 |
POWER
PLAY |
5TH
- 20.4 |
PENALTY
KILL |
4TH
- 85.0 |
FORWARDS |
TRAVIS
MORIN |
34-50-84
(+16) |
CHRIS
CHAPUT |
25-38-63
(+4) |
PIERRE-LUC
O'BRIEN |
13-44-57
(+15) |
DEFENSEMEN |
NATE
KISER |
5-22-27
(+13) |
SCOTT
ROMFO |
7-16-23
(+10) |
SEAN
COLLINS |
1-13-14
(+7) |
GOALTENDERS |
DAVIS
PARLEY |
24-9-2
(4 SO)
2.30 GA
.924 PCT |
|
JOSH
JOHNSON |
23-13-0
(2 SO)
2.80 GA
.908 PCT |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
South
Carolina vs Cincinnati |
|
|
SCHEDULE |
|
1 |
MAY
9 |
SOUTH
CAROLINA 2 - CINCINNATI 6 |
SEED
2 |
2 |
MAY
10 |
SOUTH
CAROLINA 4 - CINCINNATI 5
(OT) |
SEED
1 |
47-22-2
(97) |
3 |
MAY
14 |
CINCINNATI
4 - SOUTH CAROLINA 5 (OT) |
55-12-1-4
(115) |
| |
4 |
MAY
16 |
CINCINNATI
3 - SOUTH CAROLINA 1 |
|
| |
5 |
MAY
17 |
CINCINNATI
2 - SOUTH CAROLINA 1 (OT) |
|
| |
6 |
MAY
19 |
SOUTH
CAROLINA at CINCINNATI |
|
| |
7 |
MAY
21 |
SOUTH
CAROLINA at CINCINNATI |
|
|
Cincinnati
Wins Series 4-1 |
|
SERIES
PREVIEW |
|
|
Cincinnati
Cyclones by Rob Huelsman
The road to the Conference Finals has been one of ups
and downs for the Cincinnati squad. The team finished
first in the regular season as they won the Brabham Cup
and there were many individual awards won by the players.
Even their coach Chuck Weber won an award as he took home
the John Brophy Award. A sweep of the Chiefs in the first
round made things look pretty good for the top-seeded
Cyclones. The Reading Royals slowed the advance toward
the Kelly Cup and almost derailed it. It has been said
that familiarity breeds contempt and it showed against
these two division rivals.
Now a different challenge arises in the South Carolina
Stingrays, a team the ‘Clones have never faced. "The Washington
Capitals have done a good job stocking them with young
talent," said Weber. "They have a good puck-moving defense,
and two of the top scorers in the league (Travis) Morin
and (Chris) Chaput."
Offense; League MVP and Rookie of the Year David
Desharnais leads a group of small, fast forwards with
great goal scoring abilities. Cincinnati-native Jason
Deitsch along with Matt Syroczynski, Barrett Ehgoetz,
Mathieu Aubin and Scott Reynolds each have been solid
all season. Sniper J.M. Daoust and rookie speedster Ryan
Russell were added to this offensive arsenal and made
it more potent. Daoust spent a good portion of the season
on loan to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and was
returned for the playoffs due a healthy Pens squad. Desharnais
totaled 106 points this season to lead the league. His
third goal of the postseason in Game 7 against Reading
won the series for the Cyclones. Jimmy Bonneau adds muscle
in the pugilistic role but several others are physical
enough and willing to drop the gloves if need be.
Defense; This is a stout unit led by ECHL plus-minus
leader Chad Starling. The 6’6" native of Saskatchewan
can clear the crease effectively and play on the power
play. Jeremy Swanson (6’1", 218), Conrad Martin (6’1",
215), Jon Gleed (6’2", 210),Bryan Schmidt (6’3", 209)
and Matt MacDonald (6’1"-205) provide enough brawn to
out-muscle opponents forwards in the Cyclones own end.
The defense can press, harass, and suffocate an opponent’s
attempts to get to the crease.
Goaltenders: Cedric Desjardins (3-2-0) with a 2.61
goals-against average and .907 save percentage and Maxime
Daigneault (4-1-0) 2.41 goals-against average and a .915
save percentage form the Cyclones goaltending tandem.
