On Friday night at the Santander Arena, the Reading Royals (10-5-1) began a five-game homestand with a 6-3 win over the Norfolk Admirals (2-16-1). It’s the Royals’ third straight win.
Thirty-seven seconds into the first period, Norfolk took a 1-0 lead by Brett Van Os (2) with assists from Cody Milan and Tag Bertuzzi. Then, midway through the first period, the Admirals extended their lead to 2-0 by Tag Bertuzzi (6) with assists from Brett Van Os and Cody Milan.
Fifteen seconds later, the Royals cut the Admirals’ lead to 2-1 by Trey Bradley (7) with an assist from Alec Butcher. Norfolk led 2-1 after one period.
One minute and eighteen seconds into the second period, the Royals tied the game 2-2 on a goal by Brendan Hoffmann (2) with an assist from Devon Paliani. Then, the Royals took a 3-2 lead on a power play goal by Jacob Gaucher (4) with assists from Mason Millman and Kamerin Nault. Three minutes later, the Royals extended their lead to 4-2 by Max Newton (10) with an assist from Kamerin Nault. The Royals led 4-2 after two periods.
Six minutes and 14 seconds into the third period, Norfolk made it a one-goal game 4-3 on a goal by Denis Smirnov (1) with assists from Brett Van Os and Elijah Vilio. Midway through the third period, the Royals put the game away scoring two goals. First, Max Newton (11) made it 5-3 at 11:31 with assists from Charlie Gerard and Kamerin Nault. Finally, Trey Bradley (8) scored at 17:51 to make it 6-3 with assists from Garrett McFadden and Tyler Kirkup.
The Royals finished the night with 36 shots, 1/3 on the power play, and Nolan Maier made 24 saves. On the other side, the Admirals had 27 shots, 0/3 on the power play, and Tomas Vomacka made 30 saves.
The Royals and Admirals will go at it again tonight at 7 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub.
