The Cincinnati Cyclones hosted the Utah Grizzlies on Wednesday night at the Heritage Bank Center along the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati. The Cyclones entered the game following a close 5-3 loss to the Atlanta Gladiators on Sunday, which had snapped their five-game winning streak. However, they are back in the playoff race, chasing down Bloomington and Indy for the fourth spot in the Central Division. Between the pipes, Pavel Cajan started in goal for Cincinnati, while Jake Barczewski was in net for Utah.
First Period:
Opening up the first frame, Derek Daschke took a hooking penalty deep in his own d-zone, sending the Cyclones to the power play. Only 48 seconds into the power play, Dante Sheriff dropped a pass back to Chas Sharpe on the blue line, who then blasted a slap shot past Barczewski, giving Cincinnati an early 1-0 lead.
Around the ten-minute mark, Barczewski made an outstanding save against Marko Sikic, who almost scored during a one-on-one breakaway, only to be stumped by Duplessis’ left blocker. With 9:12 left in the period, Lincoln Griffin of the Cyclones was penalized for hooking in his defensive zone, giving the 17.5% Utah power play a chance to capitalize. However, Cincinnati managed to clear the puck twice, preventing Utah from establishing any offensive setup, even after icing the puck with a little over six minutes remaining in the first period. Later, Sikic got another chance to score and successfully found the back of the net amidst a scramble of Grizzlies and Cyclones, extending Cincinnati’s lead to 2-0 with just 2:00 remaining in the period.
The period later ended 2-0 in favor of Cincinnati.
Second Period:
Three minutes into the second period, Chris Dodero from Cincinnati was hooked by Mick Messner in the Cincinnati offensive zone, resulting in a power play opportunity for the Cyclones. This marked their second power play of the night. Cincinnati later capitalized on the man advantage, scoring their second power play goal of the night, as Lincoln Griffin fired a rebound shot past Barczewski’s right side, extending the Cincinnati lead to 3-0.
With 10:32 to go in the second, Andrew Nielsen of Utah was assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after arguing with the refs, sending the Cyclones to their third power play of the night, but Duplessis made three saves on grade-a chances in front. 16:59 into the second, Jacob Bengtsson of Cincinnati was caught cross-checking, sending the Grizzlies back to the power play, this time scoring as defenseman Derek Daschke sniped a shot past Cajan, trimming the deficit to 3-1 with two minutes left in the second.
The period later ended 3-1 in favor of Cincinnati.
Third Period:
With 18:04 left in the third period, Mathieu Gosselin was penalized for holding, leading to the Grizzlies’ third power play of the night. However, Utah struggled against the Cincinnati penalty kill unit and was unable to maintain possession in the offensive zone for extended periods of time. The penalties continued, and Dilan Savenkov of Utah was later called for cross-checking, which sent the Cyclones to their fourth power play of the night with 14 minutes remaining in regulation. Cincinnati managed to kill off the cross-checking minor with 12 minutes left in the game. Down the stretch, Cincinnati focused on strong defensive play at their blue line while effectively dumping pucks deep. Utah pulled their goalie with three minutes to go in an attempt to regain control.
The key difference in the game was the battle of special teams; the Cyclones converted 2 out of 4 power play opportunities, while Utah scored on only 1 of 3. Additionally, Cincinnati outshot Utah significantly, with 37 shots compared to Utah’s 16, more than double. Pavel Cajan once again performed admirably, stopping 15 of 16 shots, but it was Cincinnati’s defensive play that truly set the tone for the game. They consistently prevented Utah from establishing their offensive structure, clearing pucks, and blocking shots, which led to smoother breakouts for the Cyclones all night long.
Looking ahead, the Maine Mariners will come to town for a Friday matchup at 7:35 PM EST, followed by a road game on Saturday night in Indianapolis, marking Cincinnati’s first visit to the Fishers Event Center.
Three Stars of the Game:
1) Ty Voit – 2 Assists
2) Marko Sikic – 1 Goal
3) Jake Barczewski – 34/37 Saves
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