As the Cyclones prepare for another night of hockey at U.S. Bank Arena tonight, here are some notes to get you started:

- Roster-wise, nothing much will change from Monday.... Aubin and Liambas are still out.  While Mathieu will likely be back within the week, "The Bus" may be sitting in park for a while.  Officially, there isn't a timetable for either players' return.  Defenseman Chris Clark is out tonight after sustaining an ankle injury against Gwinnett.  He won't return this week either.  Forward Luke Stauffacher will be in the Cyclones lineup tonight, instead.  Luke played with the Clones on Saturday in Chicago and spent the last few days gathering his things and driving down to Cincinnati.  He's another tough, edgy guy that the Cyclones will need with Liambas' absence.  Stauffacher will wear #19.

- Let me quickly address the Brad Fogal situation....often times fans tend to overreact with trades, ESPECIALLY in this league.  I'm quick to remind people that the ECHL is not the NHL or AHL...it's a MUCH different game from a roster situation.  With the goaltending situation the way it is, Foster and Pickard both contracted with the NHL, there is simply no space for a third goaltender.  Every roster spot and dollar spent toward the salary cap has to be used to its fullest extent this time of year.  While Fogal was a solid backstop (4-4-3 with Cincy), he was the odd man out.  Whatever your opinion is of Chet Pickard, good/bad/indifferent, he isn't going anywhere.  The only team that has control over where Chet plays is Nashville.  It's that simple.  To argue otherwise is silly.  The same goes for Foster.  With the goaltending tree in Florida back to 100% health-wise, it would appear Foster is going to be here unless something happens in the AHL or NHL.  With that said, let me address the other question people are asking...why Kalamazoo?  Listen, folks, it's not as complex as some people seem to be making it.  Had the Cyclones not traded Fogal, but simply waived him...the Wings would have claimed him because they were in need of a goalie.  He'd end up in K-Zoo anyway...and the Clones would have gotten NOTHING.  The deal as it went down allowed Cincinnati to get something in return for a player they did not have room for on the roster.  That simple.

- Speaking of goaltending...Foster will be between the pipes tonight for Cincinnati.  He is 10-3-0-1 this year with a 2.56 goals-agaist average.

- The ECHL trade deadline is March 8 at 3pm ET....between now and then, the Cyclones are owed a player from Bakersfield as part of the deal that brought Matt Sisca to Cincy.

- How good has Dan Eves been of late??....The guy had another multi-point game on Monday and now has goals in 9 of 11.  With Aubin still out of the lineup, Eves has done a great job of picking up the slack offensively.

- You can bet tonight, the Gladiators are going to be fired up...the game on Monday was one of the better defensive games I've seen the Cyclones play in a while.  Foster was, as always, solid...but they didn't allow Gwinnett to ever really seize momentum.  In fact, the two goals they scored were more lucky than anything...especially the one that barely snuck through Foster's legs.  With that in mind, though, remember that the Glads are the top team in the conference.  They don't lose back-to-back games very often.  Simply put, the Cyclones have to be just as good if not better tonight.

- We hit the air tonight at 7:15pm on the Cyclones Radio Network!  Hope to have you listening in as the Clones take on the Gwinnett Gladiators.

*****************

With the NHL Trade Deadline coming on Monday, things have been busy...here's a full list of the deals done.

*****************

The Nashville Predators have re-upped their GM and Assistant GM....congrats to both David Poile and Paul Fenton! 

*****************

Add another team interested in Rick Nash's services....is he the "top prize" in the NHL this year's deadline?

*****************

Not quite time for Seattle to get an NHL team...but the talks continue to swirl that Phoenix may be heading there soon.

*****************

Are you following me on Twitter and Facebook?  It's the best way to get updates on the Cyclones throughout the season!