Tifu’s number retired and Royals slam Brampton in series finale, 5-1

Reading’s magic number down to 12

Reading, PA- The Reading Royals soared to a 5-1 win over the Brampton Beast on Yannick Tifu Retirement Night Saturday at Santander Arena. Reading retired the former Captain’s number in a pregame ceremony. After allowing the first tally, Reading poured in three in the first, one in the second and an empty-netter in the third. Anthony Stolarz made 31 saves (1 GA) and earned his first win of the season. Stolarz played in seven games with the Flyers last season. 5,163 fans packed Santander Arena.

Reading won the season series with the Beast, 5-4-0-0. The Royals earned wins in the last two games of the series. Reading has 76 points and is three points back of second place in the North.

Matt Wilkins (1g, 1a), Brian Morgan, Adam Schmidt (2g) and Chris McCarthy (1g, 1a) tallied. Schmidt and Wilkins have points in five straight games. Frank Hora had two assists and a plus-three rating.

Chris Driedger lost his first matchup against Reading (4 GA, 23 saves). Reading plays next at 7:00 p.m. on Wed., Mar. 21 at Manchester.

Box Score

Reading slammed in three straight in the first after allowing the initial strike. Wilkins backhanded in his 16th of the season at the left post to tie the game, assisted by McCarthy, his 100th career helper. The strike came at 7:50, just 47 seconds after David Vallorani opened the scoring.

On one of the next line rushes, the Royals struck 1:23 later to take their first lead. Brian Morgan ramped a shot from the slot over Driedger’s shoulder. Viktor Liljegren centered the feed for his second professional point (2 GP). Cleland recorded the secondary helper.

Reading’s three-goal first period ended with Schmidt’s breakaway goal and 2:33 to go in the frame. Nolan Zajac strung a pass 100 feet to Schmidt at the Beast attacking line. The right-handed shot gained speed before an overpowering wrist shot went in at the right post.

Stolarz rejected a couple of dangerous opportunities to preserve a 3-1 edge in the second. At 5:00 of the second, he made a glove save on a Vincent Dunn breakaway. With about nine minutes gone in the frame, he swatted away a puck on his shoulder to save a goal. Reading came down the length of the ice and McCarthy spanked a power-play marker at 9:11 of the frame, assisted by Mark Bennett. Reading tossed it from the right dot to McCarthy at the left circle.

Schmidt bagged the game with an empty-net, short-handed goal and 15 seconds left the game. After the goal, Reading’s Wilkins and Brampton’s Dunn and Fournier received ten-minute misconducts.

The Royals were 0-for-2 on the man up. Brampton finished 0-for-4.

2018-19 season tickets now availableTop full-season benefits include: exclusive Reading Hockey Club per seat gift, discounted rate off regular ticket prices, ticket exchange, preseason meet and greet, exclusive season ticket holder events, advanced entry and a chance to win and the Royals Owner’s Suite for a game. Call 610-898-7825 and visit to join the Royals family or renew season tickets for the 2018-19 season. Visit royalshockey.com/tickets/season-tickets to learn more.

Special Olympics Night Fri., Mar. 23 vs. WOR at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are available here, with $5 going back to benefit the Special Olympics of Berks County. Postgame shake, shiver and freeze with the Royals to raise money for the Special Olympics and a Royals trading card set giveaway to the first 2,500 fans (Rieck’s Printing).

Autism Awareness Night Sat., Mar. 24 vs. WOR at 7:00 p.m.

Tickets are available here. $5 from every ticket goes back to the Autism Society of Berks County and Unending Promise! This is one of the best nights of the season for a wonderful cause. No goal horn and the Royals wear special autism awareness jerseys. Plus, a one-time-only giveaway: a puck with Head Coach Kirk MacDonald and Assistant Coach Pat Wellar.

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.

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.