I have not found the right words to describe it yet.  Electric, and awesome don't even come close.  It was BY FAR, the best sporting event I have EVER been to!  I am a long time Clones fan and have never been in an atmosphere like the one last night. 

  We walked in.  We were there early (6:30).  Already, there were people in line to get in, from the doors, all the way back to GABP.  8 LINES!!  I could already feel the energy.  After a walk around, a few pictures of the trophies, and a restroom break, we made our way to our seats.  By this time the arena was more full than most games.  (No jokes please..lol)  I turned to my girlfriend and said, "I have goosebumps already.  Can you feel it?"  In our seats, we started talking to others and watched as the crowd grew bigger.  I did my usual "Heckling" of the visiting team during warm-ups, and took a few pictures. 

  The lights went out, the music Joe Stills played was blaring, and 12,722 people rose to their feet as the starting line-up was announced.  It seemed as loud as a Metallica concert.  The blood started to flow in me.  I was jumping, beating on the glass and screaming, as my favorite team took the ice.  I could feel it in the air.

  First period:  The chant of "LET'S GO CYCLONES!" filled the arena as the puck dropped.  Both teams came out flying.  Las Vegas seemed to have an early step on the puck, but our Clones seemed to be more interested in beating the hell out of their opponent.  Hit after hit rained down upon the Wranglers.  One Wrangler was even hit so hard, he didn't get up.  "CALL THE OBGYN, WE HAVE A GIRL ON THE ICE", I yelled.  Finally, after 15 minutes of play, league MVP, David Desharnais dropped a pass to J-M Daoust (Dah-ooo), who wristed a shot past Lalonde, upper left corner for a 1-0 lead.  The place went NUTS, for lack of better terms.  The two smallest guys on the team have been the two biggest contributers all year.  At the end of one period, Clones up, 1-0.

  Second Period:  Kinda boring for the first ten minutes for anyone who is not a big hockey fan.  The Clones played a defensive period.  Still, the hits rained down on Las Vegas.  Midway thru the period the Clones found themselves down two players (5 on 3) for 41 seconds.  The fans cheered loudly as time after time, the Clones cleared the puck out of their defensive zone.  Just after the first of the two players returned from the sin bin, another penalty on the Clones was called.  Another 5 on 3 situation.  This time, the Clones weren't so lucky to keep the 0 on the board.  A shot from the slot by Las Vegas' Cracknell hit off of Cyclone Ryan Russell and found the net behind Cedrick Desjardins.  At the end of 2 periods....1-1.

  Third Period:  With the Clones starting the period on the power play, and the sweat now seeping thru my t-shirt, pads and jersey, I felt this was a great opportunity for the Clones to go back on top.  Alas, a shot from the point bounces off Lalonde, and Matt Syrocinski (Cheeko), lunges for the loose puck and slaps a backhander into the net.  The place ERUPTED!  2-1 Cyclones.  Now, with the lead, the Cyclones produced more energy and kept the pressure on Las Vegas.  A few minutes later, Jon Gleed rifles a shot from the right point, thru traffic, and into the net for a 3-1 Cyclone lead.  With about 15 minutes left in the game, I knew it wasn't over, but had a feeling that the game was out of reach.  10 MINUTES LEFT!  Las Vegas seems out of gas.  The Cyclones are taking the puck from them and dumping it back into the Las Vegas zone killing time and keeping fresh legs on the ice.  5 MINUTES!  The chant of "WE WANT THE CUP!"  starts raining from the capacity crowd.  As each minute ticks away, the crowd grew louder, the chants more intense, high fives galore.  We're gonna do it!  I ran up and hugged my girlfriend who sits behind me cuz she's embarrased by my actions at the games.  I started crying.  Security personnel, who have hounded me for two years for pounding on the glass were hugging me and giving me high fives. FINAL MINUTE!!  The Clones bench was going NUTS!!  The crowd rose to it's feet and cheered louder than ever before.  I remember the noise meter at the Gardens.  This noise would have broken that meter.  As the clock hit zero, the bench cleared, and the boys celebrated.  The fans cheered, some cried.  I myself, cried like a baby and I don't care who thinks what of that.  I hugged my girlfriend and high fived her son.  WE DID IT!!  WE ARE CHAMPS!!  Pyrotechnics went off and streamers of red and yellow fell from the roof.  The cup was brought out from the opposite end of the arena.  DAMN!!  Cedrick Desjardins received the MVP trophy, turned around and motioned to the rest of the team that it was a total team effort. Next the Kelly Cup was presented to Chad Starling, Captain of the team.  He raised it, kissed it and passed it to Matt Macdonald who passed it on to the next and so on.  Finally, the boys skated around the whole arena one last time with the cup as a group.  As they passed me, many of them pounded on the pane of glass I have been beating on for two years now.  A thank you in some way from them to me.  Before leaving the ice with the cup, one last pass had to be made.  Wildman Walker hoisted something he has been dreaming of since 1990.  The biggest Cyclones supporter in this town FINALLY got what he deserved...a KELLY CUP DRINK!!! 

