Listowel, ONT. – The Listowel Cyclones delivered an impressive performance on home ice Friday night, defeating the Ayr Centennials 7–1 at the Steve Kerr Memorial Arena.
The victory improved Listowel’s pre-season record to 2–0. The Cyclones previously defeated Ayr 6–3 in their exhibition opener.
Listowel established control immediately, opening the scoring just 1:16 into the game. Heath Bradley converted a setup from Gryphon Turner and Thomas Paleczny to give the Cyclones an early advantage.
Turner doubled the lead at 9:39, with Dax Vader collecting the assist. Vader then moved from playmaker to goal scorer three minutes later, finishing a chance created by William Kueneman and Ryerson Doucette.
Ewan Muzzell completed the dominant opening period with an unassisted goal at 17:56, sending the Cyclones into the first intermission with a commanding 4–0 lead.
Listowel continued applying pressure in the second period. Zasha Ortman extended the advantage to five goals at 3:32, receiving assists from Grayden McKnight and Trent Houghton.
Ayr scored at 11:36 of the second period, but it would be the only goal surrendered by Cyclones goaltender Logan MacMillan.
The Cyclones put the game beyond reach with two goals separated by only 30 seconds during the third period. Turner scored his second of the night at 7:25, assisted by Paleczny and Bradley. Paleczny then completed the scoring at 7:55, with Bradley and Turner drawing the assists.
Turner led the Listowel attack with two goals and one assist. Bradley and Paleczny also recorded three-point performances, each finishing with one goal and two assists. Vader contributed a goal and an assist as the Cyclones received scoring from six different players.
MacMillan provided a strong performance in the Listowel crease, turning aside 27 of the 28 shots he faced.
The Cyclones outscored Ayr 13–4 across their two pre-season meetings, earning victories both on the road and at the Steve Kerr Memorial Arena.
Listowel will play its final pre-season game on Thursday, September 3, when the Cyclones face the Upper Canada College Patriots. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Following that final exhibition test, the Cyclones will turn their attention toward the beginning of the 2026–27 GOHL regular season.
-Listowel Cyclones Hockey Club
