CYCLONES LOOK TO CLINCH KELLY CUP PLAYOFF SPOT THIS WEEK

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THIS PAST WEEK:

About Saturday Night in Greenville: A pair of third period goals by captain Barret Ehgoetz helped propel the Cyclones to an exhilarating 3-1 win over the Road Warriors at the BI-LO Center.  With the victory, Cincinnati finished off a tremendous road trip, going 5-1-0-1 over its two-week, seven game stretch.  For Ehgoetz, it was his fourth game-winner of the season (which is tied for the team lead) and his 15th of his Cyclones career.

About Friday Night in Greenville: The Road Warriors set the tone early with a pair of goals and never looked back as they defeated the Cyclones by a 5-0 count at the BI-LO Center.  It was only the second time this season that Cincinnati has been shutout.  Cyclones captain Barret Ehgoetz logged his 400th professional game while Cincinnati was whistled for a season high 51 penalty minutes in the contest.

About Thursday Night in Greenville: The Road Warriors scored three times in the shootout to pick up the extra point against the Cyclones and earned a 3-2 win at the BI-LO Center.  Despite the loss, Cincinnati extended their eighth-place lead over Gwinnett to three points.  Casey Pierro-Zabotel and Dan Eves both registered two-point games in a losing effort as Cincinnati’s record in OT/SO games slips to 8-10.


STORYLINES:

Scouting the Wings:  On Sunday, Kalamazoo clinched a spot in the postseason with a 4-2 victory over the Wheeling Nailers.  Currently ranked third in the Eastern Conference, the Wings have won seven out of their last ten games and own the fourth-best home record in the “East” (20-12-0-1).  While their participation in the Kelly Cup Playoffs is assured, their seeding is far from decided - as they hold only a four point cushion over South Carolina and just five over Florida.  Kory Karlander remains the Wings’ most dangerous offensive weapon - amassing an ECHL second-best 75 points (31 goals, 44 assists) in 64 games.  Patrick Asselin, too, has been a consistent point-getter for Kalamazoo; he has 60 points (26 goals, 34 assists) in 62 games and is especially dangerous at home - getting on the scoresheet in 12 consecutive tilts at Wings Stadium.  Goaltender Ryan Nie remains the ECHL’s wins leader, with 27, and paces the league with 1436 saves.  He is 6-1-1 against the Cyclones this season.

Magic Number Tracker:  As it stands now, the Cyclones “Magic Number” to clinch a Kelly Cup playoff spot sits at 9.  That number will shrink by two for each Cincinnati win and each Toledo loss.

The Go-To Guy:  Cincinnati goaltender Brian Foster has been extremely busy between the pipes.  He started in all seven games of the Cyclones recent road trip, picking up his first career shutout and first career shootout win along the way.  Although in a small sample size, Foster’s goals-against average sits at 2.32 - which ranks him third among all active ECHL goalies with at least 10 games played.

An Eye on the East:  As of today, here is a quick snapshot of how the Eastern Conference playoff race shapes up:
  5 - Florida             74 points
  6 - Wheeling*        71 points      
  7 - Elmira*            71 points
  8 - Cincinnati      70 points
  9 - Toledo             66 points
 10 - Gwinnett         65 points
* Wheeling holds tiebreaker with Elmira


UPCOMING PROMOTIONS

Friday, March 25 – 7:30pm Kids Eat FREE Night:  All fans ages 2-12 will receive a FREE meal courtesy of John Morrell and Sunkist.

Saturday, March 26 - 7:30pm Child Abuse Awareness Night:  The Cyclones will wear special-edition blue jerseys to raise awareness for child abuse prevention which will be auctioned off after the game to benefit the Northern Kentucky Children's Advocacy Center. The first 2,500 fans will receive a Reminderband.

Friday, April 1 - 7:30pm Fan Appreciation Night: $1 John Morrell Hotdogs / $1 Donatos Pizza / $1 Soda / 50¢ Popcorn.


PRACTICE SCHEDULE
(All practices are closed to the public)

Tuesday: 10:00am Practice - Northland Ice Center.  Travel to Kalamazoo.
Wednesday: Game vs. Kalamazoo - 10:30am.
Thursday: 10:30am Practice - U.S. Bank Arena.
Friday: 10:15am Morning Skate - Game vs. Toledo 7:30pm.
Saturday: 10:15am Morning Skate - Game vs. Toledo 7:30pm.
Sunday: 10:30am Travel to Toledo.  Game at Toledo 4:00pm.



TICKET INFORMATION

For tickets to all games this season, log onto CyclonesHockey.com, call 513.421.PUCK (7825) or visit the U.S. Bank Arena Box Office.



UPCOMING HOME GAMES

Cincinnati vs. Toledo
Friday, March 25
7:30pm
KIDS EAT FREE

Cincinnati vs. Toledo
Saturday, March 26
7:30pm
CHILD ABUSE AWARENESS NIGHT

Cincinnati vs. Kalamazoo
Friday, April 1
7:30pm
FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT