Vaive Hits 150 In Cyclones' Dominant Win Over Mariners

It was a great night all around for the Cincinnati Cyclones and their home fans Friday night.

The team matched their season high in goals, Chas Sharpe and Tristan Ashbrook each had two goals, and Justin Vaive scored his 150^th career goal in a 6-1 victory over the Maine Mariners.

Vaive became the first player in Cyclones history to reach the 150-goal milestone with the club. Drafted by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2007 NHL Draft, the Buffalo, N.Y. native is in his 14^th season of professional hockey and his sixth as the Cyclones’ team captain.

The first goal of the game for either team didn’t come until the second period, and it was Vaive who delivered.

The left-shot forward notched his third goal of the season to put Cincy ahead 1-0.

The Mariners got their only goal of the night on the power play, tying the score 1-1.

The Cyclones took back momentum with five unanswered goals. Sharpe scored from distance to put the Cyclones back in front 2-1 heading into the third period. Sharpe now has goals in back-to-back games and has points in three straight contests.

Jacob Frasca went backdoor off a Ty Voit feed to increase the Cincy lead to 3-1 at the 9:19 mark. It was Frasca’s second multi-point game of the season.

The Mariners lost their composure, accruing a tripping penalty followed by a delay of game call that put the Cyclones in a 5-on-3 advantage midway through the final frame.

Sharpe took advantage by scoring his second goal of the night for a 4-1 Cyclones lead, with assists from Dante Sheriff and Voit. Sharpe leads all ECHL rookie defensemen with 14 goals on the season.

Cincinnati still had a minute left on the man advantage. Ashbrook took a beautiful pass from Jacob Bengtsson and scored for a 5-1 lead. Pavel Cajan picked up a secondary assist, becoming the first Cyclones goaltender to get a point this season.

Ashbrook notched his second goal of the night and the final tally for the Cyclones 1:16 later. A tic-tac-toe play from Lincoln Griffin and Sheriff set up Ashbrook with a wide open net, and he didn’t miss.

The 6-1 victory gives the Cyclones seven wins in their last eight games and improves their record to 13-1-0 when leading after two periods. Their overall record improves to 13-20-4, while Maine falls to 14-17-3.

Cincy hits the road Saturday night, making their first visit to the new Fisher’s Event Center to face the Indy Fuel. Puck drop is set for 7 Pm ET.