READING, PA – The Reading Royals will have to wait at least one more day to celebrate a berth in the ECHL finals thanks to the Cincinnati Cyclones who won Game Four of their American Conference Final Series 6-4. The two teams will go at it again Sunday night at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The loss snapped an eight game playoff win streak as well as a twelve game unbeaten streak (10-0-2) for the Royals. 
For only the second time in thirteen playoff games, the Royals gave up the game’s first goal, but what killed the Royals chances were three straight goals in the second period by the Cyclones. The Royals’ Matt Dalton (10-1-2; 16/22) suffered his first regulation playoff loss while Cincinnati’s Jeremy Smith (8-7-1; 28/32) got the win for the Cyclones. Cincinnati struck 10:08 into the first period when the Cyclones two Royals were playing without sticks. Barrett Eghoetz fed Mathieu Aubin who fired a shot that was deflected over Dalton’s left pad for the 1-0 lead. Reading tied the game at the 18:29 mark on a power play goal by Ryan Cruthers, his seventh of the playoffs. 
Twenty-seven seconds later, Cincinnati regained the lead when Reid Cashman fired a pass Josh Heidinger, who was all alone at the left side of the Royals’ net and slid the puck past Dalton. Reading bounced back again to re-tie the game at two with 15.3 seconds left in the first period when Alex Berry swooped in and cut across the crease area and fired into the lower left side of the goal, his second of the playoffs. Cincinnati broke the game open with three straight goals in the second period thanks to Ryan Del Monte, Ian McKenzie and Brian O’Hanley. The Cyclones put the dagger in the heart with a power play goal 1:32 into the third period. The Royals made a game of it in the end but it wasn’t enough to overcome the deficit. Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com
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