Wausau, WI – After five weeks without a game on home ice, the Wausau Cyclones returned to Marathon Park Arena for the first time since Oct. 24 to face the St. Louis Jr. Blues for a two-game weekend series. Heading into the weekend, the two teams had faced each other twice already, with the season series tied at one game apiece.
Cyclones fans were eager to get back in the building for hockey in Wausau, and the team provided a great first night back. The Cyclones took a commanding 5-1 win over the St. Louis Jr. Blues on Friday night, with a dominant performance through the entire game. Cyclones forward Jackson Schroeder scored his 13th goal of the season to open the scoring Friday night, followed by goals from Zach Pagel, Eiji Hofmann, Brady Knutsen and Owen Gohm, respectively. The explosive offense was backed by a statement performance in net from Cyclones goaltender Brody Kunst. Kunst recorded 36 saves on 37 shots on goal. The lone goal scored by St. Louis was unorthodox, in that the shot on goal was about four inches too high, but a lucky bounce off the back of the glass came down onto the shoulder of Kunst and bounced into the goal. Regardless of the unlucky bounce, Kunst helped the Cyclones take charge in Game 1 and get the first win of the weekend.
The loss for St. Louis on Friday night pushed them to a six-game losing streak. The team hadn’t won a game since Nov. 7. With a chip on their shoulder and a lot to play for in Saturday night’s game, the Jr. Blues shook their bad luck and secured the win to split the series. The only goal of the first period was scored by St. Louis just two minutes in. Late in the second, a quick pass off the draw from Knutsen came right to the tape of Jackson Schroeder, who netted the equalizer for his 30th point of the season. The Cyclones had all the momentum in their favor as the second period came to a close, but back-to-back penalties — one a five-minute major from Mario Savino — granted the Jr. Blues a plethora of time to score on the man advantage, in which they did. Two power-play goals, one during a five-on-three, opened up the game for St. Louis. Schroeder scored his second of the game in the third to close the gap to one, but it wasn’t enough to tie the game after an empty-net goal sealed the deal to give the Jr. Blues the 4-2 win.
The Cyclones will travel to St. Louis to play the Jr. Blues again, for what will be four straight games between the two teams. The season series is now tied at two games apiece and has slowly revealed itself as the most exciting competition in the Central Division. The Cyclones are currently fourth in the Central Division with an 11-7-0 record and 22 points. They are two games and one point back of the Rochester Grizzlies.
