The Cincinnati Cyclones continue their homestand at Heritage Bank Center this weekend for a pair of games against the Iowa Heartlanders. Friday’s matchup begins at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by a Saturday matchup at 4:05 p.m. ET.
Friday’s Lineup
Adam Kydd – Sam Stevens – Max Helgeson
Gunnar Fontaine – Marko Sikic – Jackson Murray
Nick Rheamue – Jordan Kaplan – John Jaworski
Justin Vaive (C) – Liam Kidney – Gabriel Bernier
Jake Johnson – Max Smolinski
Elijah Vilio – Aaron Bohlinger
Kurtis Henry – Rhett Parsons
Ken Appleby
Tommy Scarfone
Standings
Cincinnati enters the weekend three points back of Bloomington for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Central Division.
Matthew Sop leads the Heartlanders in points with 29, while Ryan Kirwan (currently in the AHL) leads the Cyclones with 48 points.
The Cyclones’ penalty kill has struggled at 72%. Iowa’s penalty kill is at 83%. The power plays are about the same. The Cyclones are at 17%, and the Heartlanders are at 20%.
Roster Moves
The Cyclones added Max Helgeson from the NCAA’s Miami RedHawks. He joins after his graduate season with Anthony Noreen’s RedHawks. Miami completely turned around its program this past season, finishing 18-16- 2. The 18 wins are the most the program has totaled since the 2014-15 season. This came after a 3-28-3 season in 2024-25.
Helgeson is 25 and played an important role in the top six for Miami. He finished with 20 points on the season: 10 goals and 10 assists split evenly. He can play either wing or center and was fourth on the team in faceoff wins with 107. He took plenty of draws and played top-line center to end the season with Miami. All of this came in the NCHC, by far the best conference in college hockey.
The Cyclones also added another NCHC player. Defenseman Max Smolinski from St. Cloud State. Both St. Cloud and Miami were eliminated in the NCHC Tournament Quarterfinals last weekend, which made these graduates available. Smolinski put up 18 points on the season with six goals and 12 assists.
Justin Portillo (F) was placed on 14-day Injured Reserve on March 12, and John Jaworski (F) came off the 14-day IR on Friday March 13.
Ryan Kirwan was called up to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies earlier this week.
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