The Cincinnati Cyclones faced off against the Iowa Heartlanders on a rainy Wednesday night in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. This was their fourth matchup of the season, with the Cyclones entering the game with a solid 2-0-1 record against the Heartlanders this season, losing only once in a narrow overtime loss back in December.
The Cyclones were looking to bounce back after a tough 2-1 overtime defeat to the Toledo Walleye in their previous game on Teddy Bear Toss night. Kyle Bollers ignited the crowd late, scoring the lone goal for Cincinnati just five minutes before the end of regulation, sending a flurry of teddy bears flying from the stands.
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On the other side, the Heartlanders came into the game with momentum after their convincing 4-1 victory over the Kalamazoo Wings last Sunday. Yuki Miura, Nico Blachman, Zeteny Hadobas, and Zach Dubinsky all found the back of the net, helping Iowa finish the weekend with a 1-1-0-1 record.
In goal for Iowa was Kyle McClellan, while Vyacheslav made his first start in a while for the Cyclones, after a stint with the Toronto Marlies (AHL).
Iowa’s Matthew Sop opened up the scoring, dangling around Vyacheslav Peksa’s left blocker with a slick backhand move, making it 1-0 Iowa early.
After the initial goal, both teams struggled to find any rhythm offensively, resulting in a quiet first period with very little action. By the end, there were only 11 shots on goal—six from Iowa and five from Cincinnati.
The Cyclones started the second period with a chance to even it up on the power play, but things took a turn when Braeden Kressler accidentally played the puck with a broken stick, leading to four-on-four play.
The lack of offense continued for each team, with very little chances coming by often. With just under five minutes remaining in the frame, Cincinnati got another power play after Iowa’s Nathan Noel received a match penalty for an illegal check to the head. Despite having a five-minute advantage, the Cyclones couldn’t manage to find the back of the net, continuing their frustrating trend on the power play.
As the second period came to a close, Braeden Kressler found himself in the penalty box again, this time for tripping, meaning Iowa would have 1:39 of power play time to start the third. Remarkably, through two periods, the Cyclones had limited the Heartlanders to only eight shots on goal, a testament to their improving defensive efforts over the past month, but offensively, they could not buy a goal through the first 40 minutes.
As the third period got underway, the Cyclones began to struggle defensively, failing to clear the puck from their own zone in the opening minutes. This lapse ultimately led to Iowa extending their lead with a goal from Will Zmolek—his first of the season—putting Iowa ahead 2-0.
About six and a half minutes into the third, Iowa’s Nico Blachman kneed Braeden Kressler in the neutral zone, sending Kressler down the tunnel to the locker room and giving Cincinnati another opportunity on the power play. Unfortunately for the Cyclones, they couldn’t capitalize on it, and their efforts fell flat once again. Later, Matthew Sop put Cincinnati back on the power play, but they once more struggled to make any real impact, landing little shots on net.
The game later ended 2-0 in favor of the Iowa Heartlanders, improving Iowa’s record to 24-14-4-3, while Cincinnati fell to 16-22-7-0.
When looking at the overall stats, going 0/4 on the power play is not going to cut it, and lately, not winning the special teams battles has haunted the Cyclones. The biggest killer in this one was the Nathan Noel five-minute major they did not take advantage of late in the second period. Lately, their power play has been struggling, lacking the puck movement and cycling that was once a strength in January. Chas Sharpe, who was previously lethal with a powerful slap shot on the man advantage, has not been shooting as much lately, not finding the net like early last month.
Entering the offensive zone during power plays has also proved to be a hurdle lately, especially Wednesday night due to Iowa’s stingy blue line defense and their ability to disrupt Cincinnati’s passes. Cincinnati had a few great opportunities, including one standout moment in the first period when Chris Dodero hit the crossbar. Despite outshooting Iowa 25 to 18, they faced a shutout performance from Kyle McClellan, who made many of his saves look routine, often stopping shots from the perimeter. If the Cyclones want to compete with the top teams in the Central Division, they need to create better scoring chances close to the net.
On the bright side, the Cyclones’ penalty kill has been impressive, successfully killing off 20 out of their last 21 penalties and going six consecutive games without allowing a power play goal. This strong performance will be crucial moving forward, but their recent struggles on the power play are concerning and need immediate attention if they hope to make a playoff push.
The Cyclones are set to return to action at home on Friday night against the Kansas City Mavericks, with the puck dropping at 7:35 PM EST.
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