The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Originally established in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at Heritage Bank Center.

Cincinnati has fielded Cyclones teams with three separate franchises in two different leagues: the International Hockey League (1992–2001) and the ECHL (1990–1992, 2001–2004, 2006–present). Together, the franchises have combined to win two Kelly Cups (2008 and 2010), three conference championships (2008, 2010 and 2014), two overall points championships (2008 and 2019), and six division championships (1996, 2008, 2009, 2013, 2019 and 2023). In 2007–08, the team had the most successful season in ECHL history with 55 wins, 115 points, and its first conference and league championships.

History

There have been three separate franchises known as the Cincinnati Cyclones, two in the ECHL and one in the IHL.

The early ECHL years: 1990–1992

The first franchise to use the name Cincinnati Cyclones was founded in 1990. The team played their games at the Cincinnati Gardens. They lost in the first round of the playoffs in the 1990–91 season. In the 1991–92 season, the Cyclones lost in the Riley Cup semifinals. The team's owner at the time, Doug Kirchhofer, was granted an International Hockey League franchise and chose to move the Cyclones name to that franchise. He then sold the ECHL franchise to Art Clarkson of Birmingham, Alabama, to form the new Birmingham Bulls.

The IHL years: 1992–2001

The first season in the IHL, Cincinnati failed to qualify for the postseason, which would be the first of only two seasons in which they did not qualify. Paul Lawless, who would eventually be head coach and vice president of player development and have his number retired, began his first of several stints with the team in the 1992–93 season. On April 2, 2004, during his number retirement ceremony, he was singled out as a reason for the team's success, both on the ice and in attendance. During the IHL years, the Cyclones set a team record of eight consecutive 90+ point seasons, ending when the International Hockey League ceased operations in 2001. During the Cyclones' nine years in the IHL, they won their only division and conference regular season championships in the 1995–96 season, but lost in a seven-game semifinal series to the Orlando Solar Bears. On February 4, 1995, during the Cyclones' 1994-95 season, head coach Don Jackson infamously punched the Atlanta Knights mascot, thus drawing a 10-game suspension and a $1,000 fine from the league.

In 1997, the Cyclones' lease agreement with the Cincinnati Gardens came to an end when the two sides were unable to reach an agreement for a new contract. Team owner, Doug Kirchhofer, purchased what then was known as Riverfront Coliseum in downtown Cincinnati, renamed it The Crown and renovated the arena. During the seven seasons the Cyclones were in the arena, the venue was renamed the Firstar Center and now is known as Heritage Bank Center. The team has since been unsuccessful in reclaiming the higher attendance numbers from the Cincinnati Gardens, until the 2008 Kelly Cup, where they drew 12,722 fans to the last game of the postseason.

Return to the ECHL: 2001–2004

The third Cyclones franchise started in the 1995 as the Louisville RiverFrogs in Louisville, Kentucky. After three years, the team moved to Miami as the Miami Matadors. After the lone season in Florida, the franchise eventually came into the ownership of a group in Birmingham, Alabama, and the franchise went into inactive status while ownership looked into locations for their team. Upon the folding of the IHL, the Cyclones name was sold to this ownership group who moved the franchise to Cincinnati to become the new Cyclones.

The first year back in the ECHL ended the team's streak of 90+ point seasons with the Cyclones finishing just 12 points shy despite a 10-game fewer season length. Former Cyclones player Paul Lawless became head coach, as a mid-season replacement for Ray Edwards.

Before the start of the 2003–04 season former Cyclones player and assistant coach Chris Cichocki left the Arkansas RiverBlades in order to return as the Cyclones head coach. Despite his success with Arkansas, Cichocki led the team to their worst season with 54 points and failed to make the playoffs for the second time in team history.

Shortly after ending the season without a playoff berth, in April 2004, the Cyclones suspended operations. This suspension was mainly due to lack of revenue and safe access to the arena as it was limited by construction in Downtown Cincinnati. This dormancy left Cincinnati hockey to the cross-town, Cincinnati Gardens-based AHL rival, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks. The Cincinnati Mighty Ducks suspended operations in 2005 after their NHL affiliate, the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, switched their affiliation to the Portland Pirates.

Resumed play: 2006–present

With minor league hockey dormant in Cincinnati for a year, and plans for the proposed AHL Cincinnati RailRaiders franchise scrapped for 2006–07, on April 21, 2006, the Cyclones announced that they would participate in the upcoming 2006–07 ECHL season. They returned to play their home games at U.S. Bank Arena, joining their two ECHL, Ohio rivals, the Dayton Bombers and Toledo Storm. They then obtained an affiliation with the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL and the Hamilton Bulldogs of the AHL. The Cyclones won their first game back in the ECHL on October 20 against the Pensacola Ice Pilots at U.S. Bank Arena with a score of 3–1. Head coach Chuck Weber was the runner-up for the ECHL's Coach of the Year award for 2006–07 and was re-signed for the 2007–08 season.

