Three unanswered destroys Beast, 4-3

Brampton, ON – Tyler Brown scored the game-winning goal  midway through the third to leap the Reading Royals past the Brampton Beast, 4-3, Thursday at Powerade Centre. The Royals struck with three straight goals after falling behind, 3-1, in the first. Matt Willows (1g, 1a) recorded his 20th multi-goal game of the season, the most in his professional career.

Adam Schmidt had Reading’s opening goal on a breakaway. The Royals clapped back with two in the second; Willows scored early in the frame on a penalty shot and then fed Matt Wilkins in the final minute of the second for another odd-man rush goal.

Branden Komm was perfect over the final two periods and finished with 34 saves. He is 5-1-1-0 with Reading.  Marcus Hogberg lost allowing four goals on 31 shots.

The Royals have travelled approximately 3,100 miles on their eight-game road trip. The Royals are at Wheeling Fri., Mar. 9 and Sat., Mar. 10 for 7:05 p.m. puck drop at Wesbanco Arena to complete the trip. Reading’s next home game is Wed., Mar. 14 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Fort Wayne.

Box Score

Brampton defenseman Paul Cianfrini opened the scoring with a shot from the right blue line that beat Komm at 7:18 of the first period.

The Royals tied it 1:20 later. Nolan Zajac flicked a feed through neutral ice and it caught Schmidt at the attacking blue line. He drove the left circle and backhanded it through Hogberg’s five-hole.

The Beast recorded two more before the end of the first on a power-play goal from Chris Leveille (6:44 left in first) and a high slot shot from Matt Petgrave (1:39 left).

Willows struck back with momentum and yanked Reading within one after a Royals power-play opportunity failed. At 1:23 of the second, Willows was railed down by behind and referee Chris Pontes awarded a penalty shot. Willows came in with speed a sniped one between Hogberg’s leg and blocker to make it 3-2 Brampton.

Reading got another goal from the Willows line to tie it at three. In the final minute of the second, Willows had another breakaway and was contacted again. After failing to get a shot off, he calmly fed it from the right post to Wilkins at the slot. Wilkins quickly slammed it underneath the back bar and popped Hogberg’s water bottle with 46.8 seconds to go.

The Brown game-winning goal popped the water bottle again. Mark Bennett strung a feed to Brown through center ice and Brown came in all alone. From the left shot, he winged it top shelf at 6:49 of the third. Brown has six goals this campaign, the most he’s had in a season since 2013-14.

Reading was 1-for-6 on the man up and killed three of four Beast chances.

Reading is next at home on Wed., Mar. 14 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Fort Wayne, with four players hosting a postgame photo and autograph session, courtesy of Rieck’s Printing.

Enter for a chance to win $10,000 with the Reading Royals as the team hosts Brampton on St. HatTrick’s Day Sat., Mar. 17 vs. the Brampton Beast at 7:00 p.m. It’s an easy process; Step 1: purchase tickets to the game here | Step 2: Register to be entered into the contest here | Step 3: Watch a Royals player score a hat trick vs. Brampton.

Additionally, meet WWE’s Million Dollar Man and celebrate the holiday with the Royals, presented by Met-Ed! Royals legend Yannick Tifu will have his #10 retired to the Diamond Credit Union Wall of Honor during the game. The first 5,000 fans will receive a Yannick Tifu poster, courtesy of Rieck’s Printing and Diamond Credit Union. The Royals will wear special St. Patrick’s Day jerseys. Tifu captained Reading to the team’s first Kelly Cup in 2013 and played in 245 Royals games, third-most in team history. Tickets are available here.

Season tickets for 2018-19 now available: Early Renewal through Mar. 15Call 610-898-7825 to join the Royals family or renew season tickets for the 2018-19 season. Early renewal and registration runs through Mar. 15. Top Early Renewal Benefits include: Extra chance to win jerseys-off-our-backs | Chance to win Owner's Suite | Chance to watch warm-ups from bench and high-five tunnel experience.

Royals Awards Banquet at Santander Arena Mar. 26Register here. Get a pregame pep talk from Royals Head Coach Kirk MacDonald, behind-the-scenes tour of the Royals locker room and buffet meal at Santander Arena Mon., Mar. 26 from 6-8 p.m. for the Royals Awards Banquet. We will hand out the best awards from the 2017-18 season.

Postgame autograph session Wed., Mar. 14 vs. FW at 7:00 p.m.Stay after the game for a special postgame autograph session on Wed., Mar. 14 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Fort Wayne, presented by Rieck’s Printing. It’s the only chance of the season to see the Komets.

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 AppHead 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 CoverageAll 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, channel 15 Comcast, channel 19 Service Electric.