ECHL Kelly Cup Finals Underway

By www.echl.com  Published on: Tuesday May 04, 2010

The Cincinnati Cyclones completed their historic comeback Thursday night, defeating the Reading Royals 1-0 in Game 7 of the American Conference Finals. Cincinnati is the first team in the 22-year history of the ECHL to win a seven-game series after trailing 3 games to 0.

The Cyclones are just the sixth team in professional hockey history to win a seven-game series after trailing by three games joining the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs and 1975 New York Islanders of the National Hockey League; the 1960 Rochester Americans and 1989 Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League and the 1999 Orlando Solar Bears of the International Hockey League.

Rookie goalkeeper Robert Mayer made 25 saves, making team captain Barret Ehgoetz's first-period goal all the Cyclones needed to squeeze out a 1-0 win over the Reading Royals in Game 7 of their American Conference finals series before a crowd of 5,340 at U.S. Bank Arena, the fourth-largest playoff crowd in franchise history.

Cincinnati advances to face the Idaho Steelheads in the 2010 Kelly Cup Finals, which begin on Friday at Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho.

Idaho's 7-5 win over the Stockton Thunder in Game 6 of the National Conference Finals on Tuesday night didn't come easy. Captain Marty Flichel banged home an empty-net goal with 12.9 seconds remaining and 4,200 fans in Qwest Arena started the party. Idaho won the series 4-2.

The Cyclones will be looking for their second Kelly Cup title after capturing the championship in 2008. Idaho looks to join South Carolina as the only three-time Kelly Cup winner following championships in 2004 and 2007.