Royals drop final game of road trip, 2-1

North Charleston, SC – The Reading Royals scored the first goal, but the South Carolina Stingrays scored the next two and knocked the Royals, 2-1, Wednesday at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Royals have completed a stretch of five road games in six days and are at home Saturday against the Jacksonville Icemen.

Nick Luukko scored three minutes into the first to give the Royals the edge. The Stingrays evened the game in the first and scored a go-ahead, short-handed goal with four minutes left in the second. Reading outshot South Carolina, 16-5, in the third period, but Parker Milner made 38 saves in his season debut in victory.

Mark Dekanich denied 20 shots in defeat. The Royals man up was 0-for-6 and South Carolina went 0-for-3 on the power play. The Royals have killed 12 straight power plays.

The Royals Saturday home game against Jacksonville is Veteran’s Appreciation Day with a replica jersey rally towel giveaway to the first 2,500 fans, presented by U.G.I. Utitlies. More details are available below to help collect clothing for veterans. The Royals will wear specialty camouflage jerseys. Tickets are available here.

Box Score

Luukko’s second of the season gave the Royals a 1-0 edge at 3:19 of the first. Reading cycled the puck and Luukko bombed it. Adam Schmidt and Chris McCarthy earned the assists.

Three minutes later, Andrew Cherniwchan evened the score. Reading fended off three South Carolina power-play chances in the first, including 1:21 of a 5-on-3 advantage. Dekanich denied nine shots in the first.

Reading allowed a short-handed goal in the second period to Frankie Simonelli, who scored his second of the season at the right post on a back-door pass from Patrick Gaul. Joe Devin earned the secondary helper. The Royals trailed by one after 40 minutes.

Purchase Royals tickets here.

Fans and veterans! Here’s what you muse know before Saturday’s game.

• Fans please bring clean used warm clothes that you are no longer using to the game Saturday night.These will be donated to Veterans Making a Difference to be distributed to Veterans in need.
• Veterans and their families are requested to enter the building through the specially marked entrance at the front of the building by 7thand Penn next to the box office.
• Upon entering Veterans will have their picture taken if so desired. Many of the pictures will be displayed on our website beginning Monday evening.
• Come on out as we honor and say thank you for your service to all Veterans and Military Personnel.
• Special themed jerseys will be worn that night.
• UGI Utilities will be providing 2,500 jersey replica rally towels to the first 2,500 fans in the building.

The Best Deal in SportsCall the Royals office at 610-898-PUCK (7825) and ask for your ticket guy to learn about the best deal in sports! It’s a five-game pack to Reading’s five-biggest games for $69.95, plus we’ll buy you dinner. Information: https://royalshockey.com/purple-pride-5-game-pack/.

About the RoyalsThe Royals have been owned by serial entrepreneur Jack Gulati since 2014 and are in their 17th ECHL season. Proudly affiliated with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Reading plays in the Santander Arena, located in downtown Reading, PA at 700 Penn Street. The Royals won the Kelly Cup in 2013, have made the playoffs in eight straight seasons and are four-time division champions.

Reading Royals Mobile App

Head to the App Store and Google Play to download the new Reading Royals app on your smartphone! Stay up-to-date with team news, receive notifications and purchase tickets for your next experience at Santander Arena.

Broadcast Coverage

All Royals game can be heard on Rumba 1340 AM and the iHeartRadio app by searching “Rumba 1340”. The pregame show starts 15 minutes before puck drop. Watch Royals games on ECHL.tv. Reading away games are shown locally on BCTV.