Stats Extravaganza and more

With the 5-4 Win over Dayton -- the boys are at 19 points, a .731 win percentage, and have a two-point lead over Elmira & Reading for first in the North division, and still share a piece of the American lead. Plus Gerard Miller lost a couple teeth so he's pretty hardcore now.

Congratulations to JM Daoust -- his 6-game goal streak is currently the second longest in professional hockey this season!

With almost exactly one month in the books...
- The Cyclones are still tied for the goal lead & have allowed the 3rd-fewest (behind two teams with less GP).
- JM Daoust & David Desharnais are 8th & 9th respectively in overall scoring.
- Desharnais' 17 pts are second in rookie scoring. Beauregard's 12 are good for 10th.
- Desjardins' 2.16 is 5th best overall, and Grumet-Morris' 2.29 is 7th. Grumet-Morris ranks 8th in wins with 5.
- 5 players are averaging at least a point per game (Desharnais, Aubin, Daoust, Beauregard, and yes - my least favorite player ever - Bryan Schmidt, somehow...).
- Desharnais is a +12. I REALLY like this guy. 10 others are at least a +5

- My first month of the season MVP pick: very easily David Desharnais.

The make-up game for Friday's atrocity is Tuesday -- tickets are good for that game -- hope to see all of you (and David Desharnais) there.

MILLER TIME

BYE BRYAN SCHMIDT!

Hellooooo Gerard Miller!

Game PPD due to zam issues has been rescheduled for 11/18.

11 days

I didn't make it to the scrimmage today but from what I hear there were a lot of different mini-games involved. The Cyclones' recap is here. The team plays Friday in Youngstown at 7pm at the Chevrolet Centre, the Section 136 crew is making the trip, so I will be sure to link some photos next week and come back bearing some real insight, finally. Look for an update late Friday or early Saturday with a game recap. If you can't make it Friday - the game is on B2.

We're also trekking to Cleveland on Saturday for the Hamilton/Lake Erie game, and I'll be sure to drop a few updates on how things are going for the Bulldogs. Not sure if this was mentioned, but Cyclones signee Gerard Miller is on a 25-game PTO with Hamilton and played his first AHL game on Friday. The season hasn't started yet and our players are already being sought after - hopefully it's a good sign. (Btw, they topped the Amerks 3-2, 0:39 into OT on a Maxim Lapierre goal.)

A few notes of interest... the first coach's show is on Monday the 15th at Jefferson Hall (Newport on the Levee). Need more info on Jefferson Hall? Show kicks off at 7pm (Happy Hour is 4-7, btw), and the place is family-friendly before 9pm (and in case you're of the older age bracket, there is a DJ at 10 on Mondays). If you can't make it, catch it on SuperTalk 96.5FM. Also, October 21st the Cyclones make an appearance at Kings Island... special discounts are available.

In the mean time... we're 11 days from Opening Night at the Nut House... any early observations??

Training camp updates

In Hagersville, ON the Hamilton Bulldogs took a 7-6 win in OT in their final preseason matchup on a goal by Cyclones' Gerard Miller... Mathieu Aubin and Greg Stewart each recorded two assists... Desjardins with 17 saves after replacing Yann Danis after one period of play. Bulldogs' season begins October 6th.

Meanwhile in Milwaukee, Dov Grumet-Morris and Maxime Daigeneault combined for 21 saves in the Admirals' final preseason game. Their season opens October 6th in Peoria.

Camp opens for the Cyclones on Friday October 5th at Sports Plus. Don't forget:

Tuesday 10/9 @ 4pm - intrasquad scrimmage
Friday 10/12 @ 705pm - Cyclones @ Youngstown (preseason)
Sunday 10/14 @ 7pm - Cyclones @ Dayton (Kettering)
Wednesday 10/17 @ 6pm - Open House (meet the team, buy equipment, tour the locker rooms)

Catching Up

The season is quickly (well, sort of) coming upon us. As I start this post we're at 74 days, 15 hours and some absurd amount of minutes/seconds.

So, getting up to speed, we're at six players now:

• Returning captain Chad "My Plus/Minus is Better Than Yours" Starling: very glad to have him back. Big fan of this guy.
• Returning sometimes-wears-an-A centerman Barret Ehgoetz: another solid faceoff winner that I'm glad to see back, will bring leadership to the table, especially with joining Starls for his third year under Coach Weber.
• Returning forward Scott "the Penalty Killah" Reynolds: extremely happy to see Scotty back. Definitely hoping to see some more playing time, and not just on the PK. Definitely looking to see an increase in his ice presence, as well as his scoring.
• Returning defenseman Greg Gallagher: another good move; I was impressed with Gally's progress over the season. He started off slow, but once he got a considerable amount of playing time he really stepped it up. I look forward to seeing what he can do on a more consistent basis.
• Last returner, Billy Irish-Baker: aside from starting on St. Patrick's Day and packing a ton of energy, I don't remember much about him since he wasn't around for long. Look forward to seeing what he can do full-time.
• Total newb: defenseman Gerard Miller. According to hockeydb.com, he had 57 points in 73 games for Flint (UHL). Including 44 assists. I'm impressed. Not only did he have more than twice as many assists as he did goals -- he's a defenseman. Definitely can't wait to see this guy play.

Other rumblings...

• The team secured a radio deal, on 96.5 FM. Definitely good news for the team, since there hasn't been a radio broadcast in years. It may only be 30 games, but who's to say they won't pick up more if things go well?
• Renewed the affiliation with Montreal & Hamilton - hopefully this opens the door to see a few of the guys they passed along to us last year, if not some incredible new talent.
• Also picked up an affiliation with Nashville & Milwaukee. I think this is great news for the team. A double affiliation might turn out to be difficult if both organizations get strapped at the same time, but hopefully it sets us up for a great load of talent being passed through the ranks to us. Plus, the Predators have signed Grumet-Morris. I will censor my comments on that, though.

And if you just can't wait for October 19th, Concrete Clones will be at the Loveland Meijer this Saturday (8/11), Milford the next (8/18), and finish with Western Hills (8/25).