(Wausau, WI) – The Cyclones wrapped up their first back-to-back road series since the first weekend of October on Sunday, splitting a two-game series against the St. Louis Jr. Blues, who currently lead the NA3HL Central Division. The weekend marked the first meetings between the teams this season, and the Cyclones managed to earn a win against the fifth-ranked team in the league. Heading into the series, the Jr. Blues had suffered only one loss all season.
In Saturday’s opener, the Cyclones got off to a hot start, scoring back-to-back goals in the first and second periods to take a two-goal lead. Zach Pagel opened the scoring for Wausau off an assist from Maksim Salienko, followed by Alec Mellon netting his second goal of the season on a feed from Sean Hall.
The Jr. Blues responded quickly, scoring three straight goals in the latter half of the second period and adding one more in the third to complete a 4-2 comeback win over the Cyclones.
After dropping the first game, the Cyclones looked to bounce back with a matinee win on Sunday afternoon. The Jr. Blues made that task more difficult, striking first just three minutes into the game with a go-ahead goal.
Wausau’s defense held strong, limiting St. Louis to just one goal through the remainder of the first period and all of the second. At the 13-minute mark of the third, Elijah Von Gunten scored his sixth goal of the season to tie the game at one.
Neither team found the back of the net again in regulation, sending the Cyclones to their first overtime of the season. With less than three minutes remaining in OT, Jackson Schroeder took a breakaway feed from Joel Anderson and buried his sixth goal of the year to secure the win for Wausau.
The Jr. The Blues’ loss went down as their first in overtime this season. St. Louis still has just one regulation loss through 14 games.
Now 7-5-0 on the season, the Cyclones will face the Rochester Grizzlies this weekend in a two-game road series — the first meeting between the teams this year. Both clubs sit at 7-5-0 in the Central Division standings. Friday’s game is set for 7 p.m. CST, and Saturday’s for 3 p.m. CST. Both will be streamed live on NAHL TV.
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The Cyclones are members of the North American 3 Hockey League (NA3HL), one of three USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III Junior leagues, serves as one of the top training grounds in the country by providing the best coaching, exposure and developmental vehicles available for student-athletes in its classification. The primary mission of the NA3HL is to provide a structured developmental environment for student-athletes who have aspirations of playing in the NAHL or United States Hockey League and eventually the NCAA or American College Hockey Association. For more information, visit wausaucyclones.com.
