CYCLONES GAME PREVIEW

Cincinnati Cyclones (19-16-0-4)
vs.
Toledo Walleye (27-6-3-2)

Click here for tonight's game note packet

DATE: Friday, January 30, 2015
TIME: 7:15pm ET
SITE: Huntington Center - Toledo, OH
BROADCAST: Cyclones Radio Network, ECHL.TV

NHL AFFILIATES
Cincinnati Cyclones: Florida Panthers, Nashville Predators
Toledo Walleye: Detroit Red Wings

NEXT HOME GAME
SATURDAY, JANUARY 31 - 7:30pm vs. READING
PINK IN THE RINK NIGHT

Tonight's Matchup: After falling to the Jackals on Wednesday, the Cyclones are back out on the road tonight to visit the division-leading Toledo Walleye. The teams have split the first two meetings of their seven-game season series; the Cyclones took a 4-1 win on opening night back in October while the Fish captured a record-setting 13-round shootout win on November 9.

Scouting the Walleye: Derek Lalonde’s club has surged into a tie for the top spot in the North Division with wins in seven of its last ten games. Coming into the weekend, they hold a 17 point edge over the Cyclones. Rookie Tyler Barnes leads the club (and ranks tied for 6th in the ECHL) with 42 points (15g, 27a) in 37 games while former Cyclone Anthony Luciani is close on his heels with 39 tallies (18g, 21a) in 37 contests. Former Michigan State Spartan Jeff Lerg has led the way in net for the Walleye, going 19-3-1-1 with a 2.37 goals-against average. Neil Conway has also seen recent action for Toledo in net, going 4-1-2-1 with a 2.18 GAA and a 92.8% save percentage.

Last Time Out: A three-goal third period sparked a rally for the Jackals, who came back to defeat the Cyclones by a 4-2 final score in front of 2,672 at U.S. Bank Arena on Wednesday night. Joe Pendenza and Geoff Irwin netted the goals for Cincinnati in the defeat while Sam Brittain turned aside 30 shots.

Playing Nice in the North: While the North Division is usually one of the most hard-nosed in the ECHL year after year, this season has seen some limited penalty numbers. In fact, five of the seven North Division squads have racked up the seventh-fewest average penalty minutes per game. The Cyclones are averaging 13.26 PIMS this year, the fourth-fewest.

Still Stifling Shots: Cincinnati continues to hold off its opponents at an impressive rate in the shots-on-goal department. On average, they are allowing just 27.15 shots per game, the third-fewest of any ECHL team and second-fewest in the Eastern Conference.

Season Series at a Glance (7 games - 2 home, 5 away - 5 remaining):
Cincinnati's 2014-15 Record vs. Toledo: 1-0-0-1
Oct 18 Cincinnati 4 at Toledo 1 Final
Nov 9 Cincinnati 3 at Toledo 4 Final SO
Jan 30 Cincinnati at Toledo 7:15pm EST
Feb 15 Toledo at Cincinnati 4:05pm EST
Feb 20 Cincinnati at Toledo 7:15pm EST
Mar 31 Toledo at Cincinnati 7:35pm EDT
Apr 10 Cincinnati at Toledo 7:15pm EST