Cyclones win Kelly Cup championship

Jun 6, 2008 - 3:44 AM CINCINNATI (Ticker) -- Jean-Michel Daoust recorded a goal and two assists and Cedric Desjardins made 30 saves as the Cincinnati Cyclones captured the Kelly Cup on Thursday with a 3-1 triumph over the Las Vegas Wranglers in Game Six of the championship series.

Daoust opened the scoring with 4:02 remaining in the first period and helped set up Matt Syroczynski's power-play goal that snapped a 1-1 tie just 35 seconds into the third. He also picked up an assist on defenseman Jon Gleed's tally just under six minutes later to complete his three-point effort.

In front of an ECHL-record crowd of 12,722 at U.S. Bank Arena, Desjardins turned aside 13 shots in the first period and 11 in the second before making six saves in the final session. The netminder, who finished the postseason with a 1.84 goals-against average, was named the playoff MVP.

Rookie David Desharnais notched an assist for Cincinnati. The 21-year-old, who won Rookie of the Year and MVP honors as well as the scoring title during the regular season, finished with playoff highs of 24 assists and 33 points in 22 games.

The Cyclones became just the third team in league history to win the Brabham Cup as the regular-season points champion and the Kelly Cup in the same season. The South Carolina Stingrays first accomplished the feat in 1997, and the Alaska Aces followed suit in 2006.

Adam Cracknell scored the lone goal for Las Vegas.