ECHL Game Recap: Cincinnati Cyclones vs Bloomington Bison l 01/03/2025

The Cincinnati Cyclones faced off against the Bloomington Bison on Friday, January 3rd, at 7:00 PM CST at Grossinger Motors Arena. Low attendance has been an issue for the Bison during their inaugural season, and this game was no exception, with only 3,345 fans in a 6,000-capacity arena. This match marked the first of three over the weekend, as the Cyclones were set to host the Indy Fuel on Saturday night at Heritage Bank Center and play against Fort Wayne on the road on Sunday. Yaniv Perets started in goal for the Bison, while Vyacheslav Peksa took the crease for the Cyclones.

First Period:

The Bison were the first to score, with Captain Eddie Matsushima beating Vyacheslav Peksa to give the team an early 1-0 lead.

Around eight minutes later, Cincinnati evened the score at 1-1 as Lincoln Griffin snapped a rebound past Bloomington goaltender Yaniv Perets.

The period ended tied at 1-1, with the shot total favoring Cincinnati 15 to 11.

Second Period:

The Cyclones jumped out to an early power play as Bloomington’s Ryan Siedem was called for tripping. Braden Kressler later made the Bison pay, wristing a shot past Perets to give Cincinnati a 2-1 lead early in the second period, marking his second goal as a Cyclone.

The Cyclones later extended their lead to 3-1 on another power play, as Lincoln Griffin tipped a Ty Voit wrist shot past Bloomington goaltender Yaniv Perets late in the middle frame.

The period ended at 3-1 in favor of Cincinnati, as the Cyclones dominated the offensive zone throughout the period. Goaltender Vyacheslav Peksa made 10 saves in the second, holding the Bison to just one goal through two periods.

Third Period:

Around midway through the third period, Braeden Kressler was injured at mid-ice after being slashed in the hamstring, a clear missed penalty. He then went back to the locker room. At the 9:51 mark, a false alarm went off in the arena, causing most of the fans to leave, resulting in a sparse crowd for the final minutes of the game. Remy Parker from Cincinnati later took an unnecessary hooking penalty with four minutes remaining in the game, and Josh Boyer from Bloomington narrowed the deficit to 3-2 on the power play with a one-timer shot past Peksa with just 3:05 left.

Bloomington later pulled their goalie with 1:30 remaining in the period, but the Cyclones successfully managed to run out the clock, securing a 3-2 victory. With this win, their record improved to 7-19-4, still placing them last in both the Western Conference and Central Division standings. While some may view this season as a total loss, they still have a chance to recover if they can achieve a sweep over this weekend’s games, starting with Saturday’s matchup at home against the Fuel for Throwback Night. The Cyclones will debut their throwback jerseys on a night where a win is crucial for this struggling team. The Cincinnati faithful are sure to pack the Heritage Bank Center once again, providing much-needed support to the team during this rough start to the season.