CINCINNATI, Ohio – Matt Smyth registered his first professional hat trick to help lift the Cincinnati Cyclones (40-17-5-2) past the Evansville IceMen (22-35-2-3) by a 5-2 final score in front of 7,146 at U.S. Bank Arena on Saturday night.
Cincinnati drew first blood at 9:44 when Matt Smyth buried his fourth goal of the season on the power play during a mad scramble at the net. The IceMen answered back, though, at 17:50 as Dylan Clarke tipped home the game-tying strike after redirecting Daniel Tetrault’s point blast. The teams went into the first intermission even at one.
The Cyclones pulled back ahead just 3:10 into the middle stanza as, Jeremy Tucker batted home a rebound for his first goal with Cincinnati, making it 2-1. Then, at 7:42, Smyth caught a beautiful pass from Mathieu Aubin in the high slot and easily lit the lamp for the second time on the night to give his team a 3-1 edge after 40 minutes.
Smyth completed his hat trick by scoring 9:45 into the final frame after rushing over the Evansville blue line and firing a wrist shot past James Reid (L, 34 saves, 1-3-0). Clarke pulled the IceMen to within a pair by redirecting another point shot past Michael Houser (W, 20 saves, 15-5-1) at 14:56. The Cyclones, though, capped off the scoring with an empty net goal by Mike Pelech at 18:37. Aubin notched his third assist of the game on Pelech’s tally, as the Cyclones prevailed 5-2.
