The Reading Royals (36-22-4) visited the WesBanco Arena for a two-game series on Saturday against the Wheeling Nailers (26-32-5) for the seventh time this year. Coming into this game, the Royals were 2-4 against Wheeling this year.
A minute and seven seconds into the first period, Evan Barratt (19) put the Royals up 1-0. Charlie Gerard and Tyler Heidt assisted with his goal. Then in a span of seven minutes, the Nailers took a 3-1 lead on goals by Gianluca Esteves (10), Cédric Desruisseaux (27), and Peter Laviolette (2). The Royals had five shots on goal and trailed the Nailers 3-1 after one period.
Five minutes and thirteen seconds into the second period, Colin Felix (6) pulled the Royals within one. It was now 3-2 Nailers. Alec Butcher and Evan Barratt assisted with his goal. Two minutes and six seconds later, Shane Sellar (16) tied the game 3-3 with assists from Max Newton and Will MacKinnon.
Thirty-four seconds later, Peter Laviolette (3) put the Nailers back up 4-3 with an assist from T.J. Fergus. Two minutes and thirteen seconds later, Charlie Gerard (30) tied the game 4-4 with assists from Max Newton and Mason Millman.
Later in the second period, T.J. Fergus (4) put the Nailers back up 5-4. Then with ten seconds left, Evan Barratt (20) scored his second goal of the game to tie it up 5-5. Mason Millman and Jacob Gaucher assisted with his goal. The Royals had 13 shots on goal and the game remained tied 5-5 after two periods.
Thirteen minutes and twenty-four seconds into the third period, Jordan Frasca (7) put the Nailers back up 6-5 with an assist from T.J. Fergus. The Royals had eight shots in the third period and lost to the Nailers by the final score of 6-5.
The Royals finished the night with 26 shots on goal, 0-2 on the power play, and Bailey Brkin made 23 saves. On the other side, the Nailers had 29 shots, 0-2 on the power play, and Brad Barone made 21 saves.
The two teams will go at it again on Sunday at 4:10 pm. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo.
