Cuddemi notches two more in OT loss

St. John’s, NL – Ralph Cuddemi scored twice and the Reading Royals led by three in the third, but four unanswered goals and the overtime winner from Newfoundland Growlers defenseman Joseph Duszak with 2:50 to go in the extra session bested Reading, 5-4, Tuesday at Mile One Centre. The point gives the Royals a 13-5-4-0 record (30 pts.), good for sole possession of the first and two points ahead of Newfoundland. Duszak scored on a two-on-none at the right circle, receiving a pass and potting off the dish from Brady Ferguson.Box ScoreThe Royals attempted the first 17 shots of the game, the most in the Kirk MacDonald era to open a game, and scored two goals to lead 2-1 after one. Cuddemi swooped net front and stashed his 18th of the season (6th PPG) to take a 1-0 lead at 5:16. Trevor Yates shoved it to him. Four minutes later, Brayden Low dove on his side at the right doorstep and tucked in his seventh. Luke Stork scored his third point with the primary assist. The Growlers tallied on their third shot with a man-up goal from Justin Brazeau. The Royals outshot Newfoundland, 18-10, in the first.Cuddemi scored again for his team-leading sixth multi-goal game of the season, stashing right post for goal 19 of the campaign at 7:37 of the second. He had 22 tallies all last season for Wichita. Eric Knodel and Frank DiChiara (2a) assisted. Cuddemi is six goals ahead of the next-closest players for the league goal lead.Yates scored the Royals’ fourth goal with 13:41 to go in the game, making it 4-1. The Growlers scored three times in the final 10:27 with tallies from Todd Skirving, Marcus Power (7:07 left) and Dylan Vander Esch (4:49 left) to force overtime.Kirill Ustimenko blocked 28 shots in defeat.Angus Redmond allowed the first two goals and was pulled after the first period (16 svs.). In his place Maksim Zhukov blocked 14 of 16 shots for the relief win.The 2019-20 season is presented by Tower Health UPMC Health Plan. The Royals conclude a back-to-back at Newfoundland Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. The Royals travel to Brampton for a weekend set Sat., Dec. 7 at 7:15 p.m. and Sun., Dec. 8 at 2:00 p.m. Reading’s next home games are Dec. 13-14 vs. Brampton. Full promotional details are at royalshockey.com/promotions.Low loving NewfoundlandBrayden Low has scored 22 goals in his Royals career and six have been against Newfoundland. He tallied the game’s second goal and provided Reading a 2-0 edge halfway through the first. This season, Low has scored four goals against the Growlers and he has at least a point in at least four straight games vs. Newfoundland.The fourth-year professional and Royals alternate captain has seven goals this season, five away from matching his total last campaign.  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.