News release
23 March 2010
Tyler Donati became the first Elmira Jackals player to reach 100 points in a season on Tuesday night at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, recording two assists to up his league-leading scoring total to 101 points, but the Jackals fell to to the Cincinnati Cyclones 3-2. The Jackals' road winning streak came to an end as well in the loss, stopping at eight games.
The Cyclones started the scoring at the 4:51 mark of the first period, when a rebound off a Hans Benson shot came to Maxime Lacroix, who sent the puck in for the first of his two goals on the game.
Elmira battled back on a play that gave Tyler Donati his 100th point. Tyler, skating on the right-wing side, fed the puck to Olivier Proulx who then sent the puck backdoor to Justin Donati, and Donati fired it in to give the Jackals a power-play goal at 12:51 of the first period.
Lacroix's latter tally came on the power play for the Cyclones, as he lifted a wrist shot from the right circle top shelf over the glove of Jackals goaltender Andy Chiodo to give the Cyclones a 2-1 lead at 16:12 of the first period.
After a scoreless second period, the Cyclones benefited from some puck luck early in the third, when a puck caromed off the left corner boards and onto the tape of Dustin Sproat at the top of the crease, giving the Cyclones their second power-play goal and a 3-1 lead at 32 seconds.
Wes Cunningham brought the Jackals back to within a goal with a rocket from the high slot at 5:19 on a feed from Tyler Donati and a secondary assist to Chaz Johnson to make it 3-2.
The Jackals could not solve Cyclones goaltender Robert Mayer over the final 14:41, however, and the Cyclones reclaimed first place in the North Division with the victory.
Chiodo stopped 26 of 29 shots, falling to 8-4-1-0, while Mayer made 22 saves on 24 shots, improving to 19-9-1-0.
The Jackals record dropped to 35-23-4-3 but they remained six points ahead of the Reading Royals for first place in the East Division. Cincinnati's record upped to 41-23-1-2.
The Jackals head to Kalamazoo on Wednesday to take on the K-Wings, with the puck dropping at 7:00 p.m.