On Sunday, the Reading Royals (23-12-5-1) and the Newfoundland Growlers (24-12-3) battled it out with first place on the line. The Reading Royals are the ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers.
In the first period, Newfoundland took a 1-0 lead by Evan Neugold. In the second period, the Royals tied the game 1-1 on a power-play goal by Trevor Gooch.
The Growlers blew the game open by scoring three straight goals from Evan Neugold, Matteo Pietroniro, and Jeremy McKenna for a 4-1 lead. Royals center Thomas Ebbing cut the Growlers lead 4-2 after two periods.
In the third period, Thomas Ebbing scored his second goal, which made it 4-3. However, the Growlers sealed the game on an empty-net goal by Jeremy McKenna, his second of the game to give the Growlers a 5-3 win and take first place in the North Division.
The Royals finished the game with 40 shots, 1/4 on the power-play, and Hayden Hawkey made 20 of 24 saves.