Both have AHL experience this past season with Hamilton
and Milwaukee respectively. Daigneault backstopped the
series against the Chiefs while Cedric won the series
against Reading.
Special teams: The Cyclones had the league-leading
power play during the regular season. The playoffs have
been an aberration as the unit has struggled at times
unable to score. When this unit is in top form it is a
juggernaut that can turn a game around and put it away.
The penalty-killing unit played inconsistently this post
season as well. Sloppy play cost by that unit cost the
team a win or two against Reading early in that series.
Coach Weber worked on more attention to detail with the
club and in the end it produced more disciplined play
and a positive outcome against the Royals.
Intangibles: Team chemistry is a plus for this
squad as they battled through adversity most of the season
and found ways to win. A never-quit attitude permeates
this team as they had 26 come-from-behind wins this season.
The Cyclones road record is very respectable with 28 wins
including to at Reading in the last round. The Cyclones
secured home ice for the entire post season as the regular
season champions. The US Bank Arena has been a winning
environment this year as the ‘Clones lost only four games
at home in regulation.
Mascot: "Twister" can slide down the rink standing
(sliding) on his head. What special talent does the Stingrays
mascot have?
Prediction: This series will probably will go six
or seven games as both teams battle to the end for supremacy
and the American Conference Crown on the way to the Kelly
Cup Finals.
South Carolina by Phil Brand
Overview: The South Carolina Stingrays will face
their ultimate test to date in their quest for the 2008
Kelly Cup starting this Friday in Cincinnati. The challenge
in the form of the Cincinnati Cyclones, a team which brings
the regular season’s best record in the ECHL and accordingly,
home ice advantage in the conference finals.
After having home ice advantage through three rounds,
the Stingrays face the prospect of having to win on the
road something they have not been able to do thus far
in the playoffs. They also must do so against a team that
is itself very strong on the road as the Cyclones tied
an ECHL record with 26 road wins in the regular season.
Thus far in the playoffs, the Stingrays are 9-0 at home
and 0-6 on the road.
Cincinnati posted a league-leading 55-12-5 record in the
regular season. This was the Cyclones best single season
record since they joined the league. Importantly, as noted
this overall record gives them home ice advantage. South
Carolina, celebrating 15 years in the ECHL, is also coming
off one of its most successful regular seasons after posting
a record of 47-22-3 the second best record in Stingray’s
history.
The Cyclones advanced to the conference championship with
a four-game sweep of Johnstown outscoring the Chiefs 17
goals to seven in four games. The Cyclones had received
a bye in round one. Their next opponent, the Reading Royals
proved more difficult by forcing a seventh game before
falling by a lopsided margin in the final game.
South Carolina meanwhile had to battle three opponents
through the full five games in beating the Augusta Lynx,
Gwinnett Gladiators and the Columbia Inferno in tight-evenly
contested series. The Stingrays had to come came back
from the brink of elimination after losing their first
two opening round games against Augusta.
Series note – The Stingrays and Cyclones have never
met in the playoffs or in the regular season.
Coach: The Stingrays are led by rookie Jared Bednar,
a former outstanding ECHL defenseman, who then served
as an assistant coach with his team before becoming the
head coach shortly after the end of the 2006-07 season.
Thought to be a gamble by some long-term Stingrays observers,
Bednar has demonstrated the ability to manage the game
as coach and the movement of players in his other role
as Vice President of Hockey Operations.
Forwards: Travis Morin (10 goals and five assists),
Marty Guerin (nine goals and five assists), Stephen Werner
(five goals and six assists) and Trent Campbell (four
goals and seven assists) contribute to a balanced scoring
attack. Cail MacLean, the Stingrays captain also jumped
into the scoring race with two recent goals against Columbia
to go with his eight assists. Morin leads all ECHL players
in playoff goals with Guerin in the No. 2 slot.
Defense: The South Carolina defense continues to
play well and is getting great help from the forwards.
Davis Parley’s playoff shutouts in two critical final
games were the result of a combined team effort. Given
that the Stingrays will face a very high powered offense
including the league’s MVP David Desharnais who scored
106 points in the regular season, defense will be the
key to this series.
