Royals and Thunder duke it out in third, Adirondack wins in OT, 3-2

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals and Adirondack Thunder combined for 12 third-period infractions, Ralph Cuddemi scored his first Royals goal and Adirondack’s Ara Nazerian potted the overtime-winning goal with 2:13 left, sending the Thunder to a 3-2 win Friday at Santander Arena.Royals Eric Knodel (PPG) and Cuddemi scored in the opening frame and the Royals led, 2-1, after one. Knodel hammered the puck from the right point to best Eamon MacAdam (win, 36 saves)Kirill Ustimenko started for the Royals and blocked 28 shots (OTL).The Royals are on the road for their first home preseason game at Adirondack on mixlr.com/readingroyals Saturday at 7:00 p.m.The first Royals’ home game on Oct. 19 vs. Maine features a massive block party, games, food, drinks and a special “Downtown Alive” concert on Penn Street before the home opener.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 ScoreCuddemi scores in first Santander Arena At 19:20 of the first period, Ralph Cuddemi shoveled home a slot pass from Steven Swavely to give the Royals a 2-1 advantage through 20. The strike came 1:15 after Adirondack’s Waked tied the game at one.Cuddemi is entering his 4th professional season; the Royals acquired the Concord, ON native from Wichita for future considerations in September. He scored 22 goals and 50 points for Adirondack last season.

Ustimenko impresses

Twenty-year-old rookie Kirill Ustimenko arrived in Reading for his first practice Thursday and played a perfect second period with 11 saves. The effort allowed the Royals to take a 2-1 lead into the third frame. His top save of that frame came net front at the right post on Craig Martin. Ustimenko snared the puck with his glove, denying a rebound.    The Gomel, Belarus native signed an entry-level contract with the Philadelphia Flyers in May 2019 after playing in the MHL (Russia) last season.How bout the boys throwing ‘emAt 8:19 of the third in a line brawl, three separate fights broke out, leading to a five-minute power play for Adirondack. Reading killed off that major assessed against Jimmy Mazza and were 5-for-5 on the man up. The squads combined for 83 penalty minutes.Garrett Mitchell, Brayden Low and Hayden Hodgson all dropped their gloves in the last half of the third. Reading went 1-for-3 on the man up.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.