In addition to the Montreal/Hamilton affiliation, the Cyclones added the NHL's Nashville Predators and the AHL's Milwaukee Admirals as affiliates in 2007. The Cyclones' 2007–08 season saw the club break numerous franchise and league records. Through 50 games, the Cyclones were 31 games over .500. Attendance at games had increased nearly 40% over 2006–07 and the club had already surpassed their win total from 2006 to 2007 (37). They achieved this mark in 24 fewer games. On February 22, 2008, the Cyclones tied the ECHL record for a single-season winning streak of 14 consecutive games, defeating the Johnstown Chiefs 5–2 in Cincinnati. On February 23, 2008, David Desharnais recorded two assists, extending his streak of games with at least one assist to 18, breaking the existing ECHL record of 17. In the same game, the Cyclones set a new ECHL record for a single-season winning streak of 15 consecutive wins when the Cyclones defeated the Elmira Jackals in a 5–4 shootout.

The team finished the regular season with 115 points, earning them the Brabham Cup regular season championship. Individually, Chuck Weber was named ECHL coach of the year, earning him the John Brophy trophy. David Desharnais claimed three ECHL awards: Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, and the Leading Scorer award with 29 goals and 77 assists for 106 points. In addition, Chad Starling won the award for the highest plus/minus rating.

The Cyclones entered the playoffs and defeated the Johnstown Chiefs four games to none. The Cyclones moved on to take on the Reading Royals, Cincinnati took the series in seven games to claim their second ever North Division playoff title. The Cyclones then defeated the South Carolina Stingrays, 2–1 in overtime, to claim the American Conference Championship in five games. With their victory, Cincinnati also claimed the E.A. "Bud" Gingher Memorial Trophy.

The Cyclones then defeated the National Conference Champion Las Vegas Wranglers in the Kelly Cup Finals, clinching their first championship in team history in six games. After splitting the first two games in Cincinnati (Cincinnati 4–3 and Las Vegas 1–0), the series shifted to Las Vegas, where Cincinnati won games three and five to take a 3–2 series lead. In front of a record setting crowd, 12,722 fans, at US Bank Arena in Cincinnati on June 5, the Cyclones defeated Las Vegas in game six, 3–1, to take the championship and their 71st win of the season.

After ten seasons, the Nashville Predators and Milwaukee Admirals ended their affiliation with the Cyclones prior to the 2017–18 season. The Cyclones then found affiliations with the Buffalo Sabres and Rochester Americans. This is the second time Buffalo has affiliated with a Cincinnati hockey team, after the Sabres' affiliation with the Cincinnati Swords in the 1970s.

Prior to the 2018–19 season, head coach Matt Mcdonald was hired as an assistant with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the AHL. He was replaced by Matt Thomas, who then led the team to the regular season title and second Brabham Cup in franchise history and won the John Brophy Award for coach of the year. Despite the regular season success, the team lost in the division finals four games to one to the Toledo Walleye.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cyclones voluntarily suspended operations for the 2020–21 ECHL season. Prior to the start of the 2021–22 season, head coach Thomas was hired by the AHL's Providence Bruins as an assistant coach and the Cyclones named Jason Payne as the next head coach.

Uniform

After introducing their current mascot, Twister, in 1995, the Cyclones had always included him in their uniform design. In fact, from 1996 to 2014 he was the centerpiece of the jerseys they wore. However, prior to the 2014–15 season, the organization did a complete revamp of the uniforms and their colors. Twister was removed from the uniform completely along with the color yellow. The shade of red used was also changed from a darker maroon style red to a more bright royal red. The logo now is described as being a twister, or cyclone, in the center of a "C" standing for, Cincinnati. The jersey concepts also changed from being a classic hockey style to a more modern era look. The home, away, and alternate jerseys have red shoulders and red stripes that begin at the elbow area and wrap around to the underside of the wrists. The home jerseys are base white with red trim, the away jerseys are base black with red trim, and the alternates are sublimated black with a fully red crest. Other than the change in color, all three jerseys are similar.

