MOLINE, Ill. – The Cincinnati Cyclones (10-4-2-1) dropped a 2-1 decision to the Quad City Mallards on Saturday night. Forward Zach Budish scored the lone goal for the Cyclones, who fall into a two-way tie with the Mallards for the lead in the Midwest Division
The Mallards struck quickly in this one, as just 6:38 into the opening frame, forward Matthew Neal tipped a point shot past Cyclones goaltender Brad Thiessen, putting the Mallards up, 1-0.
That 1-0 lead held up throughout the remainder of the opening period, and in the second, the Mallards pushed their lead up 2-0, 4:19 into the frame, when forward Oliver Archambault lit the lamp on the power play.
The Cyclones started to turned the tide late in the second, getting a number quality of scoring chances, however Cincinnati was not able to find the back of the net, and the Mallards took their 2-0 lead into the locker room after 40 minutes.
The Cyclones picked up the pressure to begin the third, and were rewarded for their efforts, when forwardJoe Wilson sent a pass from the corner out to Budish, who jammed it in on the side of the net, cutting the deficit in half, 2-1, 12: 37 into the third period.
Cincinnati continued to pressure the Mallards defense, and had a number of close calls with the netminder pulled late in the frame, however could not find the back of the net, and Quad City held on for the 2-1 win.
The Cyclones out shot Quad City, 31-29, in the contest, while the power play was held scoreless on all three chances. Thiessen stopped 27 shots in the loss. The two sides wrap up their two-game home-and-home series on Tuesday in Cincinnati. Faceoff is slated for 7:30pm.
With Cincinnati Cyclones team release
Contact the photographer: Rich.Guill@prohockeynews.com (Sean Flynn Photography)
