Beck Warm told Head Coach Jason Payne to start him for game seven and he would give him his best start.
He delivered on that proclamation.
The Cyclones' goaltender turned aside all 35 shots faced in a do-or-die game seven, and with the help of a Justin Vaive power play goal, the Cyclones shut out the Fort Wayne Komets, 1-0 Wednesday night at Heritage Bank Center, advancing to round two of the Kelly Cup Playoffs where they will face the Toledo Walleye.
- Warm was tested right off the hop. Oliver Cooper slid in front of Warm just 13 seconds into the game and was left uncontested for a wrist shot, but the Cincinnati goaltender reached out to make the glove snag. He turned aside 10 shots in the first, then began the second with another grade-A save, denying Komets' forward Tye Felhaber in the slot 12 seconds into the period.
- Cincinnati had just two power plays, but capitalized on the latter. With Jake Johnson in the box for slashing, the 'Clones operated a late second period power play, buzzing with chance after chance. It culminated atop the zone, when Jalen Smereck took a wrist shot from the center of the blue line. Providing the routine screen was Justin Vaive, who tipped the puck through Fort Wayne's Ryan Fanti 16:51 into the third, giving the Cyclones a 1-0 lead they would never look back on.
- Game seven followed a 6-0 shutout loss in game six, marking the fourth time all season that the Cyclones were held scoreless. In each game that has followed, Justin Vaive has scored the first goal of the game (and in this case, the only goal) and Cincinnati has won each time. Vaive's goal was his second of the playoffs and first since game four.
- The Komets outshot Cincinnati by a 12-6 margin in the third, but Warm managed the workload, turning aside two Komets power plays in the process. Cooper appeared to have deflected a puck into the net with 1:11 remaining and the goaltender pulled to tie the game late in regulation. It was called a goal on the ice, but the call ended up being overturned as Sam Dove-McFalls made contact with Warm prior to the puck going in, reversing the call based on goaltender interference and allowing the Cyclones to hold on for the 1-0 win, subsequently winning the series and eliminating the Komets from the opening round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 4-3 series win.
- The Cyclones won their fifth all-time game seven in what was the 52nd game seven in ECHL history. It also marks the first playoff series win in the Jason Payne era as Cyclones Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations.
- With the win, Cincinnati will advance to the Central Division Finals where they face a Toledo team that will enter the series on eight days' rest after sweeping the Indy Fuel in round one. The Walleye visit Heritage Bank Center for games one and two this Friday-Saturday, May 5 and 6.
