The Reading Royals (31-18-3) continued their three-game homestand at the Santander Arena on Saturday night against the Trois-Rivieres Lions (20-32-2). It’s the fifth meeting of the season between these teams. The Royals were 4-0 against the Lions heading into this game.
Ten minutes and fifty-eight seconds into the first period, Alec Butcher (13) scored to put the Royals up 1-0. Mike Chen and Pat Nagle assisted with his goal. The Royals had 13 shots on goal and led 1-0 after one period.
Fourteen minutes and forty-five seconds into the second period, Evan Barratt (7) scored to extend the Royals’ lead to 2-0. Brendan Hoffmann and Garrett McFadden assisted with his goal. Two minutes and fifty-one seconds later, Evan Barratt (8) scored his second goal to make 3-0 Royals. Charlie Gerard assisted with his goal.
A minute and twenty-three seconds later, Brett Stapley (7) scored for the Lions. It was now 3-1 Royals. Thomas Caron and Ryan Francis assisted with his goal. The Royals had 15 shots on goal in the second period and led 3-1 after two periods.
Six minutes and thirteen seconds into the third period, Charlie Gerard (27) scored to make it 4-1 Royals. Zach Shankar and Evan Barratt assisted with his goal. Late in the third period, the Lions pulled their goal and Evan Barratt (9) completed the hat trick with an empty-net goal for a 5-1 lead. Charlie Gerard assisted with his goal.
The Royals defeated the Lions by the final score of 5-1. They are now on a three-game winning streak and 5-4-1 in their last ten games.
Reading finished the night with 38 shots, 0-4 on the power play, and Pat Nagle made 18 saves. On the other side, the Lions had 19 shots, 0-3 on the power play, and Francis Marotte made 33 saves.
The Royals and Lions will go at it again on Sunday at 3 pm. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub.
