scored by Max Humitz, scoring his third goal in the past two games.
The Cyclones fall to 0-2-2, remaining winless this season, making next Friday’s home game against the Bloomington Bison a must-win for early season morale. The PK unit continued to shine, going a perfect four-for-four in today’s match, and the team showed offensive determination with an impressive total of 39 shots. The standout performance from Ty Young was the story of the game, where he stopped 38 of 39 shots faced and earned his first professional career win. Meanwhile, the Kalamazoo Wings improved to 3-0-0 with their victory on Sunday, establishing themselves as a contender in the Central Division this season.
Three Stars of the Game:
1) Ty Young: 38/39 saves
2) Ben Bedard: 1 Goal
3) Josh Bloom: 1 Goal
