The Reading Royals (3-7-1-1) concluded the four-game homestand on Saturday night from the Santander Arena against the Newfoundland Growlers (6-5-3).
Nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds into the first period, Reading’s Alec Butcher put the Royals up 1-0 with an assist by Mike Chen. At 15:34, Matt Brown extended the Royals lead to 2-0 with assists from Tyson Fawcett and Alec Butcher.
Two minutes later, Newfoundland’s Grant Cruikshank cut the Royals lead down to 2-1. The Royals had 11 shots on goal and led 1-0 after one period.
Seventeen seconds into the second period, Newfoundland’s Zach O’Brien tied the game 2-2 with a power play goal. Three minutes later, Jonny Tychonick scored a power play goal which made it 3-2 Growlers. At 5:08, Nolan Dillingham extended Newfoundland’s lead to 4-2.
Later in the second period, Reading’s Yvan Mongo cut Newfoundland’s lead to 4-3 with assists from Joseph Nardi and Adam Brubacher. However, Newfoundland’s Nolan Dillingham got the goal back which made it 5-3 Growlers. The Royals had nine shots on goal but trailed 5-3 after two periods.
At 17:13 in the third period, Reading’s Shane Sellar cut Newfoundland’s lead to 5-4. With under a minute left, Newfoundland’s Jackson Berezowski scored an empty net goal to seal the game 6-4. The Royals lost to the Growlers by the final score of 6-4.
Reading finished the night with 29 shots on goal, committed four penalties for 12 minutes, went 0 for 2 on the power play, and Will Cranley made 29 saves off 34 shots.
The Royals start a three-game road trip on Wednesday night against the Adirondack Thunder at 7 pm on FloHockey. Purchase Reading Royals tickets today on StubHub and Viagogo.
