CINCINNATI, Ohio – Florida rookie Alex Hutchings registered a hat trick and finished with four points to help lift the Florida Everblades (15-9-0-0) to a 5-3 victory over the Cincinnati Cyclones (8-8-5-1) on Saturday night at U.S. Bank Arena.
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The opening period was nothing short of a shooting gallery, as a combined seven goals were scored between the two clubs.  Cincinnati drew first blood at 1:58 when Christiaan Minella wristed home a shot through the legs of Jaroslav Janus (W, 28 saves, 7-4-0-0) for a 1-0 Cincinnati lead.  Florida answered back, though, at the 5:42 mark when Alex Hutchings netted his fifth of the season past Cyclones goalie Marc Cheverie (L, 23 saves, 7-4-2-1) to tie things up at one.  Hutchings struck again at 11:24 as he buried a power play goal to give the Everblades a 2-1 advantage.  Luckily, Cincinnati was able to pull even at 11:47 when Brett Robinson slid home a loose puck for his sixth goal of the season, giving the game a fresh start.  Unfortunately, things went downhill from there as Florida responded with three more goals in the opening frame;  Hutchings completed a hat trick at 14:31, followed by Matt Beca and Francis Lemieux goals at 15:06 and 17:37 respectively to give the Everblades a commanding 5-2 lead after 20 minutes.

As busy of a period as it was in the first, the final two frames of regulation were relatively quiet.  Mathieu Aubin wristed a puck past Janus for his sixth goal of the year, pulling the Cyclones within two at 5-3.  But the Everblades sat back and suffocated Cincinnati’s offensive chances to hold the lead and pick up their sixth win in a row.

The Cyclones Radio Network Three Stars of the Game are as follows:
1.    Alex Hutchings (4 points, 3 goals for Florida)
2.    Mitch Fadden (3 assists for Florida)
3.    Francis Lemieux (1 goal, 2 assists for Florida)

The ‘Clones will wrap up their “three-in-three” weekend tomorrow afternoon on the road, as they travel to face the Toledo Walleye at the Huntington Center at 4:00pm.  Hear all the action on CyclonesHockey.com beginning at 3:45pm.

The defending Kelly Cup Champions return U.S. Bank Arena this Tuesday, December 7 to face the Bakersfield Condors at 7:30pm.  It’s another Big Beer Tuesday with $2 24-ounce Molson and Labatt Blue flowing all night long.  Discounted ticket packages and single game tickets for the 2010-2011 season are available now.  For more information, call 513.421.PUCK (7825) or visit CyclonesHockey.com.

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