The Reading Royals (37-22-5) returned to the Santander Arena on Wednesday night to start a four-game homestand. They took on the Adirondack Thunder (28-26-10) for the tenth and final time of the season. Coming into this game, the Royals were 7-2 against Adirondack this year.
Six minutes and thirty-one seconds into the first period, Max Newton (28) put the Royals up 1-0 with assists from Charlie Gerard and Colin Felix. The Royals had 21 shots and led 1-0 after one period.
Six minutes and nine seconds into the second period, Sebastian Vidmar (10) scored for the Thunder, tying the game 1-1. Shane Harper and Wayne Letourneau assisted with his goal. Three minutes and twenty-nine seconds later, Jacob Gaucher (20) put the Royals back up 2-1 with a power play goal. Tyler Heidt and Mason Millman assisted with his goal.
Two minutes and fifty-two seconds later, Alec Butcher (20) extended the Royals’ lead to 3-1. Mason Millman and Ryan Cook assisted with his goal. With under two minutes left, Shane Harper (21) scored a power play goal to cut the Royals’ lead to 3-2. Patrick Grasso and Shawn Weller assisted with his goal. The Royals had nine shots and led 3-2 after two periods.
Three minutes and eighteen seconds into the third period, Brady Fleurent (7) tied the game 3-3 with an assist from Travis Broughman. The game remained tied 3-3 and went to overtime.
Three minutes and seven seconds into overtime, Patrick Grasso (32) scored with an assist from Shane Harper. The Royals lost to the Thunder by the final score of 3-2. The Royals win the season series 7-2-1.
The Royals finish the night with 41 shots, 1-3 on the power play, and Bailey Brkin made 32 saves. On the other side, the Thunder had 36 shots, 1-5 on the power play, and Vinnie Purpura made 38 saves.
The Royals continue the three-game homestand starting on Friday against the Trois-Rivieres Lions at 7 pm. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo.
