When you’re a minor pro hockey team in a town with Major League Baseball, the National Football League and major college sports programs, you have to get creative at mixing the on-ice product with various promotions to make it more than just a game to draw fans through the gate. The Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL are one of the best teams at coming up with fun and unique promotions that fill the arena for a night of entertainment for families.

One promotion coming up that will be of interest to Kings Island fans takes place on Feb. 28 when the Cyclones face off against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits at 7:30 p.m. at the Heritage Bank Center. On this night the Cyclones will become the Cincinnati Beasts in honor of Kings Island’s iconic wooden roller coaster, which celebrated its 40th anniversary season this past year. The Cyclones will be sporting special Beast-themed jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game with the first 3,000 fans through the turnstiles receiving a bobblehead of the team’s captain, Justin Vaive, riding The Beast.

I’m looking forward to seeing the hometown team skate out onto the ice wearing jerseys with the awesome Beast logo. They look amazing!

Save time and money by getting your tickets to the game in advance online.

Since 1979, The Beast has unleashed its awesome power on the unsuspecting as it sprawls across 35 acres of wooded terrain. When the ride debuted April 14, 1979, it was acclaimed America’s ultimate roller coaster. It broke all existing records as the longest and fastest ride in the world. It is still listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest wooden roller coaster at 7,359 feet.