The Cincinnati Enquirer

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Joey MacDonald made 33 saves for his first shutout of the season of the season, and the Grand Rapids Griffins blanked the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, 3-0 Friday night in the American Hockey League at Van Andel Arena.

Stacy Roest, Michel Picard and Mark Mowers scored 2:06 apart in the first period for Grand Rapids, which improved to 5-0-1-0 against Cincinnati this season.

MacDonald made seven saves in the first period, turned aside 15 shots in the second and stopped 11 shots in the third for his second career shutout and first in the AHL.

Ilja Bryzgalov replaced Jean-Francois Damphousse 19 minutes in. Cincinnati lost its sixth straight on the road.

The Ducks begin a five-game home stand at 7:35 p.m. today against Chicago at the Gardens. NASCAR Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart will drop the first puck and sign autographs for select fans. The first 3,200 fans will receive a Tony Stewart Bobblehead.

Gates open at 6p.m.

Mighty Ducks	0	0	0	- 0
Grand Rapids	3	0	0	- 3

First period: 1. Gra, Roest 12 (Collins, Brookbank), 16:54. 2. Gra, Picard 17 (Skarperud), 18:15. 3. Gra, Mowers 20 (Campbell)

Shots on goal: Cin 7-15-11=33; GR 10-4-8=22. Power plays Cin 0-for-2; GR 0-for-1. Goalies: Cin, Damphousse (19:00, 10 shots, 7 saves; record 9-9-3), Bryzgalov (41:00; 12-12); GR, MacDonald (33-33; 8-3-0). A: 7,771.

ECHL CYCLONES FALL: The Roanoke Express extended the Cincinnati Cyclones' road losing streak to three with a 7-3 victory Friday.

The Express scored with less than nine seconds left in the first period for a 3-2 lead.

Ryan Gaucher and Aaron Brand had power play goals for the Cyclones.

Roanoke added two early goals in the second period to build a 5-2 lead. The Cyclones answered at 5:04 of the frame when veteran forward Mike Casselman scored his ninth of the season to cut the deficit to 5-3.

Roanoke added two more goals in the third period and finished the night with four power-play goals, which brought the total to nine in the game.

The Cyclones will be off for the next four days for the ECHL's all-star break. Cincinnati returns to action Jan. 24 to host the Wheeling Nailers at 7:05 p.m.

Cyclones	2	1	0	- 3
Roanoke	3	2	2	- 7

First Period: 1. Roa, Carlson 16 (Jaffray, Balan) 7:12; 2. Cin, Gaucher 11 (Noga, Bootland) ppg, 12:18; 3. Roa, Bristow 2 (Peron, Kowalsky) ppg, 16:44; 4. Cin, Brand 14 (Gaucher, Cardarelli) ppg, 18:49; 5. Roa, Jaffray 27 (Dusbabek, Laplante) 19:51.

Second period: 6. Roa, Carlson 17 (Jaffray, Dusbabek) pp, 3:38; 7. Roa, Bristow 3 (Gyori, Kowalsky) ppg, 4:01; 8. Cin, Casselman 9 (Brand, Mercer) 5:04.

Third period: 9. Roa, Limpright 7 (Dalmao, Kowalsky) ppg, 10:59; 10. Roa, Gyori 19 (Peron) 14:23.

Power plays: Cin 2-for-6; Roa, 4-for-9. Goalies: Cin, Marc Kielkucki (9-6-2 record; 26 saves, 33 shots); Roa, Sebastien Laplante (12-9-1; 29-32 shots).

CCHA REDHAWKS LOSE: Vince Bellissimo scored twice to lead Western Michigan (10-12-1, 8-7-0 CCHA) to a 3-2 victory over Miami (14-9-2, 8-7-2) in Kalamazoo. The teams play again at 7 p.m. today.