DULUTH, Georgia – The Gwinnett Gladiators (41-25-2-1) scored three unanswered goals in the third period to defeat the Cincinnati Cyclones (40-19-5-3) by a 5-3 final score in front of 3,343 at Gwinnett Center on Wednesday night.
The Cyclones got on the board early as Mathieu Aubin buried a rebound past Louis Domingue (W, 24 saves, 21-9-1-1) at the 4:15 mark to give his team a 1-0 lead. Gwinnett answered less than two minutes later as Joey Haddad blasted a high slap shot over Michael Houser (L, 30 saves, 15-7-1-1) to even things at one. Toward the end of the frame, the Cincinnati power play capitalized to take back the lead; after a Josh McFadden point shot rebounded out in front, Justin Vaive stuffed home his first ECHL goal of the season to push Cincinnati ahead 2-1 through 20 minutes.
The Gladiators knotted things at two with 7:35 gone in the middle period when Doug Jones teed up a power play point shot that beat Houser through a screen. And despite some great chances for both sides the rest of the way, the teams remained deadlocked at the second intermission.
Aubin once again gave his team a lead with a power play goal at 10:16, making it a 3-2 game. Unfortunately, though, the Gladiators potted three unanswered goals in the final eight minutes to rally and win by a 5-3 final score. Justin Bowers, Ryan Donald, and Andy Brandt all found the net in the third.
The Cyclones Radio Network Stars of the Game are as follows:
First Star: Ryan Donald (Game-wining goal for Gwinnett)
Second Star: Justin Bowers (1 goal, 2 assists)
Third Star: Mathieu Aubin (2 goals)
Cincinnati continues its season-long road trip on Friday night against the Florida Everblades at 7:30pm. Fans can hear all the action of the game on the Cyclones Radio Network (FM 100 The FAN, America One, CyclonesHockey.com) beginning at 7:10pm.
The Cyclones will return to the ice at U.S. Bank Arena on Friday, March 29 when they host the Evansville IceMen at 7:30pm!
