Fort Wayne, IN- A 3-0 lead backed-up by strong goaltending from Beck Warm allowed the Cyclones to hang on for a 3-2 win in game four Friday night in Fort Wayne.
The Cyclones put their grip on this best-of-seven series, now owning a 3-1 lead with the opportunity to close out round one Sunday evening at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
- Justin Vaive revived the Cyclones' offense by getting the team on the board with a power play goal 16:19 into the first period, ending a scoreless drought of 116:55. Vaive tipped a point shot taken by Jalen Smereck that squeaked through Ryan Fanti, getting the captain his first goal of the playoffs. Game four was also the third time this year the Cyclones played a game following a shutout loss, and Vaive has scored the first goal following a shutout in each of the three games.
- Cincinnati then struck again just over four minutes into the second period. Jalen Smereck poked a puck off Fort Wayne's Dan Maggio to force an odd-man rush going the other way. The Cincinnati defenseman then slid the puck cross-ice to Patrick Polino for a one-time blast that beat Fanti and doubled the 'Clones lead. Matt Berry added to the scoring with a fortuitous power play goal at the 10:04 mark of period two. The Komets were unable to clear the puck after several attempts, allowing Berry to spin a puck toward the goal, hitting it off a defender's skate where it ricocheted past Fanti and building up a 3-0 lead for the Cyclones rolling into the third period.
- Berry wasn't the only one to get a good bounce off the opposition's skate, as Garrett Van Whye scored 39 seconds into the third after a puck hit off Matt Cairns and slid past Warm to get the Komets on the board. A late goal with the goaltender pulled from Sam Dove-McFalls made it 3-2 with 2:29 to play, but Warm turned aside 16 other Fort Wayne shots in the third period to help the 'Clones hang on for the victory.
- Game five comes Sunday at 6 p.m. with a chance for Cincinnati to close out this opening round series and advance into the Central Division Finals with a win. The Cyclones will look to prevent a Komets victory, which would force a game six in Cincinnati Tuesday, May 2.
