KALAMAZOO, Michigan – The Cincinnati Cyclones (36-17-4-2) enjoyed another night of superb defense as they defeated the Kalamazoo Wings (28-24-4-1) by a 3-2 final score in front of 2,863 at Wings Stadium on Friday night. Dan Eves collected his third game-winning goal of the year as the Cyclones pulled into a tie for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Cincinnati drew first blood at 15:29 when Matt Smyth dangled past a defender in the Kalamazoo slot and sniped a shot past Joel Martin (L, 39 saves, 25-21-4-1) to make it 1-0. And thanks to 14 opening period saves from Michael Houser (W, 37 saves, 12-5-0) at the other end of the ice, the Cyclones took the one-goal cushion into the first intermission.
The Wings used a flurry of power play chances to even things up early in the second period. On their fourth man-advantage chance of the game, Nick Sirota’s wrist shot from just inside the Cyclones blue line beat Houser past the glove at the 5:55 mark. However, back-to-back goals by Jack MacLellan and Dan Eves at 11:58 and 15:04 respectively gave Cincinnati a 3-1 edge through 40 minutes.
Kalamazoo again pulled close as, at the 5:36 mark of the third, Yann Sauve snuck into the Cincinnati slot and directed home his fifth goal of the year to make it a 3-2 game. Once again, though, the Cyclones defense stood tall in their own zone. Houser collected a total of nine saves in the third stanza and helped preserved the one-goal victory – the rookie goalie’s fifth straight.
The Cyclones Radio Network Stars of the Game are as follows:
First Star: Dan Eves (Game winning goal, assist for Cincinnati)
Second Star: Yann Sauve (1 goal for Kalamazoo)
Third Star: Taylor Aronson (3 assists for Cincinnati)
The Cyclones will return to the ice at U.S. Bank Arena TOMORROW when they host the Kalamazoo Wings at 7:30pm! The first 2,500 fans through the gates will receive a Puckchop Bobblehead courtesy of The Plastic Surgery Group.
