Monarchs advance with Game 4 win

The Manchester Monarchs became the first team to advance to the Division Finals of the 2018 Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 3-0 win over the Reading Royals in Game 4 of their North Division Semifinals series on Wednesday at Reading.

Manchester awaits the winner of the Adirondack/Worcester series in the next round. The Thunder lead 3 games to 1 after a 2-1 win on Wednesday.

Jordan LaVallee-Smotherman notched the eventual game-winning goal 7:50 into the second period while Zac Lynch and Sam Kurker added empty-net goals in the closing minute. Charles Williams stopped all 31 shots he faced to record his first career playoff shutout.

Lynch led Manchester in the series with five points (2g-3a) and Williams allowed a total of seven goals in four games. The Monarchs became just the second team in ECHL postseason history (Peoria, 2000 Kelly Cup Finals) to win three overtime games in a single series.

The Royals were led by Chris McCarthy who had six points (2g-4a) in the four games.

Click here to view the complete schedule and results from the 2018 Kelly Cup Playoffs.