CINCINNATI, OHIO- The past several weeks have been tough on the Cyclones. Beginning with the historic comeback win over the Toledo Walleye the club has put together some impressive wins and some not so impressive shootout losses to reach this level. The team saw the South Carolina Stingrays come into town and defeated them in a pair of tilts that could be described as hard fought. Both nights saw the ‘Clones rev up the power play and energize the crowds at US Bank Arena.

The Cyclones then went on a four-game losing streak consisting of two shootout losses and two in regulation. The shootout losses were especially hard to take since the squad had comeback from several goals down to send the games into overtime. This netted six of a possible eight points for the Cyclones in just over a week’s time. The loss of several players during the two weeks due to roster moves and trades at the NHL level didn’t help much as the new replacements needed time to adjust.

One piece of good news/bad news was that goalie Brian Foster was called up to the Florida Panthers and saw some NHL playing time. He has since been returned to the Cyclones. Thus far he has had success at the ECHL level and has been a mainstay in his return to the ‘Clones net.

The next game on the road was against division rival and nemesis Chicago in a Saturday night battle. The Cyclones have had trouble defeating the Express in the Sears Center but put a whoopin’ on their northern rivals to the tune of a  7-3 win. Once again the power play was in gear and the penalty kill unit kept pace as the Express were given nine power plays in the contest. Offensive support was not a problem in this one as several Cyclones had multi point nights.

Trades at the NHL level sent forward Rob Slaney to the Montreal Canadiens organization and an assignment to Hamilton of the AHL. Rob will be missed and also could end up as an opponent if assigned to Wheeling of the ECHL.

Consistency in the scoring department is a need right now as we roll toward March and a plethora of road games. The win at home-lose on the road rollercoaster of this season so far would be devastating for the team’s playoff hopes.

The ‘Clones have shown a flair for comebacks lately, to the delight of the US Bank Arena crowds. These are however sometimes a bitter pill to swallow as the shootout losses have proven.

The next week will be critical as the Cyclones play a two game series with the Gwinnett Gladiators , a Friday tilt with the Florida Everblades and finally a Saturday night battle with division leading Kalamazoo.

Text and Photos by Rob.Huelsman@prohockeynews.com