The Reading Royals (35-21-4) concluded a three-game homestand on Sunday afternoon against the Atlanta Gladiators (32-25-6) for the third time this year. Coming into the game, the Royals led the season series 2-1.
Nine minutes and thirty-nine seconds into the first period, Mitch Walinski (2) put the Gladiators up 1-0 with a power play goal. Sanghoon Shin and Cody Sylvester assisted with his goal. The Royals had 12 shots on goal and trailed the Gladiators 1-0 after one period.
Eighteen minutes and fourteen seconds into the second period, Tyson Empey (4) scored a short-handed goal for a 2-0 lead. Tim Davison assisted with his goal. Thirty seconds later, Alec Butcher (17) scored a power play goal, cutting the Gladiators’ lead to 2-1. Jacob Gaucher and Tyler Heidt assisted with his goal.
A minute and seven seconds later, Sanghoon Shin (26) got the goal back for Atlanta and it was now 3-1. Cody Sylvester and Bode Wilde assisted with his goal. The Royals had 18 shots on goal and trailed the Gladiators 3-1 after two periods.
Twelve minutes and forty-eight seconds into the third period, Tyler Heidt (2) scored a power play goal to make it a one-run game 3-2. Shane Sellar and Mason Millman assisted with his goal. The Royals had 13 shots in the third period and lost to the Gladiators by the final score of 3-2. The Royals are now 6-3-1 in their last ten games.
The Royals finished the afternoon with 43 shots on goal, 2-6 on the power play, and Bailey Brkin made 23 saves. On the other side, the Gladiators had 26 shots, 1-3 on the power play, and Alex Sakellaropoulos made 41 saves.
The Royals start a three-game road trip on Friday against the Toledo Walleye from the Huntington Center at 7:15 pm. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo.
