DaytonDailyNews.com

FAIRBORN – Bombers coach Bill McDonald thought he made the right call bringing defenseman Jim Henkemeyer back to Dayton.

Now he knows he made the right call.

As Henkemeyer barreled toward the goal and connected on a sliding shot to secure a 5-4 overtime win against the Cincinnati Cyclones on opening night Saturday, Oct. 18, the Bombers' fans knew, too.

"It's such a competitive league, I wanted to come in right away and show what I can do," Henkemeyer said. "Everyone is hungry out there."

McDonald brought Henkemeyer to Dayton after the Minnesota native finished out his collegiate season at the University of Wisconsin River Falls last spring. Henkemeyer posted two goals and three assists in 13 games with Dayton.

"When he came in here, we were undermanned and struggling," McDonald said. "He's a tremendous kid, and I targeted him to come back."

Henkemeyer was one of only four players from the 2007-08 squad who returned.

"I'm glad to be back," he said. "And when you have a crowd like this, you want to give them something to cheer about."

It was the visitors, however, who had their fans on their feet early as the Cyclones hushed the Nutter Center crowd of 7,680 when forward Thomas Beauregard scored with just 20 seconds off the game clock. Cyclones right wing Stephen Werner forced in a power-play goal to give the visitors a 2-0 lead midway through the opening period.

Bombers right wing Ryan Smyth closed the gap with a power-play goal at the 11:09 mark and teammate Dominic D'Amour followed suit to tie the contest 2-2 at the break.

Cincinnati scored the go-ahead power-play goal 33 seconds into the second period, but the Bombers answered when rookie forward Nino Musitelli tied the game with a power-play goal of his own midway through the period. It was knotted, 3-3, after two periods.

Dayton left wing Dan Riedel gave the Bombers their first lead, 4-3, with 6:13 to play but a goal by Cyclones center Olivier Latendresse forced OT.

"Not to take anything away from Cincinnati, but these guys (Bombers) busted their butts tonight," McDonald said. "We made some mistakes but they kept their nose to the grindstone."

Henkemeyer got more than the winning goal, he also won a grocery gift certificate from the booster club.

"I'll probably buy a lot of Gatorade," the rookie said.

Henkemeyer also fancies himself a "pretty good cook." His specialty? Stir-fry.

The Bombers are in Johnstown on Friday before heading to Cincinnati for a Saturday rematch against the Cyclones.