Season-by-season results

This is a partial list of the last thirteen seasons completed by the Cincinnati Cyclones. For the full season-by-season history, see List of Cincinnati Cyclones seasons

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! Season !! League !! Division !! GP !! W !! L !! OTL !! SOL !! Pts !! PCT !! GF !! GA !! PIM !! Coach(es) !! Result

|-

| 2012–13 || ECHL || North || 72 || 42 || 22 || 5 || 3 || 92 || .639 || 227 || 195 || 1119 || Jarrod Skalde || Lost in round 3

|-

| 2013–14 || ECHL || North || 72 || 41 || 23 || 4 || 4 || 90 || .625 || 247 || 204 || 839 || Ben Simon || Lost in round 4

|-

| 2014–15 || ECHL || North || 72 || 31 || 30 || 2 || 9 || 73 || .507 || 195 || 212 || 963 || rowspan=4|Matt Macdonald || Did not qualify

|-

| 2015–16 || ECHL || Midwest || 72 || 36 || 27 || 5 || 4 || 81 || .563 || 222 || 210 || 847 || Lost in round 1

|-

| 2016–17 || ECHL || South || 72 || 36 || 29 || 6 || 1 || 79 || .549 || 200 || 209 || 949 || Did not qualify

|-

| 2017–18 || ECHL || Central || 72 || 39 || 30 || 3 || 0 || 81 || .563 || 226 || 220 || 992 || Lost in round 1

|-

| 2018–19 || ECHL || Central || 72 || 51 || 13 || 5 || 3 || 110 || .764 || 282 || 176 || 1050 || rowspan=2|Matt Thomas || Lost in round 2

|-

| 2019–20 || ECHL || Central || 63 || 38 || 17 || 7 || 1 || 84 || .667 || 196 || 161 || 808 || Playoffs cancelled

|-

| 2020–21 || ECHL || colspan=13 |Opted out of participating due to the COVID-19 pandemic

|-

| 2021–22 || ECHL || Central || 72 || 36 || 32 || 3 || 1 || 76 || .528 || 243 || 239 || 1110 || rowspan=4|Jason Payne || Lost in round 1

|-

| 2022–23 || ECHL || Central || 72 || 47 || 16 || 6 || 3 || 103 || .715 || 266 || 216 || 1262 || Lost in round 2

|-

| 2023–24 || ECHL || Central || 72 || 31 || 34 || 7 || 0 || 69 || .479 || 236 || 261 || 1013 || Did not qualify

|-

| 2024–25 || ECHL || Central || 72 || 29 || 32 || 11 || 0 || 69 || .479 || 184 || 207 || 811 || Did not qualify

|}

Players

Notable players

  • 16 – Greg Stewart played the 2006–07 season with the Cyclones and was the first player under Chuck Weber to reach the NHL with Montreal in 2008.
  • 20 – Kevin Kerr: All-time leader in scoring for non-NHL players. Kerr played three seasons and 112 games with Cincinnati, tallying 145 points in regular season play and 19 points in 13 playoff games with the Cyclones.
  • 21 – Gilbert Dionne: scored 134 goals in 313 games with the team, and won the 1999 IHL All Star Game MVP Award in a game played at US Bank Arena.
  • 22 – Don Biggs: The centerpiece of the team for many years, Biggs played 458 games for Cincinnati, scoring 147 goals and tallying 444 points total. Both totals are records for any player from any version of the Cyclones.
  • 30 – Cedrick Desjardins posted a 40–23–3 record from 2007 to 2009. He was also named the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player.
  • 44 – J.T. Wyman Played a portion of the 08–09 season with Cincinnati. In 15 games with the organization, Wyman had 8 assists while on loan from Hamilton. He became the second player whom Chuck Weber coached to reach the NHL in 2009 with Montreal. Wyman played 43 games across three seasons in the NHL, scoring two goals and nine assists.
  • 51 – David Desharnais Played the 07–08 season with the Cyclones and was the ECHL Most Valuable Player, ECHL Rookie of the Year with 106 points en route to winning the Kelly Cup, became the third Chuck Weber product to make the NHL with Montreal in 2009
  • 55 – Byron Froese: Played for the Cyclones from 2013 to 2015. In 42 games over two seasons, he accounted for 19 goals, 26 assists, and 45 points. Froese was first recalled by the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 23, 2015, and debuted the following night. Froese also played for the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, and was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers organization during the 2018–19 season.
  • Coach Ron Smith – Head coach of the Cyclones from 1995 to 2001. Tallied a franchise record 266 wins during his six years with the team.

Retired numbers

  • 7<nowiki>*</nowiki> – Seventh Man (fans)
  • 22 – Don Biggs
  • 13 – Paul Lawless on April 2, 1999.
  • 14<nowiki>*</nowiki> – Pete Rose. (At the time, because Rose was permanently banned from baseball, the Cincinnati Reds were expected to never retire his number, an assumption that was disproven in 2016 when the Reds did so anyway. The Cyclones thus retired the number instead.)
  • 21 – Gilbert Dionne – Retired on December 2, 2006.

<small><nowiki>*</nowiki> – Denotes honorary number.</small>

References

! colspan="3" | League Championships