The Cincinnati Cyclones fell 3-2 to the visiting Fort Wayne Komets in overtime on Friday night, earning a single point in the standings. The loss snapped their four-game winning streak but extended the point streak to five games.
Related: Cyclones Jump to Fourth With 2-1 Win Over Bloomington
Jake Johnson and Gabriel Bernier scored both Cincinnati goals in the first period before Fort Wayne responded with three unanswered, including two power play goals in regulation and eventually the overtime winner.
The out-of-town scoreboard was not in favor of the Cyclones tonight, either. Indy won in regulation over Utah, Kalamazoo won in regulation over Rapid City, and Bloomington also picked up a win. Cincinnati now sits in fifth place – Bloomington holds the tiebreaker between both teams at 62 points, while Kalamazoo is two points back of fourth/fifth. The Cyclones now trail Indy by five points for third in the division
Game Recap
Just over midway through the opening period, Johnson fired a long-range shot through traffic that beat Samuel Johnson to make it 1-0 Cincinnati. The former Miami RedHawk Max Helgeson picked up his third pro assist on the play and is still searching for his first goal.
Later in the first, Bernier caught the Komets penalty killers sleeping and buried a breakaway chance off a perfectly timed stretch pass from Appleby. It was Appleby’s fourth assist of the season and gave Cincinnati a 2-0 lead.
Fort Wayne captain Alex Aleardi trimmed the deficit early in the second on the power play to make it a 2-1 game.
Midway through the third, Cincinnati took back-to-back undisciplined penalties: a four-minute high stick by Liam Kidney and, later a two-minute high stick from Bernier. The sequence sent Fort Wayne to a five-on-three power play, and they cashed in. Kirill Tyutyayev one-timed a pass from Jalen Smereck past Appleby to tie the game 2-2.
The game eventually went to overtime, where defenseman Harrison Rees finished the comeback.
The officiating did not do the Cyclones any favors, but Cincinnati also hurt itself. They surrendered two power-play goals, one while on a five-on-three penalty kill, all because of two undisciplined high-sticks.
Cincinnati somehow earned only two power plays and saw a few missed calls go without a whistle, including a likely boarding that was not called and led to a scrum
The Cyclones outshot the Komets 33-32 and generated plenty of grade‑A looks, but it wasn’t enough, largely because they went to the well too many times on the penalty kill. Cincinnati had to kill six penalties, and that workload eventually caught up to them. Another telling number was the third‑period shot margin: 14-3 in favor of Fort Wayne – simply not how you close out a game.
Cincinnati hosts Fort Wayne again on Saturday for Fight Cancer Night at 7:35 PM ET in a game where they badly need two points.
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