CINCINNATI – Former Cincinnati Cyclones defenseman Greg Gallagher slapped home the tie-breaking goal 4:04 into the third period to give the Johnstown Chiefs a 4-3 win over the Queen City club on Thursday night. The triumph was the first of the year for the Chiefs. It was also only the third in the last 16 meetings between the teams.
Johnstown raced to a 3-0 first period lead with goals from Jarret Konkle at 3:01, Dan Collins at 4:34 and Mike Bartlett at 14:45. The Chiefs entered the game with two first period goals in their first seven games of the season and utilized a ten shots offensive in the opening 20 minutes to lead the attack.
The Cyclones were able to bounce back with three goals of their own in the second period to knot the scores at 3-3. Scott Reynolds notched his second of the season at 5:17 on the power play to close the deficit to within two, as Dustin Sproat and Reid Cashman dished off the assists. Cincinnati then killed off 3:24 of shorthanded time—including a five-on-three situation for 36 seconds—to stay in the game. Mark O’Leary’s first goal as a Cyclones—coming at the expense of the team that released him last week—pulled the club to within one at 12:27, as Brett Robinson and Brock Sheahan handed out the helpers. His shot came from the right wing side just inside the left post. The game was tied at 17:24 when rookie Bryan Leitch netted his first pro goal from Bryan Marshall and Sproat. The shots on goal favored the Cyclones, 13-10, in the stanza.
Johnstown got the game winning goal from Greg Gallagher, his second of the season at 4:04 with a shot from the left wing side. Konkle and Jim McKenzie had the assists on the score. The shots on goal in the third favored Johnstown, 10-7, and for the game the Chiefs outshot Cincinnati, 30-28.
Shane Connelly took the victory, stopping 25 shots while Jeremy Smith absorbed the loss, turning aside 26 shots.
Cincinnati is now 4-3 on the year, while Johnstown improves to 1-6-1. The Cyclones play host to Toledo tomorrow night (Friday, November 6) at 7:30pm. It is the annual Throwback Night with seven dollar tickets, selected food items will be priced at just one dollar and the team will be attired in the silver sheen jerseys from the 1990-91 season. The jerseys will be auctioned off after the game for fans to enjoy.
