Royals tied for first in North, sink Norfolk, 3-2

Reading, PA – David Drake scored the game-winning goal with 12 minutes remaining in the third period to push the Reading Royals past the Norfolk Admirals, 3-2, Saturday at Santander Arena. Reading is tied for first in the North Division (5-3-1-0, 11 pts.) with Adirondack Thunder; the Royals play the Thunder for the first time Sunday at 4:00 p.m. at Santander Arena. The 2019-20 season is presented by Tower Health UPMC Health Plan.On the game-winning goal, the Royals caught the Admirals sleeping and launched a three-on-one brigade into the zone. Brayden Low (2a) entered down the right wing and dropped the puck to Drake, the trailer, who unleashed a wrister past Admirals netminder Alex Sakellaropoulos (loss, 30 saves, 3 GA). Kirill Ustimenko (win, 15 saves, 2 GA) backstopped the Royals to his third win in four starts.Grab $1 cotton candy tubs at the game Sunday against Adirondack.Box ScoreMatty BoyMatthew Gaudreau scored the Royals’ first goal 4:30 into the second period; the 5-foot-9 left-handed shot has three goals in the last two games. Ralph Cuddemi sprung Gaudreau and he roofed the puck for his co-team-leading sixth goal of the season.Gaudreau scored 12 goals in each of the last two seasons with Worcester.Shots no issueFor the second straight game between Norfolk and Reading, the Royals led 18-7 in shots after the first period. The shot lead never foundered, with the Royals outshooting the Admirals, 33-17.Reading has outshot opponents in six of nine games, winning three and getting points in four. The Admirals have yet to outshoot their opponent in a game this season. The Ads ranked last in shots for per game (23.5) as well as shots against per game (40.3) entering the night, while the Royals ranked sixth in both categories (34.1 shots for, 29.3 shots against).U.S.S. DominationReading has sunk the Ads in 24 of 31 meetings since Norfolk joined the ECHL for the 2015-16 season. The Royals have won 13 of 14 games contested between the clubs during Kirk MacDonald’s tenure as head coach.The only time Norfolk beat the Royals multiple times in a season was the 2016-17 campaign, winning four games in regulation and one in overtime. Reading still won that season series with 6 wins.On Sun., Nov. 3 at 4:00 p.m., Reading opposes Adirondack with $1 cotton candy tubs.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.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.