Storm stumbles in 4-0 Cincinnati loss

10/22/2006

CINCINNATI - Toledo's ECHL season is very young, but the evidence is mounting: The Storm's power play needs work.

Toledo overcame an 0-for-11 power-play performance in a 2-0 win over Dayton in Friday's season-opener at the Sports Arena.

The Storm couldn't pull off the same magic two nights in a row as it fell here last night to Cincinnati, 4-0.

The Storm extended its streak of man-advantage futility to 24 over two games.

Cincinnati goalkeeper Cedric Desjardins notched 37 saves to help Cincinnati kill off 13 penalties and post his first career shutout while leading the Cyclones to their second win in two games.

"We ran into a hot goaltender," Toledo coach Nick Vitucci said. "They did a good job killing penalties, and we hurt ourselves. It seemed like we had two guys on one page and three on another."

The Storm killed the first 13 penalties it faced in the first two games, including 11 on Friday, before the Cyclones scored two power-play goals in the second period.

Toledo, which finished 10th in the ECHL last season by converting 18.2 percent (85-of-466) of its power plays, fell behind when Cyclones forward Torry Gadja squeezed a shot past goalkeeper Logan Koopmans to give Cincinnati a 1-0 lead with 2:47 left in the first period.

Cincinnati took a commanding 3-0 lead with two second-period goals. Forward Jason Deitsch capitalized on a two-man advantage by scoring his first goal of the season with 3:22 left in the period. In the final minute, Deitsch and Jean-Michel Daoust set up Scott Reynolds from point-blank range in front of the net for his second goal of the season. Reynolds added his second goal of the game with 6:57 left in the third period.

By the third period, the Cyclones had to feel as if they had Toledo right where they wanted it when the Storm had a man or two-man advantage. The Cyclones killed off eight Toledo power plays in the third period. The Storm's frustration bottomed out when it was unable to capitalize on a combined 75 seconds of three two-man advantages in the third period.

It boiled over in a pair of fights that broke out with 2:11 left in the game.

Nick Parillo, Toledo's 5-foot-9, 180-pound left wing, quickly gained the edge on 6-1, 215-pound Conrad Martin and landed several hard rights before the fight was broken up. Martin was holding his right shoulder as he was helped off.

The Storm, the defending ECHL North Division champion, is off until Friday, when it opens a two-night, two-game home series against the Reading Royals at the Sports Arena.

"This is something we'll work to try to put a halt to," Vitucci said. "We kind of sped through training camp, and we only had a short time to work on things, so this is a much-needed break for us."