GREENVILLE , South Carolina – Behind Josh Shalla’s second period goal and some tremendous penalty killing, the Cincinnati Cyclones (7-0-2-0) earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the Greenville Road Warriors (8-4-1-0) in front of 2,983 at BI-LO Center on Friday night.
For the sixth time in nine games, the Cyclones drew first blood as Dan Eves caught a beautiful backhanded pass from Mike Pelech and wristed home his second goal of the year at 14:21, making it 1-0 Cincinnati. And after holding the Road Warriors to just six shots in the opening period, Cincinnati led by a tally at the first intermission.
In a penalty-filled middle frame, the Cyclones took advantage of their power play opportunities. After Scott Pitt was whistled for a hooking penalty, rookie Josh Shalla camped out in front of Greenville goalie Nathan Lieuwen (L, 29 saves, 4-3-0-0) and tipped home Josh McFadden’s point shot at 10:37 to extend Cincinnati’s cushion to 2-0 after 40 minutes.
The third period was much like the second in terms of penalties, with a combined six power plays handed out between the two clubs. At the end of a two-man advantage, Greenville’s Kenndal McArdle found a loose puck in the goal crease and stuffed it behind Cincinnati goaltender Brian Foster (W, 23 saves, 7-0-2) at the 8:42 mark to cut the Cyclones lead in half. But once again, Cincinnati’s late-game defense came up big as they killed off the remaining three power plays against and preserved a 2-1 victory.
The Cyclones Radio Network Stars of the Game are as follows:
First Star: Dan Eves (Goal for Cincinnati)
Second Star: Nathan Lieuwen (29 saves, losing goaltender)
Third Star: Brian Foster (23 saves, winning goaltender)
The same two teams will do battle again tomorrow night at BI-LO Center with the opening face-off slated for 7:00pm.
