The Cincinnati Cyclones picked up a 3-2 win over the visiting Utah Grizzlies on Sunday evening in a game that turned into a long one. The night nearly tied the record for the longest shootout in professional hockey history, with the teams going 20 rounds, just one short of the 21-round mark set back in 2013.
Head coach Riley Weselowski said the group showed a lot of guts in the finish.
“Couple things. Number one, Ken Appleby was unbelievable, just giving us a chance over and over again and making those big saves. And then Kennedy and Johnny, those are tough shots when the game is on the line and you have to come in and score or the game is over. So it was a gutty, gutty performance for sure, and it was nice to be on the right side of it.
Every game from here on out, the two points are critical. That was an important one. And honestly, it just felt like things were not going our way. We hit a lot of posts, had a double post in there, so it was definitely nice for us to find a way.”
Luke Grainger and Justin Vaive scored in regulation for Cincinnati, while Appleby stopped 27 of 29 shots. In the shootout, Shawn Kennedy and Jake Johnson scored, and Ryan Kirwan finally ended it in the 20th round.
In the standings, the Cyclones are now one point behind Kalamazoo for fifth place in the Central Division. Both teams have played 55 games. Cincinnati is also one point behind Bloomington for fourth place, although the Bison have a game in hand.
Game Recap
Grainger opened the scoring a few minutes into the game, giving Cincinnati an early 1-0 lead with his 13th of the season.
It stayed that way until midway through the second period when Rielly Connors tied it on a shot from the slot that beat Appleby.
With 42 seconds left in the middle frame, Vaive battled home a rebound to put the Cyclones up 2-1 heading into the second intermission. It was his eleventh of the year.
Later in the third, after a big penalty kill from Cincinnati, Luc Salem redirected a shot past Appleby to tie the game at 2-2.
From there, the teams went to a shootout that lasted 20 rounds. Yes, actually 20 rounds. Kirwan finally ended it after both sides traded save after save with the occasional goal mixed in.
Weselowski said he liked the team’s defensive response after giving up five goals the night before.
“Just more connected, less panicked. Honestly, the biggest part of our defense tonight was our offense. We spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, and that makes defending easier when you are not stuck in your own end. I liked a lot about our game tonight. And with three games in three days, those are tough games, so for our guys to come out on top was nice.”
He also talked about what he wants to see in terms of consistency from his team.
“I have liked our play recently a lot. The Kalamazoo game last Sunday was one of our better games. I think we deserved a much better fate there. And even the Toledo game on Friday, statistically in pretty much every area, we played well enough to win and came out on the wrong end of a 3-2 game. So I think we are in a good spot right now, going into places like Toledo and playing the top teams in the division. We are able to go toe to toe with these teams. But we are also in a spot where we cannot afford to not get the two points.
However, I did not love our game on Friday in Toledo, but I liked our effort. Our details were not very good. Our systems, our structure, our routes. We were unpredictable and sporadic. When we got back to playing more predictable hockey tonight, you saw it in the results. We had chances to probably be up by a few more, but overall I am happy with that effort.”
The Cyclones continue their homestand on Friday and Saturday night, both against the last-place Iowa Heartlanders. Friday’s game is at 7:35 PM EST, and Saturday’s game is at 4:05 PM EST.
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