For Immediate Release: March 2, 2019
Game 56 (Road Game 28)
Vs. Wheeling Nailers (26-24-5-1, 58 pts)
Saturday, March 2, 2019 – 7:05pm ET
WesBanco Arena – Wheeling, WV
Overview: The Cyclones head to Wheeling to take on the Nailers, currently riding a nine-game point streak. Cincinnati is coming off an 8-2 win over the Indy Fuel on Friday night, extending their Central Division lead to 15 points over the Toledo Walleye, and League lead to six points over the Florida Everblades.
Last Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (39-9-4-3) took down the Indy Fuel, 8-2, on Friday evening. Forward Pascal Aquinled the way with a pair of goals and two assists, while forward Ben Johnson chipped in two, as well. Additionally, forwards Vas Glotov, Myles Powell, Brady Vail, and Alex Wideman netted lone tallies for Cincinnati, who push their point streak to nine games. The Cyclones outshot the Fuel, 32-15 on the evening, with goaltender Michael Houser stopping 13 in the win.
Sunday Afternoon Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (38-9-4-3) fell in overtime, 5-4, to the Ft. Wayne Komets on Sunday afternoon. Forwards Alex Wideman, Pascal Aquin, and Brady Vail, along with defenseman Eric Knodel netted the goals for Cincinnati, who extended their point streak to eight games. The Cyclones outshot Ft. Wayne, 31-28 on the afternoon, with goaltender Michael House rstopping 23 in the win.
Last Thursday Night Recap: The Cincinnati Cyclones (37-9-3-3) pushed their winning streak to seven games with a 4-1 win over the Wheeling Nailers on Thursday evening. Defenseman Eric Knodel, along with forwards Brady Vail, Vas Glotov, and Mike Marnell scored the goals for the Cyclones. Goaltender Michael Houser stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced in the win, and in the process, became the Cyclones’ new franchise leader for wins by a goaltender with 64. Cincinnati was outshot, 35-21 on the evening, while the power play converted on 50% of its chances.
Previewing Wheeling: The Nailers enter Saturday in fifth place in the ECHL’s Central Division, three points back of the Ft. Wayne Komets in fourth. Wheeling has win two in a row and five of their last seven games, and are coming off a 5-2 win over the Toledo Walleye on Friday night. Wheeling enters Saturday with the League’s sixth-ranked offense, averaging 3.48 goals per game. Additionally, they have seen special teams success, ranking second on the power play with a 21.9%conversion rate (52/237), and they lead the ECHL with 17 shorthanded goals. They are led offensively by forward Zac Lynch who has totaled 52 points (15g, 37a) through 53 games. He is followed by forward Yushiroh Hirano (15g, 31a) and defenseman Kevin Spinozzi (16g, 19a) who round out the top three. In goal, Jordan Ruby leads all active Wheeling netminders with a 9-5-1-0 record along with a 2.69 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage.
Inside the Series: Saturday is the sixth of eight meetings on the season between the Cyclones and Nailers, with Cincinnati holding a 4-1-0-0record through the first five games. They have outscored the Nailers, 16-7, this season
Next Game Preview: The Cycloneswrap up their three-game weekend on Sunday afternoon against the Kalamazoo Wings. The Cyclones and Wings have met nine times, with Cincinnati holding an 8-0-1-0 record in those games.
All Hands on Deck: Friday’s 8-2 win over the Indy Fuel marked the sixth time Cincinnati has scored seven or more goals in a game this season. Twelve players recorded points for the Cyclones on Friday, led by forwards Pascal Aquin (2g, 2a) and Vas Glotov (1g, 3a) who each accounted for four points. Forward Brady Vail notched a goal and a pair of assists, while forwards Ben Johnson (2g) and Jesse Schultz (2a) each had two-point nights.
Man Advantage: The Cyclones are now 19for their last 58 on the power play, following a 4-for-7 outing in Friday’s 8-2 win over the Indy Fuel. Cincinnati is now 14thin the ECHL with a 16.6% conversion rate on the powerplay (40/241).
Knodel Named AMI Graphics ECHL Plus Performer of the Month: Cincinnati Cyclones defenseman Eric Knodel has been named the recipient of the AMI Graphics ECHL Plus Performer of the Monthfor February, after posting an on-ice rating of plus-16 through 13 games during the month. He joins forward Alex Wideman, who was co-recipient of the AMI Graphics ECHL Plus Performer of the Month in December. Knodel posted an even or better rating in 12 of his 13 games during the month, including pair or plus-four games- an 8-1 road win over the Maine Mariners on February 8, and a 5-4 overtime victory against Adirondack on February 17. He ranks third among ECHL defensemen, and sixth overall in the league, with a plus-35 rating this season, and is also tied for first among blueliners with 14 goals and is tied for second with 39 points. Signed to an American Hockey League (AHL) contract this past summer by the Rochester Americans, Cincinnati’s AHL affiliate, the 6-6, 225-pound blueliner ranked third in ECHL defenseman scoring a season ago, accounting for 13 goals and 39 assists in 57 games played. Currently in his third season with the Cyclones, Knodel skated in 58 games with the Cyclones in 2016-17, leading the team in defenseman scoring with eight goals and 20 assists, and was tied for third with a plus-seven on-ice rating. He was one of the ECHL’s top defensemen at the midway point of 2016-17, and for his efforts he was awarded a spot in the 2017 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic in Glens Falls. He also took part in the All-Star Hardest Shot competition, where he finished in second place with a shot of 96mph. Overall, Knodel has appeared in 302 pro games, accounting for 47 goals and 124 assists for 171 total points. Prior to turning pro, Knodel spent four seasons at the University of New Hampshire, and was named captain during his season year in 2013-14. In 116 games for the Wildcats, he accounted for 20 goals and 41 assists for 61 total points, including a career-high 28 (7g, 21a) during his senior year.
