For Immediate Release: November 18, 2016
CYCLONES DROP HEARTBREAKER IN OVERTIME
Cincinnati Turns up the Offense in Divisional Matchup
Cincinnati, OH-The Cincinnati Cyclones (7-6-2-0) fell to the Atlanta Gladiators on Friday night. Forward Kenny Ryan had a pair of goals, while forwards Nick Huard and Anthony Richard, along with defenseman Craig Dalrymple tallied lone goals for Cyclones, who saw eight players record points on the night.
After Atlanta took a 1-0 lead on a power play goal from Brock Higgs 10:18 into the first, the Cyclones tied things up roughly four minutes later when forward Tommy Mele caught Huard coming out of the penalty box and he skated in on Atlanta netminder Matt Ginn and buried a shot five-hole to tie the game, 1-1.
The Gladiators seized the momentum back a few minutes later when a shot from defenseman Tyler Shiplo was tipped into the net by forward Eric Neiley to put Atlanta back on top, 2-1.
That 2-1 Atlanta lead held up throughout the remainder of the first, and in the second the Gladiators tacked on one more just 53 seconds into the frame when Derek Nesbit found the back to the net to put the Gladiators up, 3-1.
The Cyclones pulled to within a goal about seven minutes later while on the power play, when Huard sent a pass from below the goal line to Ryan who one-timed it into the net to cut Cincinnati’s deficit to 3-2.
It did not take long for Cincinnati to tie the game, as with 4:00 left in the frame defenseman Eric Knodel chipped a pass off of the left side neutral zone wall right to Richard, and he flew in on Ginn and snapped it into the net to tie the game, 3-3.
The back-and-forth nature of the second period continued, and with a little less than a minute remaining, Shiplo threw a shot from the right point through traffic and into the net to give Atlanta a 4-3 lead after 40 minutes.
Cincinnati continued to battle back in the third and tied the game up once more, as 2:31 into the final frame, Richard sent a pass to Ryan and he slammed it past Ginn to pull Cincinnati back even, 4-4.
Roughly nine minutes later the Cyclones took their first lead of the night, while shorthanded, when Dalrymple sent a backhand clearing attempt down the ice from the defensive end that short-hopped Ginn and bounced over him into the net to put Cincinnati up, 5-4.
Atlanta continued to find ways to put the puck in the back of the net, and with less than four minutes remaining, Nesbit tipped home his second of the night to pull Atlanta even, 5-5.
The two sides headed to overtime, and 3:36 into the extra session defenseman Josh Atkinson found the back of the net to send Atlanta to a 6-5 overtime win.
Cyclones netminder Michael Houser stopped 36 of the 42 shots he faced in the loss. The Cyclones wrap up their four-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Quad City Mallards. Face-off is slated for 7:35pm ET.
The 2016-17 season is underway, and the Cincinnati Cyclones want you along for the ride as they march towards another Kelly Cup Championship! 2016-17 single game tickets and packages along with group and Season Ticket Packages are available NOW! Call 513.421.PUCK to reserve your seats. Fans can also get the latest team updates on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram, along with our website, www.cycloneshockey.com!