  This was definately the night of my life as far as sports go and something I will never forget.  See you on Saturday on Fountain Square!!!

There will be a Celebration on Fountain Square on Saturday at 12:30 for your Kelly Cup Champion....Cincinnati Cyclones!!  Come join the fun!  Kelly Cup Champion T-shirts will be sold!!!

OMG!!  I just got home from the GREATEST sporting event I have ever been to.  12,722 fans packed U.S.Bank Arena tonight  to see the Clones finish off Las Vegas.  IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CHAMPION IN CINCINNATI!!!

The Cincinnati Cyclones netted a pair of third period goals to break a 1-1 tie and give the club a 3-1 win over Las Vegas on Thursday night. The victory gave the Cyclones their first-ever Kelly Cup championship with the triumph. Cedrick Desjardins stopped 30 shots in the win, while Jean-Michel Daoust added a pair of assists.

The crowd of 12,722 was the largest in ECHL playoff history and pushed the Cyclones attendance for the postseason to 54,289—the eleventh biggest total in league history. Cincinnati has averaged 4935 for the playoffs and finished 95.6 percent better than its regular season average of 2523 fans per contest.

It is the first time in 35 years that a Cincinnati pro hockey team has competed in its league finals. The last team to compete for a championship was the 1973 Cincinnati Swords, which captured the AHL’s Calder Cup in five games over Nova Scotia. It was the first time since April 3, 1955—that a champion from the Queen City was crowned in Cincinnati. The Cincinnati Mohawks won a seventh game against the Troy Bruins for the IHL’s Turner Cup championship.

The Cyclones opened the scoring 15:58 into the game, when during a four-on-four situation, right wing Jean-Michel Daoust netted his sixth goal of the playoffs. Daoust took a drop pass in the slot from David Desharnais. Daoust shot went upstairs over the shoulder of Kevin Lalande. The shots on goal favored Las Vegas, 13-9, in the opening period.

Las Vegas leveled the scores at 1-1, as Adam Cracknell netted his ninth goal of the playoffs. Cracknell’s goal was assisted by Jason Krischuk and Chris Ferraro on the power play. Las Vegas had five man advantage opportunities in the frame—including two chances for 1:43 with a two-man edge. Cincinnati had one chance on the power play for 18 seconds in the period.

Cyclones goaltender Cedrick Desjardins’ streak of 132 minutes, 25 seconds of shutout time against Las Vegas came to an end with the Cracknell goal.

The Cyclones scored a pair of third period goals from Matt Syroczynski (eighth) and Jon Gleed (second) in closing out the scoring.

The Cincinnati Cyclones received a four assist performance from rookie David Desharnais in a 4-0 win over Las Vegas on Monday night. The victory gives the Cyclones a three games to two lead over the Wranglers for the Kelly Cup. The triumph was Cincinnati’s league-record 70th between the regular season and playoffs.

Goaltender Cedrick Desjardins stoppws all 27 shots in picking up his first playoff shutout this season and third of his career. Desjardins has allowed just seven goals in five Kelly Cup Finals games.

This was the fifth game of the best of seven Kelly Cup Finals. The sixth game will be held at the U.S. Bank Arena on Thursday night (June 7) at 7:30pm. It is the first time in 35 years that a Cincinnati pro hockey team has competed in its league finals. The last team to compete for a championship was the 1973 Cincinnati Swords, which captured the AHL’s Calder Cup in five games over Nova Scotia.

With the victory, the Cyclones become the first team in the 20 year history of the ECHL to win 70 games between the regular season and playoffs. Cincinnati eclipsed the previous record of 69 set by the 2005-06 Kelly Cup champion Alaska Aces. The Cyclones won 55 games during the regular season and have now won 15 additional games during the postseason.

The Cyclones opened the scoring 3:57 into the game, when right wing Jean-Michel Daoust netted a backhander from the right post past Kevin Lalande for his fifth goal of the postseason. David Desharnais collected the assist on the goal. The lead extended to 2-0 at 10:50, as defenseman Conrad Martin fired home his fifth score of the playoffs from Daoust and Desharnais.

Cincinnati pushed the lead to 3-0, when Matt Syroczynski netted his seventh goal of the Kelly Cup playoffs at 3:24 from Desharnais. The goal put a premature end to Lalande’s night—as he was chased after making ten saves on the 13 shots he faced. Cincinnati outshot the Wrangler, 12-9, in the frame.

A late goal from Ryan Russel, his third of the postseason, from Desharnais closed out the scoring. Las Vegas outshot Cincinnati, 12-2, in the period and 27-23 for the game.

Should a seventh game be necessary in the series, it would also be played at U.S. Bank Arena on Saturday (June 7) at 7:30pm.