Goalies: South Carolina continues to alternate
between veteran Davis Parley and rookie Josh Johnson based
on who has the current hot hand. Parley has come up big
in the last two final games with shutouts. Bednar however
doesn’t hesitate to use either goalie.
Prediction: The Stingrays must win one of the first
two road games to establish their ability to win on the
road. If they go down two games while opening in Cincinnati
this series will be over in five games.
Contact the author at phil.brand@prohockeynews.com |
|
| Game
1 |
S. Carolina 2 - Cincinnati 6 |
| by Rob Huelsman -
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Cincinnati
Leads Series 1-0 |
Cincinnati,
OH - The opening salvo of the 2008 American Conference
Finals was fired by the Cyclones in a lopsided win of
Game 1. The league regular season champs outplayed their
southern guests mightily over the course of the night.
Davis Parley of the Stingrays faced 13 shots in the first,
17 shots in the second, and seven in the final period
for a total of 37 by an aggressive Cyclones squad. Cincinnati
dominated its’ defensive zone in the first period shutting
down any Stingrays threats. Both teams tried to impose
their particular style of play. The ‘Clones opened the
scoring four and a half minutes into the game with a goal
by J.M. Daoust who beat Parley in a crush at the crease.
The visitors never got on track in the opening period
due the stingy Cyclone defense.
The second period explosion of five goals between the
teams favored the Cincinnatians four to one. South Carolina's
lone goal came on a penalty shot by Trent Campbell at
4:39 as he beat Cedric Desjardins through his five hole
to even the score. The Cyclones David Desharnais scored
his fifth goal of the playoffs less than a minute later
to again give the hometown crowd a reason to cheer. Both
defenses tightened for the next eight minutes in an attempt
to keep it close. The ‘Clones scored three goals between
16:43 and 18:51 of the period to blow away the Stingrays.
T.J. McElroy scored the game winner on a slapshot that
sailed past Parley and bounced out into the crease. The
next tally, by Thomas Beauregard was unassisted and put
the game out of the visitor's reach. Before the close
of the period the Cyclones Matt MacDonald scored his second
goal of the playoffs to build the lead to 5-1.
Then in the third stanza, to the chagrin of Cincinnati
coach Chuck Weber, the ‘Clones came out flat. “Fortunately
we came out and played with that desperate sense of urgency
that we had in games 6 & 7 of the last series,” said Weber.
“If we had started the game like we played the third period
we would have been in trouble. We played forty good minutes
and got that lead, we can’t sit back like we did that
last period.”
The teams traded goals in the third but the gap remained
too wide for the Stingrays to overcome. After the horn
Chad Starling was ticketed for instigating a donnybrook
that involved most of the players on the ice. Nate Kiser
of the Stingrays was also given a game misconduct in addition
to Starling. This is beginning to develop into a pattern
as the same thing happened in the series against Reading.
“It’s a good test," said Cincinnati Starling, who along
with South Carolina's Grant McNeill will be suspended
for Game 2. "We really weren’t sure if they were going
to come out fast. They work hard…we got a couple goals
there in the second (but) we only played forty minutes,
really.”
Game 2 will be important for the South Carolina crew who
need a split here for a chance to sweep the series away
in their building. Tonight will be important for the Cyclones
because a win guarantees a return to US Bank Arena for
Game 6 if the Stingrays remain undefeated at home. |
|
| Game
2 |
S. Carolina 4 - Cincinnati 5 (OT) |
|
by Rob Huelsman - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Cincinnati
Leads Series 2-0 |
Cincinnati,
OH - The visitors from the southeast took Friday night’s loss very seriously and came into Game 2 in an effort to tie the series and prove they could win on the road. The Cyclones continued the final period of Game 1, in effect, to carry over to the opener of Game 2.
From the opening face-off the Stingrays dominated the neutral zone. They ran their offense unanswered for more than two periods, causing Cincinnati coach Chuck Weber to pull Cyclones goalie Cedrick Desjardins after 35 minutes. The move paid off as Max Daigneault recorded the win in the first overtime period.
