IceMen Stun Cyclones in Comeback Shootout Win
(Evansville scores twice in final seven minutes to force overtime, beats Cincinnati in shootout.
EVANSVILLE, IN – The Evansville IceMen scored two goals in the final seven minutes of regulation Sunday to force overtime, before beating the Cincinnati Cyclones 6-5 in a shootout at the Ford Center.
The Cyclones scored the first goal in a back-and-forth first period when Tommy Mele buried a rebound into the top shelf over IceMen goalie Scott Greenham six minutes into the game. Andrew Harrison tied the score for Evansville when he snuck the puck past the right pad of Cincinnati goaltender Andy Iles off of a centering pass from Matthew Zay behind the net.
The IceMen took the lead 1:01 after Harrison’s goal, as Alex Wideman through a centering pass off the skate of Ryan Penny, who was crashing the net. Cincinnati evened the score at 2-2, when Nick Huard stick-handled around an Evansville defenseman and through a pass to the net that caught the stick of Christiaan Minella before deflecting in past Greenham.
Cincinnati took its second lead of the game early in the middle period, when Huard set up Brett Wysopal with a backdoor pass on a power play and Wysopal flipped the shot behind Greenham 1:17 into the frame. Colin Mulvey rifled a shot into the net from high in the slot on a transition rush to make it 4-2 in favor of the Cyclones at 4:24.
Late in the period, Sebastian Strandberg carried the puck the full length of the ice and made a highlight reel move around the Cyclones defenseman and then Iles to cut the IceMen deficit to one heading into the second intermission.
An early power play goal from Jack Downing gave the Cyclones a 5-3 lead just 21 seconds into the third period. But the IceMen scratched and clawed to tie the game with two goals in the final seven minutes of play. Curtis Leonard picked off a Cincinnati clearing attempt and fired a wrist shot past Iles with 6:46 left for his first professional goal to bring the IceMen within one. Wideman scored the equalizer with 4:33 to go, when he chipped in a setup pass from Nathan Moon, as Evansville battled back to force overtime.
After a scoreless extra period, Wideman and Tyson Fawcett both scored in the shootout, and Greenham stopped Mulvey and Zach Budish to steal the win for the IceMen.
The IceMen hit the road this week for three games in four days. Evansville first faces the Missouri Mavericks at 7:05pm CST Wednesday at Silverstein Eye Centers Arena. The IceMen then head to Moline, IL for the final meeting with the Quad City Mallards at 7:05pm CST Friday at iWireless Center. The team wraps up the week with a 7:30pm EST Saturday contest against the Fort Wayne Komets at Memorial Coliseum.
NEXT WEEK
Wed. 3/23 – Evansville at Missouri (7:05pm) – Silverstein Eye Centers Arena
Fri. 3/25 – Evansville at Quad City (7:05pm) – iWireless Center
Sat. 3/26 – Evansville at Fort Wayne (7:30pm EST) – Memorial Coliseum
FINAL HOME GAMES
Fri. 4/1 – Cincinnati at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center
Autism Awareness Night
Sat. 4/2 – Tulsa at Evansville (7:15pm) – Ford Center
Home Finale – TRCI Mini Stick Giveaway – Zooperstars
