Game 8 Preview: Newfoundland at Reading

$1 Pumpkin Beers, kids candy bag giveaway  

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (3-3-1-0, 7 pts., 4th North) host their first Halloween game in five seasons against the Newfoundland Growlers (4-3-0-0, 8 pts., T-2nd North) Thursday at 7:00 p.m. to kick off the first of three home games at Santander Arena this weekend.The Royals are looking for their first winning streak of the season after winning at Norfolk, 2-1, Wednesday. Corey Mackin scored the first game-winning goal of his career at 9:55 of the third. Kirill Ustimenko denied 22 of 23 for his second career win.Thursday promotions: $1 pumpkin beer, all college students $5 tickets (valid college ID at the box office), first 1,000 kids receive a free bag of candy, costume parade on the concourse during intermission.The Royals and Growlers have played three times this season and Reading has points in two of the first three contests (1-1-1-0).It’s D.C. Comics Night on Sat., Nov. 2 vs. Norfolk at 7:00 p.m.; Batman and Joker will be at the game with character meet-and-greet packages, DC Comic-themed jerseys (Royals in Batman, Norfolk in Joker), a DC Puck Giveaway and a super-hero themed candy bag giveaway. The Royals play nine home games in November.On Sun., Nov. 3 at 4:00 p.m., grab $1 cotton candy tubs at the concession stand as Reading opposes Adirondack.Broadcast Coverage: Listen on the Deibler Dental In-Arena Broadcast 99.3 FM and at Mixlr.com/ReadingRoyalsSeason Series: REA, 1-1-1-0The Royals opened up the season with three games at the Growlers; after winning opening night, Newfoundland came from behind Oct. 12 for a 3-2 OT victory and handed the Royals a 7-3 defeat Oct. 15.Ralph Cuddemi and Garrett Mitchell top Reading with four points against the Growlers. Cuddemi generated a season-high three points (2g) on opening night, helping the Royals overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a 6-5 thriller.Colt Conrad leads all players in the series with nine points, including a Growlers single-game record five (1g) in the third game of the series.Kirill Ustimenko has surrendered five goals and two outings against the Growlers, including three in his only start (OTL) Oct. 12. Felix Sandstrom is 1-1-0-0 against Newfoundland (10 GA). Max Zhukov has played twice against Reading (1-1-0-0, 4.57 GAA, .804 sv.%).Reading has at least a point in four of the last five games against Newfoundland going back to last season. The last time these teams played at Santander Arena, the Royals tied the team’s longest shootout ever (12 rounds) and defenseman Garrett Johnstone scored the game-winning goal in the top of the 12th.  Scary Halloween The Royals seek their second-ever win on Halloween and their first since 2009 vs. Johnstown. All-time opponents have a 1-3-0-1 mark on Oct. 31. In the Royals’ inaugural season, Greensboro goalie Bujar Amidovski denied 56 of 61 shots and denied all six Reading skaters in a shootout victory. The 56 saves still stands as the most saves an opposing netminder has ever made in a game against Reading.Reading has never played on the road on Halloween. 

Scouting NewfoundlandThe Growlers snapped a two-game slide with a 5-2 win in their last game Oct. 26 at Maine. Joseph Duszak generated a career-best three points and scored his first goal of the season. Maksim Zhukov stopped 24 of 26 to move to 3-2-0-0 (3.62 GAA, .851 sv.%).Since thrashing the league in the opening week with nine points in three games, rookie Colt Conrad has three in his last four outings and tops the squad with 12 points. Giorgio Estephan, Riley Woods and Scott Pooley are tied for the team lead with four goals.Newfoundland is 1-1-0-0 away from Mile One Centre this season; Thursday’s game continues a five-game road trip.Three opponents, five days  After playing Norfolk Wednesday, the Royals take on the Ads again at home Saturday. Additionally, Newfoundland and Adirondack (Sunday) visit Santander Arena this week. This marks the first week Reading opposes three teams. The Royals opened the season vs. Newfoundland in three straight games, then hosted Maine in a back-to-back.The next time the Royals take on at least three teams in a week is Nov. 9-16; Reading plays five times (Wheeling 2x, Maine, Worcester and Adirondack).   A Royals win would…Move the Royals to one game above .500 in the all-time series (entering: 5-5-2-2)…Be Reading’s second home victory of the season.About the RoyalsThe Royals are in 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.