TOLEDO, Ohio – Cyclones rookie Charles-Olivier Roussel earned his first professional game winning goal just 90 seconds into overtime as the Cincinnati Cyclones (34-17-4-2) prevailed over the Toledo Walleye (30-19-3-4) by a 2-1 final score in front of 6,522 at Huntington Center on Sunday evening. With the victory, Cincinnati extended their lead over Toledo in the North Division standings to seven points.
The Cyclones scored the first goal for the third consecutive game as Trevor Lewis banged in a rebound past Jordan Pearce (OTL, 25 saves, 14-7-2-1) at the 15:05 mark to give his team a 1-0 lead. And thanks to nine saves from Michael Houser (W, 31 saves, 10-5-0) and a pair of penalty kills, Cincinnati led it 1-0 through 20 minutes.
After a scoreless second period, the teams continued to battle in the one-goal game until the very last minute. Unfortunately, after David Pacan was whistled for a penalty with less than two minutes left, Kyle Rogers collected rebound from Wes O’Neill’s point blast and slid it into the net at 19:40 to knot things at one and force the game into overtime.
Just 90 seconds into the extra session, defenseman Charles-Olivier Roussel got a turnover in the Toledo circle and fired a low wrist shot through the legs of Pearce for his first professional game-winning goal. With the strike, Cincinnati earned a hard-fought 2-1 win and made it a perfect weekend, earning all six possible points.
The Cyclones Radio Network Stars of the Game are as follows:
First Star: Charles-Olivier Roussel (Game winning goal for Cincinnati)
Second Star: Kyle Rogers (Game tying goal for Toledo)
Third Star: Trevor Lewis (1 goal for Cincinnati)
The Cyclones will return to the ice at U.S. Bank Arena on Tuesday, February 26 when they welcome in the Trenton Titans at 7:30pm.
