INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Cincinnati Cyclones special teams stepped up, using shorthanded goals, a perfect penalty kill, and even a power play game-winner to help defeat the Indy Fuel 4-3 on Saturday night.
Indy's Matthew Barron would net the game's first goal on Teddy Bear Toss Night in Indy, giving the Fuel a 1-0 lead 2:01 into the game and a rink full of stuffed animals as they were tossed onto the ice following the score.
Cincinnati would answer with two goals of their own, but in a not-so conventional way.
Forward Kohen Olischefski would be called for a hooking minor at 12:52, giving the Fuel a power play opportunity to extend their lead.
However the Cyclones' penalty kill would be the ones doing the scoring, as Josh Passolt poked the puck away from the Fuel to get a 2-on-1. Passolt would feed a slot pass to Patrick Polino to tie the game up at the 13:03 mark of the first.
80 seconds later, the Cyclones would get another odd man rush, this time Matt McLeod would zip the puck past Zach Driscoll into the back of the net and give Cincinnati a 2-1 lead.
Olischefski would extend the Cyclones lead to 3-1 less than three minutes into the second period, crashing the net to notch the score and give Cincinnati a 3-1 advantage. The Cyclones heavily outshot the Fuel, 16-4 in the second period.
Indy would strike back halfway through the second frame, as Chad Yetman would drive home a shot from the slot to get past net minder Mark Sinclair and cut the lead to just one.
Shorthanded goals, a power play game-winner, and a perfect penalty kill
The 'Clones jump to 14-4-2-2 on the season and sit just three points back of the Fuel for first in the Central Division standings. Cincinnati also has three fewer games played than Indy.
The Cyclones would get their final goal off a power play goal from Zack Andrusiak, who would pad the lead with his third goal in as many games, on a wrist shot from the right face-off circle that blitzed by Driscoll to give Cincinnati a 4-2 lead.
Chad Yetman would get Indy back within a goal on a penalty shot, but the Cyclones held on for the 4-3 win.
Sinclair made 25 stops on the night, as the rookie goaltender improved to 6-1-1-1 this season.
The Cyclones will travel to Wheeling, West Virginia to face the Nailers on Sunday afternoon.
Shorthanded goals, a power play game-winner, and a perfect penalty kill
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