On Wednesday September 2nd, the Cincinnati Cyclones announced the signing of rookie forward Mike Gornall. The two sides agreed to terms on a standard player contract for the upcoming season. Gornall, 25-years-old, joins the hockey club out of Rensselaer Polytech Institute (RPI).
Gornall, a right-handed shooter, hails from Irwin, Pennsylvania. The forward is an undersized player, standing only at 5’11 and 201 pounds. Gornall played collegiate hockey with the University of North Dakota. He committed in 2015-16 and finished his tenure there in 2017.
During his two seasons with the Fighting Hawks, he was able to amass three goals along with one assist for a total of four points. He did so in 20 games played which also saw him compile 10 penalty minutes.
He then took off the following season as a designated transfer year before attending RPI. He started his third year of collegiate with the Engineers in 2018-19. During his junior campaign, Gornall played in 21 games where the forward registered just one goal and seven assists.
Gornall’s swan song season with RPI was where he really stood out as a talented rookie. During the 2019-20 season, the American only racked up five goals along with 14 assists for 19 points. He amassed these totals in 34 games. In those 34 games, he only collected 18 penalty minutes.
Gornall joins the Cyclones hockey club while bringing with him a resume of hardware. He won the NCAA Men’s Hockey Championship with the UND Fighting Hawks in 2015-16. He was also the NCAA men’s hockey regular season Champion that same year.
In a statement from head coach Matt Thomas with regards to the team’s newest addition, he said, “Mike comes highly recommended by former Cyclones coach Chuck Weber. He has a solid combination of grit and skill. He plays the game hard and has shown the ability to produce at different levels. We look forward to welcoming him to Cincinnati.”