CINCINNATI, OH – Beck Warm faced only 19 shots as the Cincinnati Cyclone defeated the Iowa Heartlanders on Friday, 4-1. Zach Andrusiak scored two goals for the Cyclones. James Sanchez had the only goal for Iowa and Hunter Jones stopped 34 shots.

Cincinnati scored the first four goals of the game, starting with two in the first period. Andrusiak gave his team the lead 16:39 into the contest. Sean Allen passed the puck to Andrusiak who was just above the right face-off circle. He blasted a slap shot over the shoulder of Jones for his 23rd goal of the year.

With five seconds left in the period, Patrick Polino extended the lead to two. Matt Berry took a shot that Jones saved, but Polino was able to push the puck between the legs of Jones and into the net. Initially, the referee waved off the goal, believing Jones had held the puck crossing the line, but overruled his decision after a review.

Cincinnati held on to the two-goal advantage to the first 16 minutes of the second period, but then scored two more goals in the final four minutes to extend the lead to four. Kohen Olischefski made it a three-goal advantage at 16:13, scoring his seventh goal of the season. Olischefski made a great play in the neutral zone, intercepting a pass up along the boards, then firing it across the blueline to Josh Passolt. He moved in on Jones, waiting to the final second before passing it across the slot to Olischefski who tipped the puck past the Iowa netminder.

The Cyclones added one more goal in the final seconds of this frame as well, scoring with four seconds left in the second. With Cincinnati on the power-play Louie Caporusso and Andrusiak combined for a perfect give-and- go to set up the goal. Andrusiak came speeding through the neutral zone, dropping the puck at the blueline for Caporusso. He waited for Andrusiak to get through two Iowa defensemen before feeding the puck back to him. The forward then slipped a backhander by Jones for his second goal of the night.

Iowa was held to just 10 shots through the first two periods and had no real opportunities against Warm. However, the team finally broke through eight minutes into the final frame. This was a great series of passes, starting with Tommy Parran at the point, who fed Yuki Miura just inside the left face-off circle. He made a one-touch pass into the slot to Sanchez, who was standing alone with his back to Warm. The Iowa forward simply lifted a backhander over the glove of the Cyclones goaltender for his 11th goal of the season.

However, Iowa would get no closer. They finished with just 19 shots on Warm, while Jones faced 38.

The Iowa Heartlanders (13-27-13) travel to Ohio to take on the Toledo Walleye (34-15-6) on Saturday. The Walleye are 12-0-1 in their last 13 games. The puck drops at 7:15 Iowa time.

Gamesheet

by Robert Pannier