Cincinnati Cyclones Even Series

Cincinnati– Following a disappointing loss in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Semifinals matchup with the Fort Wayne Comets the Cincinnati Cyclones looked to even the series Saturday night.

The Cyclones would do just that with a 5-2 win inside US Bank Arena. In front of only 1,731 fans the Cyclones evened the series as the two teams will not head to Fort Wayne for games 3-5.

After a scoreless first period the second period all but made up for that. With 5 goals being scored in the second 20 minute period the Cyclones were able to establish themselves as the more powerful team on Saturday night. 4 of those 5 goals in the second period were the Cyclones allowing them to open up a 4-1 lead as the game headed for the third and final period.

Josh Birkholz had the first goal on the night for the Cyclones 1:44 into the second period. Josh Shalla would follow four minutes later with his first goal of the night to give the Cyclones a 2-0 lead. Fort Wayne would scored the next goal three minutes later as they tried to stay in the game any kill some of Cincinnati’s momentum.

Matt Carter’s goal for Fort Wayne would not be enough as Cincinnati netted two more goals in the second period. Josh Shalla struck again with five minutes left in the period for his second of the game and the Cyclones third of the game. Leading 3-1 Zach Budish would score Cincinnati’s fourth of the period send the Cyclones to the third period with a comfortable 4-1 lead.

The third period saw both teams find the back of the net once. Fort Wayne scored with two and half minutes remaining in the game. Wade Megan would score Cincinnati’s final goal with one minute to go in the game on an empty net.

With the series tied at 1-1 the Cyclones now travel to Fort Wayne Thursday May 8th, the puck drops at 7:30pm. We’ll keep you updated on the game here at RFB.