Cyclones tighten up Central Division race

The Cincinnati Cyclones wrapped up a season-long six-game home stand last week with three wins, improving their overall record to 15-9-1 for 31 points. Cincinnati enters the week in third place of the Central Division, one point behind Fort Wayne and six points behind division-leading Toledo.

Cincinnati opened last week with a 6-3 win over Fort Wayne on Wednesday. Six different Cyclones tallied goals in the victory with Justin Danforth and Jesse Schultz each adding a pair of assists in addition to notching goals. Jonas Johansson made a season-high 39 saves to record the win in goal.

The Cyclones opened a two-game weekend series against Quad City with a 6-1 win on Friday. Winston Day Chief led the way offensively with a hat trick while Brandon McNally picked up three assists and Daniel Muzito-Baginda tallied a goal and two assists. Anthony Peters returned to the line-up after a recall to the American Hockey League, and stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced to earn the win.

Cincinnati ended the week with a 4-2 win on Saturday. Danforth (2g-1a) and Schultz (3a) each had their second three-point game of the week and Justin Vaive added a goal and an assist. Johansson picked up his second win of the week with 24 saves.

Danforth’s 15 goals and 31 points lead all ECHL rookies, and he is tied for fourth in the overall league scoring race. Schultz is tied for 11th in the league with 28 points (10g-18a), and has picked up at least one point in each of his last 10 games. Eric Knodel is tied for second among defensemen in the league with eight goals, five of which have come on the power play.

Peters ranks second in the league with a 2.16 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage and his eight wins are tied for 10th.

The Cyclones play four of their next five games on the road, beginning with contests at Quad City on Friday and Indy on Saturday.