CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Cincinnati Cyclones (20-17-3-2) earned their 20th win of the season, taking down the Quad City Mallards, 3-2 in overtime on Saturday night, in front of 8,391 fans at U.S. Bank Arena. ForwardsZach Budish and Tommy Mele scored the goals in regulation for Cincinnati, while forward Jack Downingcollected the overtime winner.
Similar to Friday’s game against the Ft. Wayne Komets, the Cyclones found themselves down, 2-0, after the first period, on goals from Mallards forwards Kevin Henderson and Vladimir Nikiforov.
The Cyclones turned up the offensive pressure in the second, getting a number of quality scoring chances. It did not take long for Cincinnati to cut the lead in half, as 8:52 into the frame, Downing sent a backhanded pass from the right circle to Budish who was following up the play, and he launched a one-timer into the net, cutting the Cyclones’ deficit to a goal, 2-1, after 40 minutes.
In the third period, Cincinnati continued the offensive pressure, and with under five minutes left, forwardPeter Quenneville sent a pass up to Mele who skated in on Quad City netminder Brody Hoffman and beat him with a swift backhander, tying the game, 2-2, at the end of regulation.
In the overtime period, Cincinnati wasted little time netting the winner, as just 2:16 into overtime, forwardNick Huard skated in over the blue line on a 2-on-1 rush, and sent a pass to Downing who buried a one-timer, sending Cincinnati to a 3-2 overtime win.
The Cyclones peppered Hoffman with shots all night long, outshooting the Mallards, 42-14. Cincinnati netminder Brandon Whitney turned aside 12 of the 14 shots he faced to earn the win.
Cincinnati continues their homestand on Wednesday night against the Wheeling Nailers, with the faceoff scheduled for 7:35pm. ET.
With Cincinnati Cyclones release
Photos by PHN’s Shawn Conkle
