The Cincinnati Cyclones pulled off a huge 5-4 win over the Central Division leading Walleye on Wednesday night, improving their record to 19-25-7-0, pulling a point behind Bloomington and three behind Indy in the Central standings. Despite a late push from Toledo, it was a three-point performance from Cyclones’ captain Justin Vaive that led the way to a thrilling 5-4 win.
Period 1
Lincoln Griffin got Cincinnati on the board first, backhanding one home off a silky toe drag move by rookie Braeden Kressler, making it 1-0 Cyclones early.
Justin Vaive later extended Cincinnati’s lead to 2-0 after a review confirmed his goal following a wraparound attempt from Lincoln Griffin.
Before the period ended though, Toledo’s Brandon Kruse trimmed the deficit to 2-1, snapping a screened shot past Cincinnati netminder Pavel Cajan.
Before the late-period goal from Kruse, the Cyclones held the Walleye to just three shots through 15 minutes, dominating both zones most of the first twenty.
Period 2
Right at the start of the second period, Dante Sheriff put Cincinnati back up by two. He skillfully dangled the puck around Toledo’s goalie, Carter Gylander, who had come out of his crease to try and poke check the puck away. Sheriff made it look effortless as he slid it into the net.
Mathieu Gosselin then made his mark, scoring with just over five minutes left in the second period. He created a turnover in the neutral zone, leading to a two-on-one breakaway with Vaive. After some impressive passing, Gosselin found the back of the net, putting the Cyclones ahead 3-1.
However, the Walleye were not ready to fold. As in the first period, they scored late in the second, this time via forward Carson Bantle, who netted his 16th goal of the season after receiving a centering pass from Brandon Hawkins. This allowed Toledo to close the gap to 4-2 going into the final period.
Period 3
The third period saw a rapid start as Mitchell Lewandowski scored just five seconds into a power play, following a face-off win by Sam Craggs, narrowing the Cyclones’ lead to 4-3.
As the period progressed, Braedon Kressler added an empty-net goal, only for Hawkins to score again for Toledo with 22 seconds on the clock, making it a nail-biting 5-4 finish. The Cyclones managed to hold on for their third win of the season against Toledo, and it’s worth noting that all but one of their matchups have been decided by just one goal. The season series now stands at 3-3-1-0.
Cincinnati dominated the O-zone through the first two periods, outshooting Toledo 21 to 14. controlling the pace of play, despite giving up late goals in each frame. However, the Walleye flipped the script in the third, outshooting the Cyclones 18 to 4. Cincinnati’s ability to pull the win off can be credited in part to a solid 28-save performance from goaltender Pavel Cajan in his first game back after suffering a concussion over two weeks ago. Hopefully the 22-year-old Czech netminder can build off this first-game back, since he will likely relied upon a lot down the final stretch this season.
On the special teams front, Cincinnati’s power play went ice cold again, going 0 for 2 without many good chances, partly due to the absence of their key power play weapon, Chas Sharpe. Nevertheless, the Cyclones kept their penalties to a minimum, only serving one for holding (Burnside) and one for slashing (Sheriff), allowing just one goal on the Walleye’s two power play opportunities. The hope is that their five-on-five offensive success can translate into better power play execution as they push through the final stretch of the season, because it will be definitely be needed as the games get tighter around playoff time.
Looking ahead, the Cyclones will face the Iowa Heartlanders on Friday night at Heritage Bank Center. The first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive a Cyclones Pickleball Paddle, with the puck drop scheduled for 7:35 p.m. ET.
ITR 31: Let Them Fight – Inside The Rink
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