TRENTON, New Jersey – The Trenton Devils scored twice in the first four minutes of the game to claim a 4-3 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones on Sunday afternoon.
A Cincinnati goal from Barret Ehgoetz with 1:42 to play brought the Cyclones to within a goal, but they could get no closer.
Trenton raced to a 2-1 first period lead. The Devils got a power play goal from Eric Castonguay, who fired a shot from the left wing side for his 23rd goal of the year. Two minutes, at 3:59, Matt Cohen’s twelfth goal came from the top of the right circle after a cross ice pass from Castoguay. At 11:22 Jake Dietrich got Cincinnati on the board with his tenth goal of the year from Mac Faulkner. Dietrich skated past the goal crease near the right post and tapped in the bouncing puck. The shots on goal in the opening period favored Trenton, 10-8.
The Cyclones evened the scores at 51 seconds of the second period when Matt Syroczynski netted his 19th goal of the season on the power play in traffic in front of the net from T.J. McElroy. Jeff Proigh’s 29th goal of the campaign on the power play at 9:13 gave the Devils the lead again at 3-2. The shots in the period were level at ten apiece.
Trenton extended the lead to 4-2 2:q2w7 into the third period when Jeremy Akeson collected his 15th goal of the season. Barret Ehgoetz notched his 21st goal of the season at 18:18 to get the game to within one. McElroy added his second assist of the afternoon and the Cyclones buzzed the Trenton net for the final minute and a half unable to cash in the tying marker. The shots in the final frame favored Cincinnati, 13-5. For the game, Cincinnati outshot the Devils, 31-26.
Charlie Effinger, who played collegiately at Miami (OH) University, stopped 28 shots to take the win.
Loic Lacasse turned aside 22 shots in taking the loss.
With the loss, the Cyclones maintain first place in the North Division with 77 points. Elmira has joined Cincinnati at the top, but the Cyclones are the top seeded team in the division on tie-breakers.
Johnstown, Wheeling and Trenton are tied for second with 76 points. The top four teams in the North Division advance to the Kelly Cup playoffs. This is the closest divisional race in the 21-year history of the ECHL.
The Cyclones are now 36-25-5 on the season, while Trenton is 35-25-6. The Cyclones finish off their three game road trip with a tilt at Dayton on Wednesday (March 25) at 7:30pm. The club returns to U.S. Bank Arena on Thursday (March 26) for a visit from Trenton at 7:30pm.
Tickets for the 2008-09 Cincinnati Cyclones season are now on sale. The Cyclones Sales Department can be reached at 513-421-PUCK, extension 3. For the latest news, notes and information on the team, visit: www.cycloneshockey.com . Ask about the Family Four Pack (four tickets, four hot dogs, four Pepsis, four Cyclones winter hats, four public skate passes at SportsPlus and a SportsPlus game card) for just $69!
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