Michael Houser was sensational, stopping all 42 shots faced in a 2-0 shutout win over the Toledo Walleye Thursday night.

The 'Clones now lead their best-of-seven with the Walleye, 3-2. Game six comes Saturday in Toledo.

• Thursday's game was a goaltenders duel for much of the night, with Houser and Billy Christopoulos traded saves throughout. After a scoreless opening period, Toledo saw a breakaway and point blank chance in the slot for Brett McKenzie get washed out by the pads of Houser. On the other end, Lukas Craggs streaked down the gut of the ice on a breakaway, but was denied by Christopoulos.

• Lincoln Griffin scored late in the second period to get his first playoff goal. The forward collected a rebound off a shot from Max Balinson and used his skate to redirect the puck past the goal line with 2:47 left in the frame.

• Cincinnati was outshot, 19-4 in the third, but Zack Andrusiak continued his postseason success, slamming a right circle wrist shot home for his fourth playoff goal, coming at the 10:43 mark of the third. 

• Shortly after, both Dajon Mingo and Justin Vaive ended up in the penalty box, allowing Toledo 1:35 of a 5-on-3 advantage. Shot after shot was found by Houser, be it from the point with traffic, in the circles with tip attempts, or making the second or third save on a rebound before covering up.

• In all, Toledo went 0-for-7 on the man advantage, marking the first time all series that the Walleye were unable to generate a power play goal in a game.

• Houser's 42 save shutout was his first since April 23, 2019, when he turned away 30 shots from Kalamazoo in game six of the opening round of playoffs to send the then-Brabham Cup Champion Cyclones to the Central Division Finals. That same opportunity will be presented to the Cyclones this Saturday at the Huntington Center in Toledo.

The chase for the Kelly Cup starts now for the Cincinnati Cyclones! Playoff tickets are on sale NOW starting at $22 per seat for single game tickets and $20 per seat for groups of 20 or more. Call (513) 421-PUCK for tickets and more information, and stay on top of all the latest team updates and information on Facebook, Twitter (@CincyCyclones), and Instagram, along with our website, www.cycloneshockey.com!