The Stingrays looked all their reputation as a precision-through-quickness scoring machine. They made it look easy early on confusing the ‘Clones defense with long cross-ice passes on the tape. The home team had plenty of quality chances to score but were unable to score through the efforts of Davis Parley of the Stingrays. Parley was impenetrable, bulletproof-even. The netminder made save after amazing save and withstood mighty whacks at point blank range only to emerge un-scored upon.
The period nearly elapsed before South Carolina opened the scoring at 17:31 with an even strength goal by Paul McIlveen during a furious scrum in the Cyclones crease. Desjardins made several stops but failed to control the rebounds allowing the score. Thanks to the score the Stingrays ended the period in control of the momentum.
The visitors opened the middle period with the same energy and intensity as the previous stanza. At 3:20 McIlveen scored another even strength goal to double the lead. At this point the defensemen from both teams picked up the hitting in hopes of springing someone loose on an odd-man rush. South Carolinas’ Chris Chaput answered the call at 15:22 with an unassisted goal which resulted in the benching of goalie Desjardins.
During the second intermission Weber held an intense team meeting. Unhappy and dissatisfied with the level of play so far, the team as a whole responded with a sense of desperation and played sharper offense. Daigneault stayed steady in relief and allowed the offense to take a few more chances. Olivier Latendresse put the ‘Clones on the board at 3:01 of the third with a five-on-three power play goal. In spite of almost six minutes of penalty kill time the Stingrays withstood the barrage and surrendered that lone goal.
The home crowd drew restless as it began to appear South Carolina might win their first road game of the post season. But at 9:41 Olivier tallied his second power play goal of the night to draw the Cyclones to within one. About a minute later Scott Reynolds tied the score with his fourth goal of the playoffs. The Cincinnati players mobbed Reynolds behind the Stingrays goal, trapping a South Carolina player in the celebration while the crowd roared in appreciation. The Stingrays picked up the intensity and five minutes later re-took the lead on a power play score by winger Andrew Gordon. The visitors appeared relieved to have broken the deadlock with so little time left on the clock. But the Stingrays learned something this evening; they should never count this Cyclones team out until the clock expires.
With just over a minute left in regulation David Desharnais sped in and beat Parley to re-tie the score at four apiece. The goal seemed to have an effect on the Stingrays as they appeared to look deflated as the clock expired and each team headed for the locker rooms to prepare for overtime.
Overtime began with the Cyclones in high-energy mode. The visitors looked tired and the earlier attention to detail faded from their game. The ‘Clones best attempt at scoring early on came on a multi-player scrum at the net. The apparent score wasn’t allowed due to the net being removed from the pegs by a Stingrays player who pushed a Cyclones player into the net with Parley.
Meanwhile Daigneault stopped all four shots he faced in the extra period before teammate Thomas Beauregard scored his eighth goal of the postseason to break the deadlock and win the game. After the score the Cyclones team gathered at center ice and raised their sticks in salute to the home fans. Due to Beauregard’s goal the Cyclones had another come-from-behind win in the record books and continued the Stingrays abysmal road record during the playoffs.
The two teams will travel to South Carolina to resume the series. The Stingrays hold some hope as they have not lost in nine homes games during the postseason.
|
|
| Game
3 |
Cincinnati 4 - S. Carolina 5 (OT) |
| by Phil Brand -
PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Cincinnati
Leads Series 2-1 |
N.
Charleston, SC - Trent Campbell deflected a blast by Steve Pinizotto to score his sixth goal of the playoffs at 2:03 of overtime to give the South Carolina Stingrays a 5-4 win in Game 3 of their conference championship series against the Cincinnati Cyclones. Defenseman Scott Romfo also had an assist on the winning goal before the 3,201 fans in attendance.
Cincinnati saw its series lead shrink to a 2-1 advantage with back-to-back Games 4 and 5 scheduled for 7:05 PM face-offs on Friday and Saturday at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Stingrays, while winless on the road in the playoffs, recorded their tenth straight home victory.
The Stingrays win came in a game that featured four lead changes and two dramatic goals within the last three minutes of regular time that set the stage for Campbell’s OT winner.
