The Cincinnati Cyclones faced off against the Bloomington Bison on the road Saturday night in a crucial Central Division matchup.
Coming into the game, the Cyclones were looking to bounce back from a tough 5-4 loss to Fort Wayne the night before, bringing their record to 17-24-7-0. The Bison, on the other hand, were hungry after suffering a 4-0 shutout loss to the Kalamazoo Wings the night before.
In goal for Bloomington was Yaniv Perets, while the Cyclones started Vyacheslav Peska.
Cincinnati struck first, with Marko Sikic scoring the only goal of the first period. He capitalized on a moment when Perets was out of position, deftly sniping the puck into the open net to give the Cyclones a 1-0 lead.
The first period wrapped up with Cincinnati in front, having outshot Bloomington 14-8.
Things heated up early in the second period as Rhett Parsons and Zack Hoffman squared off at center ice, exchanging heavy blows until the officials finally stepped in.
Following the fight, Bloomington managed to tie the game at 1-1 when Eddie Matsushima found the net on a tipped shot during a power play—his 21st goal of the season.
Almost halfway through the second period, Chas Sharpe put the Cyclones back in front with a powerful one-timer during a five-on-three advantage, marking his 18th goal of the season.
Shortly after, Dante Sheriff extended the Cincinnati lead to 3-1, scoring on a rebound in front of Perets, with Lincoln Griffin earning the lone assist on the play.
With just under ten minutes left in the third period, Matsushima struck again, finding the back of the net as the Bloomington power play concluded. His shot trickled through Peska’s five-hole after a blocked attempt found its way to him.
The Cyclones sealed the victory late in the game with empty-net goals from Remy Parker and Tristan Ashbrook, pushing the final score to 5-2. Curtis Hall assisted Parker’s goal, extending his scoring streak to three games, while Sheriff picked up his third point of the night with an assist on Ashbrook’s goal.
This huge win improved Cincinnati’s record to 18-24-7-0, while the Bison fell to 21-21-2-2, remaining in fourth place in the Central Division.
The Cyclones’ offense erupted Saturday night, scoring five times and unleashing a total of 37 shots on Yaniv Perets. Defensively, Cincinnati excelled five-on-five, only conceding two goals, both basically on the PK (with one scored right after the man advantage expired). Most impressive, the Cyclones’ blue-line play was strong, cutting off Bloomington’s rushes and applying pressure on puck retrieval all game, limiting the Bison to 25 shots.
Cincinnati’s offense erupted Saturday night, scoring five goals and firing a total of 37 shots at Bison goaltender Yaniv Perets. Defensively, the Cyclones played one of their best five-on-five games, basically giving up both of their goals on the power play (even though one was a second after the power play time expired). The Cyclones were strong at their blue line, cutting off Bloomington’s rushes and hard forechecking when pucks were in deep, holding the Bison to 25 total shots.
One aspect to address from this one is the number of penalties taken, but it’s worth noting that the penalty kill was still solid, going 4 for 5 on the night. Cincinnati also converted on one of four power play opportunities, contributing to their overall rate of 17% this season—a figure that definitely needs improvement. On a positive note, it’s fantastic to see Chas Sharpe back to one-timing shots on the power play, a great sign going forward for the struggling Cincinnati man advantage.
The Cyclones will now return home to the Heritage Bank Center for a Sunday afternoon matchup against the Indy Fuel, with puck drop scheduled for 3 PM EST.
Discover more from Inside The Rink
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