All-Time Franchise Leader: After notching his 100th ECHL win in last Saturday’s 5-2 victory over the Toledo Walleye, goaltender Michael Houser became the Cyclones’ all-time goaltending wins leader following Thursday’s 4-1 win over the Wheeling Nailers. He currently has 64 career wins in a Cyclones uniform dating back to the 2012-13 season, and Houser is currently second in team history with 109 career games played, 18 shy of Geoff Sarjeant’s 127 (1996-98). This is Houser’s fourth stint as a Cyclone, and has a career Cyclones record of 64-34-6-4 with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.
League Leaders: Cincinnati currently boasts a pair of League-leaders in forward Jesse Schultz and goaltender Michael Houser. Schultz currently paces the ECHL inboth points (65) and assists (48) and has also added 17 goals. He has points in nine of his last 10 games (4g, 11a), and in 30of his last 39 contests, accounting for 16 goals and 35 assists in that time. Houser currently leads the League inwins with 21,fewest losses with four, goals-against average at 2.00, andis second in save percentage at .927. He is 14-1-2 in his last 17 games, allowing two or fewer goals in 12 of them. Houser was also named the Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Month for December after a perfect 6-0-0-0 record along with a 1.17 goals against average and a .950 save percentage.
Point Men: Forward Vas Glotov is currently riding a nine-game point streak, totaling six goals and eight assists in that time, while defenseman Mitch Jones has four goals and four assists in his last nine outings. Alex Wideman has seven goals and seven assists in his last 14 games, and is second on the team with 20 goals and 34 assists, while forward Pascal Aquin has points in 11 of his last 15 contests, accounting for six goals and 14 helpers, and ranks fourthin League rookie scoring with 23 goals and 26 assists, following a four-point performance (2g, 2a) in Friday’s 8-2 win over the Indy Fuel. Finally, Ben Johnson has points in nine of his last 13 outings (5g, 9a), and Brady Vail has points in 15 of his last 21games(9g, 13a).
Good in All Areas: The Cyclones boast the League’s top offense, averaging 4.04 goals per game, and the top defense, having allowed a miniscule 2.36 goals per 60 minutes and outscoring teams 222-130. Starting and finishing games have been a specialty for Cincinnati, as they have a League-leading 86 first period goals while only allowing 40, and have allowed 33 goals in the third period. Cincinnati is outscoring the opposition, 69-33, in the final 20 minutes of play, and are 29-1-0-2. when leading through two periods. They have given up more than three goals in regulation just eight times this season.
Packed Schedule:The Cyclones are in the midst of a stretch of 29 games in 59 days. Cincinnati will play three games in three days on four separate occasions during that time, a pair of four-game-in-five-days stretches, two stretches of seven-games in 10 days, and one of 10 games in 17 days.
Welcome Matt Thomas: The Cyclones enter the 2018-19 season with a new head coach. In early August, Cincinnati hired Matt Thomas as the team’s new bench boss. He replaced Matt Macdonald who was named assistant coach of the Grand Rapids Griffins; American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Detroit Red Wings. A native of Maple Ridge, BC, Thomas has extensive head coaching experience in the ECHL, spanning 11 seasons with the Atlantic Boardwalk Bullies, Fresno Falcons, and Stockton Thunder from 2002-2013. Thomas served two seasons as an assistant coach with Atlantic City, including helping the Boardwalk Bullies to a Kelly Cup Championship in 2003, before assuming the role of head coach and Director of Hockey Operations with the team prior to 2004-2005. He compiled a 42-22-8 mark in his lone season as Atlantic City’s bench boss, and served as the head coach for the 2005 ECHL All-Star Game. He then moved on to Fresno prior to the 2005-06 campaign, leading the Falcons to a 43-15-14 mark along with a trip to the Western Conference Finals. Over the next two seasons in Fresno, Thomas compiled a 76-41-17 record, with trips to the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs on both occasions. He coached the Falcons during the first half of 2008-09, leading the team to an 18-10-2 mark before the team ceased operations midseason. Thomas was not out of work for long however, as he was named head coach of Stockton shortly after, and finished the year with a record of 22-16-3, and a trip to the second round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs. Thomas went on to coach the Thunder for four more seasons, amassing a mark of 141-111-36, reaching the post season each year, including a trip to the 2013 Kelly Cup Finals. He enters the 2018-19 campaign as the ECHL’s sixth-winningest coach with a career record of 342-225-80, just one win back of fifth place all time. He is also the all-time leader in playoff games coached with 97, and ranks third with 49 playoff wins.
The 2018-19 season is HERE, and the Cincinnati Cyclones want YOU along for the ride! Single game, Group, and Season Tickets are on sale NOW by calling (513) 421-PUCK! Stay on top of all the latest team updates and information on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram, along with our website, www.cycloneshockey.com!
