After the Wings took a 1-0 after the first period on a goal from forward Kyle Blaney, Cincinnati’s power play got to work in the second, as 5:28 into the frame, Knodel took a pass from Powell, and he hammered in a shot from the line to tie the game, 1-1. Roughly five and a half minutes later, Cincinnati’s defense struck again when Jones fired in a point shot of his own to put the Cyclones ahead, 2-1.
Kalamazoo was not deterred and brought the game back even with four and a half minutes remaining in the frame when defenseman Jagger Dirk found the back of the net to tie the game, 2-2, after 40 minutes.
In the third, Cincinnati regained the lead 6:20 in when forward Justin Vaive found Powell and he buried a shot to put the Cyclones back on top, 3-2. The momentum was short-lived, however, as with 4:53 remaining, former Cyclone Dominic Zombo lit the lamp against his former team to pull Kalamazoo back level, 3-3.
With 2:06 remaining in regulation, Cincinnati’s power play struck again when forward Jesse Schultz sent a pass to Wideman on the right side, and he snapped in a shot in to the top corner to give Cincinnati a late 4-3 advantage. The Wings had a couple more chances in the final minute with goaltender pulled, however the Cyclones defense held firm and preserved the 4-3, Game 4 win.
The Cyclones were outshot, 36-31 on the night, with goaltender Michael Houser stopping 33 in the win. Cincinnati can close out the best-of-seven series on Saturday night, with the face-off slated for 7:00pm ET.
With Cincinnati Cyclones release