Cincinnati goalie Michael Houser had 26 saves to lead the Cyclones to a 2-1 shootout ice hockey victory over Brampton Friday night at U.S. Bank Arena.
Goalies have to be resilient. They have to be able to shake off failure in the blink of an eye.
They also have to welcome the challenge of a shootout – when the team aspect is thrown aside on the ice and the action becomes a mano-a-mano, winner-take-all affair.
Cincinnati Cyclones goalie Michael Houser was both resilient and welcoming of the shootout spotlight Friday night against the Brampton Beast.
The 26-year-old Ohio native tallied 26 saves and denied all three Brampton shot attempts in the shootout to lift Cincinnati to a 2-1 victory over the Beast.
"Man, did he ever play good," Cincinnati head coach Matt Thomas said. "It could've been his best game of the year in so many respects. I loved his competitiveness, his composure; I thought he controlled the game. He played like a veteran goaltender and that's great to see heading into the postseason."
Houser was under constant duress after Brampton attempted just six shots in the first period, but unveiled an aggressive attack in the second period, spending the majority of the time deep in Cincinnati territory.
Houser snared 10 Beast shots in the second frame, then held strong to the Cyclones' 1-0 advantage until the 15-minute mark of the final stanza when Brampton forward Daniel Leavens' shot ricocheted high in the air and fell harmlessly behind Houser before sliding into the net to tie it 1-1.
"It was a weird goal. With those, there's not a whole lot you can do," Houser said. "It's not really on anyone; it's just kind of a bouncing puck."
Houser and the Cincinnati defense bounced back, thwarting a Brampton power play that spanned the end of the third period and the first 97 seconds of overtime. In the 3-on-3 overtime, the Cyclones did not attempt a shot, but Houser kept the score deadlocked by snagging all three of Brampton's.
"The funny thing about goalies is that's why they picked that position. They want to be that guy in the key moment to be a difference-maker," Thomas said. "For him, he was just so thorough in this game."
Cincinnati's Alex Wideman found the net to open the shootout, which proved to be the game-winner after Houser denied tying attempts from Francois Beauchemin, Nathan Todd and Daniel Ciampini.
"I like shootouts. I haven't been as good in them this year as I'd like to be, but I really felt good tonight. I've been slowly feeling better the last few weeks. I hit a little bit of a lull there in the end of February, early March. I've got my game back pretty strong heading into the playoffs," Houser said.
Thomas added: "I thought he was tremendous and I had a ton of confidence in him. I think it's just a unique opportunity to watch him get into playoff mode himself in what was a critical game for our opposition."
Brampton came in vying for one of the final playoffs spots in the Eastern Conference, trailing the Manchester Monarchs by two points.
The Cyclones own the highest-scoring offense in the East Coast Hockey League (averaging just under four goals per game) but were kept scoreless heading into the first intermission despite out-shooting Brampton 11-6 over the first 20-minute stretch.
"The biggest thing for us in a low-scoring game when you're used to scoring, you've got to rely on your defensive play. We had a lot of guys buy into that and that's awesome to see," Thomas said.
The Cyclones got on the board late in the second period when Andrew DeBrincat and Pascal Aquin set up left wing Ben Johnson for his 10th goal of the season.
"We tried to match their intensity and I think we did a good job with that," Johnson said. "We were battling. I don't think we were frustrated, but it was definitely nice to get the first goal."
The Cyclones tied an ECHL record with their 30th home win of the season, joining the 2004 San Diego Gulls and the 2002 Louisiana Ice Gators.
Cincinnati (51-12-5-3) already claimed the Brabham Cup – given to the regular-season ECHL champion –- in Wednesday's 3-2 victory over playoff-bound Toledo. They will finish the regular season on the road against Fort Wayne Saturday night.
The Cyclones return home for the first round of the Kelly Cup playoffs next Friday, April 12.