In period one, South Carolina tallied early on a Pierre-Luc O’Brien shot assisted by Campbell and Nate Kiser at the 2:14 mark. Cincinnati jumped right back into a tie on a power play at 5:51. Cyclones defenseman Bryan Schmidt tied the score with a blast from the high slot with assists from Jean-Michel Daoust and league MVP David Desharnais.
The second period saw history repeated as once again both teams traded scores within a relatively short time span. The Stingrays jumped in front on a Stephen Werner goal assisted by Grant McNeill at 4:42 of period two. This was a bit of a strange goal as the shot by Werner was made from right around the offensive zone end line. Despite the angle, it went in and the Stingrays had their second lead of the game. However, shortly thereafter the Cyclones got their second power play goal of the night at 11:26 on a goal by Olivier Latendresse to tie the score again. He was assisted by Jason Deitsch and Matt Macdonald.
Scoring in the third period also started early. Cincinnati’s Thomas Beauregard scored his ninth goal of the playoffs at 2:37. This provided Cincinnati a 3-2 lead, their first lead of the evening. Coach Jared Bednar of the Stingrays wasted no time in reacting. He pulled starting goalie Josh Johnson and brought in veteran Davis Parley.
The change may have stimulated the desired response as this time it was the Stingrays who came back to tie the score almost immediately. The Stingrays scored less than a minute later on a blistering shot by Andrew Gordon at 3:22. Werner and Marty Guerin got the assists on the goal and once again the game was tied at 3-3. Gordon who was named the number three star also had great night defensively as he dished out at least five clean but hammering checks on the night.
The score remained tied at 3-3 until an absolutely beautiful pass and shot combination gave the Cyclones a 4-3 lead with less three minutes left in regulation time. Cincinnati took the lead at the 17:18 mark when Daoust scored on a wrist shot from the slot. He received a back handed pass from Desharnais that was made while the MVP was facing the boards. With the score the Stingrays suddenly looked very much like a team about to go down 3-0 in the series against the team with the best record in the regular season.
It all changed less than 30 seconds later when Chris Chaput got his fifth goal of the playoffs from MacLean and Travis Morin to tie the game up again and setting up sudden death overtime and the eventual Stingray win.
Cyclones’ goalie Max Daigneault, who stopped 39 shots while allowing five goals in the losing effort, is one of two former Stingrays on Cincinnati’s roster. Defenseman T.J. McElroy, the other former Stingrays player, left the game early after a collision with Andrew Gordon at mid ice.
After the game Bednar made sure to back up Johnson even though he was pulled during the game. ““I don’t blame Johnson for the goal but I had a feeling the Stingrays had gone flat,” said Bednar.
|
|
| Game
4 |
S. Carolina 1 - Cincinnati 3 |
|
by Phil Brand - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Cincinnati
Leads Series 3-1 |
N.
Charleston, SC - The Cincinnati Cyclones scored three straight power plays in period one and went on Friday night to easily defeat the South Carolina Stingrays 3-1 at the North Charleston Coliseum. A crowd of 4,982 saw Cincinnati forward Jason Deitsch score two goals, his fourth and fifth of the playoffs. Rookie Ryan Maki opened the Cyclones scoring with his first of the playoffs. The Cyclones now have a three games to one lead in the best-of-seven American Conference championship. Game 5 is scheduled for a 7 PM faceoff in South Carolina on Saturday night.
Cincinnati Cyclones’ goal tender Cedrick Desjardins stopped 35 shots. He yielded only one third period unassisted power play goal to the Stingrays Andrew Gordon. Losing goalie Davis Parley settled down after facing a first period barrage of 17 shots and giving up the three power play goals however, the fast first period start by the Cyclones simply couldn’t be overcome by the Stingrays.
Parley and his team’s defense stiffened in periods two and three as the Cyclones managed only nine shots over the final two periods. While the Stingrays won periods two and three by most measures the Cyclones’ initial period outburst could not be overcome. Cincinnati was never seriously threatened as Desjardins allowed few second chances off his initial saves and his defense swept the crease clear when the few opportunities for rebounds did occur.
