Royals look forward to home opener following 7-3 loss at Newfoundland

St. John’s, NL – The Reading Royals finished a week-long, three-game road trip at the Newfoundland Growlers with three power-play goals (3-for-7), but endured a 7-3 loss Tuesday at Mile One Centre. Trevor Yates, Garrett Mitchell and Eric Knodel all scored their first Royals goals. Mitchell and Knodel scored in the final period to cut the lead to 6-3. Colt Conrad generated five points (1g, 4a) for the Growlers and Newfoundland went 4-for-6 on the man up.Reading’s home opener is Oct. 19 vs. Maine and features a massive block party, games, food, drinks and a special “Downtown Alive” concert featuring the band “Cracker” on Penn Street before the game. Grab a $1 Royals pretzel Saturday and a “Restore The Roar” Light Stick. The home opener is presented by Illusion Sound & Lighting. Reading is also home Sun., Oct. 20 at 4:00 p.m. vs. Maine; it’s the first Kids Club Game of the season with a postgame skate, plus $1 hot dogs, $1 nachos and $1 sodas.   Felix Sandström blocked 21 shots in defeat (5 GA), his second ECHL start. He played 40 minutes and was replaced for the third by Kirill Ustimenko (8 saves, 2 GA). Maksim Zhukov denied 19 shots for his first career win.The Royals hold a 1-1-1-0 record in the 2019-20 season, pres. by Tower Health UPMC Health Plan.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.Box ScoreThree man-up goalsTrevor Yates, Garrett Mitchell and Eric Knodel all scored on the power play in three different ways. Yates scored the first at 9:25 of the opening frame, pounding consecutive shots for a man-up marker to cut the Growlers lead to 2-1. Corey Mackin took the puck to the right goal line and fed a wide-open Yates at the slot. Yates shot it off Zhukov low, then found a rebound and jolted it in. Newfoundland tallied 41 seconds after Yates’ power-play goal; Zach O’Brien one-timed a feed from Mac Hollowell for his second of the season.On Reading’s second man-up goal, Mitchell redirected a deep slot shot from Knodel at 12:08 of the 3rd, making it a 6-2 game. Frank DiChiara also assisted and has three points (2g, 1a) this season. Finally, with Olivier Labelle net front creating a screen, Eric Knodel slapped a shot through Zhukov for his first of the season four minutes after Mitchell’s ricochet goal. Mitchell and Matthew Gaudreau assisted.The Royals are 4-for-13 on the power play this season.Middle frame stings RoyalsWith Reading trailing by two, 3-1, entering the middle 20, Newfoundland’s Scott Pooley and Aaron Luchuk extended the Growlers edge to four. Pooley (2g) sniped a shot from the left circle, with the only assist to Colt Conrad, at 6:05 of the second. The rookie Conrad then picked up his third point of the game with a secondary helper on Luchuk’s second of the season. Giorgio Estephan slammed a slot rip off Sandström’s pads, leaving it off the legs to the left circle for Luchuk.The Growlers notched at least one goal in the second in all three series games.

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.