Game 3 Preview: Reading at Newfoundland

Final game of trip before Saturday’s home opener

St. John’s, NL – The Reading Royals (1-0-1-0, 3 pts.) tangle with the Newfoundland Growlers (1-1-0-0, 2 pts.) for the third straight game to open the season Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Mile One Centre.  Following Tuesday’s game, the Royals return home Saturday for the team’s home opener, pres. by Illusion Sound & Lighting, Oct. 19 vs. Maine at 7:00 p.m. Pregame festivities begin at 3:00 p.m. with a massive block party, games, food, drinks and a special “Downtown Alive” concert on Penn Street before the home opener.Each of the first two games of the season have featured come-from-behind efforts; Reading erased a pair of margins Friday (3 goals, 1 goal), while Newfoundland came from two goals down Saturday to defeat the Royals in the extra session.All-time the Royals are 3-2-1-0 at the Growlers, the best mark of any team at Mile One Centre against Newfoundland. The Royals are 2-0-2-0 against the Growlers in the last four games between the clubs.The 2019-20 Royals season is presented by Tower Health UPMC Health Plan.Broadcast Coverage: Watch on BCTV (Ch. 15 Comcast, Ch. 19 Service Electric) | Listen at Mixlr.com/ReadingRoyals Ustimenko and Sandström show early mettlePlaying their first ECHL games over the last two games, rookies Kirill Ustimenko and Felix Sandström demonstrated stretches of early brilliance. Ustimenko, 20, played his first North American professional regular season game Saturday and made 32 saves. In overtime, he made four captivating penalty-kill denials; first high blocker while in the butterfly, two more with his pad on second-year forward Marcus Power at the left doorstep and the final while sprawling to prevent the game-winning strike at the right post.Sandstrom made 11 third-period saves Friday in a 6-5 win, helping preserve a one-goal Royals lead.Deficits? In each of the first two games of the season, the squad leading after the first two periods has lost. The Royals scored twice in a ten-second span in the third period on Friday to come from behind and defeat Newfoundland.Last season, the Royals and Growlers each lost six games the entire season when leading after 40 minutes. Reading earned three victories last season when trailing after two periods. Newfoundland was 2-16-1-2 when down after 40.Garrett’s got gameCaptain Garrett Mitchell has the early Royals assists (3), points (3) and penalty minutes (6) lead, earning an assist Saturday at Newfoundland. He set up the Royals first goal Saturday, earning the secondary helper on Matthew Gaudreau’s opening goal.The ninth-year professional was adorned the “C” by Coach MacDonald a week after signing an ECHL deal with the team. Last season, Mitchell played in Slovakia for HC Detva after spending the previous seven seasons in Hershey.He generated a pair of assists Friday, his first multi-point game in North America since Apr. 2016 vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). 

A Royals win Tuesday would…Give the Royals five out of a possible six points in their first road trip of the season.Stats leadersGoals:REA: Cuddemi/ DiChiara (2)NFD: M. Bradley (2)Assists:REA: Mitchell (3)NFD: 4 w/ 2Points:REA: Mitchell (3)NFD: Estephan/Luchuk (3)PIM:REA: Mitchell (6)NFD: Duszak/Sapego (4)+/-REA: Cuddemi (4)NFD: Hollowell (4)Single-game tickets and mini-plans are on sale by visiting royalshockey.com/promotions, calling 610-898-7825 and visiting Santander Arena and The Weidenhammer Box Office at 700 Penn Street, Reading, PA.Reading’s new five-game mini-plan includes a meal for every game, a Reading Royals Hat, an exclusive fan experience, an autographed team picture and a guaranteed giveaway for each of the 5 games. Purchase your seat or seats today by calling 610-898-7825 or by visiting https://bit.ly/2LSHBp8.About the RoyalsThe Royals are entering their 19th ECHL season and are proudly affiliated with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Royals won the Kelly Cup in 2013, have made the playoffs 14 times, and are four-time division champions. The Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA), founded in 1996, owns the Royals and oversees operations at Santander Arena and the Santander Arena Performing Arts Center.Listen to all Royals broadcasts at Mixlr.com/ReadingRoyals or by downloading the Mixlr App from the App Store or Google Play. All Royals away games are broadcasted on BCTV (Ch. 15 Comcast, Ch. 19 Service Electric) and Mixlr.