The ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones play home games on the riverbank of Cincinnati's downtown. Accessible from both the Daniel Carter Beard and Taylor Southgate bridges, the Heritage Bank Center sports complex sits along the same drag as Great American Ball Park and Paul Brown Stadium, where the Cincinnati Reds (MLB) and Cincinnati Bengals (NFL) play, respectively. As the winter months approach each year, the Cyclones are a hot ticket, hosting one of the 25 other teams in the ECHL in the nearly 18,000-person arena.

Coach Matt Thomas' Cyclones team is always primed for competitive match-ups, with 14 straight winning seasons from 2006 to 2020. The team is the affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, with the 2020 squad led by veteran sharpshooter Jesse Schultz and captain Justin Vaive. If there's a signature to Cyclones games, it's the team's mascot, Twister, who checks in at "202 pounds of windblown muscle" and slides across the ice on his head during intermissions. And if you're feeling ambitious, Cyclones games are also known for the infamous "Beeramids," stacks of empty beer cans along the corners of the glass that grow as the game goes along (21+ fans only).

Cincinnati Cyclones History

While the Cincinnati Cyclones franchise bounced between ECHL and IHL in their early years, the current iteration of the team joined the ECHL in 2001 and won Kelly Cups in 2008 and 2010. The Cyclones are an affiliate of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres, but have also been affiliated in the past with the Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks. The Canadiens era yielded perhaps the greatest Cyclone player of all time in David Desharnais, who before an illustrious career in Montreal, won the league MVP, Rookie of the Year and scoring titles en route to leading the Cyclones to the 2008 championship. In addition to their Kelly Cups, the Cyclones have won multiple conference championships and division crowns. The historic 2007-2008 team earned the record for the most successful ECHL season of all time, with 55 wins and 115 points.