Coach Jared Bednar has stated on numerous occasions that the Stingrays cannot beat a team as good as Cincinnati unless they play a consistent sixty minute game and failed to do so in Game 4. Thus while dominating periods two and three, the first period play had already decided the game’s outcome.
The difference in tonight’s game and the series to date has been special teams play. South Carolina was one for six on the power play tonight including one power play with a full two minute two-man advantage. The Stingrays have managed only two power play goals in sixteen power play opportunities over the past three games. Meanwhile, during this same stretch Cincinnati has scored on seven of twenty power plays.
Going into Saturday’s game, South Carolina has played in five elimination games so far in the playoffs and has won them all. However, they now face an enormous hurdle in having to win three games in a row against the extremely talented Cyclones which had the best record during the ECHL's regular season this year. South Carolina must do so by winning three straight times starting at home Saturday. Importantly, they would also have to win two games back in Cincinnati on the road where they have not won a single game in the playoffs in 2008.
|
|
| Game
5 |
S. Carolina 1 - Cincinnati 2 (OT) |
|
by Phil Brand - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Cincinnati
Wins Series 4-1 |
N.
Charleston, SC - North Charleston SC-The Cincinnati Cyclones moved into Kelly Cup finals with a thrilling 2-1 overtime win on the road against the South Carolina Stingrays. Ryan Russell scored the winning goal while shorthanded at the 15:53 mark of overtime of Game 5 to give the Cyclones the American Conference championship. Russell took a quick outlet pass from Jason Deitsch, moved in alone and wristed a shot past losing goaltender Davis Parley from the right face off circle. Parley, who played very well all evening, stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced in the game.
While Parley’s play was excellent, winning Cyclones’ goaltender Cedrick Desjardins was outstanding. He made 51 saves allowing only a first period goal off the shoulder of Stingrays forward Andrew Gordon coming off a shot from Marty Guerin that was deflected into Gordon and then bounced into the net. Stephen Werner also got credit for an assist on this play. This goal came at 15:47 of period one and stood up until Jeremy Swanson tied the score for Cincinnati. This was Swanson’s first goal of the playoffs and came on a long shot from the top of the slot at the 9:18 mark of the period three.
The teams then traded opportunity after opportunity for the balance of regulation time with shots hitting the crossbar at both ends. The visiting Cyclones also had to kill off two late penalties in the last five minutes of period three to ensure the overtime stanza.
Desjardins was particularly excellent in the shorthanded situations especially in the last period. The Stingrays continued to be unable to take advantage on power play opportunities, going 0-9. Over the past four games, the Stingrays managed only two power play goals in twenty five attempts. In reviewing this series, South Carolina’s inability to score with the man advantage was the major contributor to Cincinnati taking this scheduled best-of-seven game series in just five games.
The Cyclones also had a frustrating night with their own power play. Perhaps due to the intensity of an elimination game, the Stingrays prevented the Cyclones from scoring on their own nine power play chances. This effort included one extended two-man advantage situation in period two where Parley and his penalty killers choked off the Cyclones in protecting the original Stingrays 1-0 lead.
A crowd of 3,125 witnessed the eighth time South Carolina played in overtime in the 2008 playoffs including three times in this series. Interestingly, the Stingrays played more OT games (eight) in this year’s playoffs than Cincinnati (seven) has in the history their franchise.
Cincinnati moves on to face the Las Vegas Wranglers who won the National Conference championship with a four-game sweep of Utah.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
POWER
PLAY |
1ST
- 22.2 |
PENALTY
KILL |
8TH
- 84.3 |
FORWARDS |
DAVID
DESHARNAIS |
29-77-106
(+38) |
THOMAS
BEAUREGARD |
31-34-65
(+17) |
BARRETT
EHGOETZ |
18-44-62
(+29) |
DEFENSEMEN |
TJ
McELROY |
5-19-24
(+10) |
CHAD
STARLING |
2-20-22
(+48) |
MATT
MacDONALD |
3-11-14
(+15) |
GOALTENDERS |
CEDRICK
DESJARDINS |
16-4-1
(5 SO)
1.92 GA
.934 PCT |
|
LEE
LANSDOWNE |
0-0-0
(O SO)
0.00 GA
.000 PCT |
|
|
|
