Royals score twice but fall at Brampton, 5-3

Brampton, ON - The Reading Royals scored twice in the second and Ralph Cuddemi (PPG) potted to tie the game at 5:28 of the third, but Brampton Beast forward Erik Bradford collected the go-ahead goal with 6:30 to go for a 5-3 win Saturday at CAA Centre. Cuddemi, now on a career-long 13-game point streak, has 21 goals and 34 points this season.Lindsay Sparks registered his second Brampton hat trick with an empty-net goal at 18:53.Trevor Yates and Garret Cockerill tallied in the second for Reading sixteen seconds apart, tying the game at two heading into the third. At 4:54, Yates (PPG) redirected a pass aimed to him at the slot by Matthew Gaudreau (2a) and angled it end-over-end past Dubeau. On the next shift, Brayden Low won a face-off to Cockerill. Standing high slot, Cockerill shoveled it past Dubeau.Kirill Ustimenko blocked 22 of 26 shots in defeat. Alex Dubeau won with 24 saves (3 GA).Sparks scored twice in the first to provide Brampton a 2-0 lead after one. First, he sniped the puck from the right slot underneath the blocker hand at 4:05. Next, with 9:10 to go in the first, he shot it from the left circle.The 2019-20 season is pres. by Tower Health UPMC Health Plan. Following a rematch with the Beast in Canada Sunday at 2:00 p.m., Reading is home Dec. 13-14 vs. Brampton. Friday is Star Wars Night and Saturday is Affiliation Night with the annual Teddy Bear Toss, pres. by The Works in Wyomissing.Box ScoreSecond-frame turnaroundThe Royals have scored in the second period in eight consecutive games; in the second Saturday, the team scored the only two tallies on strikes 16 seconds apart from Trevor Yates and Garret Cockerill. It was Cockerill’s first ECHL goal since Feb. 20, 2019.Reading has outscored foes, 14-7, over the last eight second frames. On the season, Reading has scored 29 goals and allowed 29 in the second. This reverses a trend from the start of the season; opponents triggered in at least one second-period goal in nine straight to open 2019-20.Power-play buzzThe Yates and Cuddemi power-play markers have given Reading six man-up goals over the last four games. Reading has scored at least once on the power play in all four. The Royals have 13 power-play goals over the last ten games. Overall, the Royals are converting at 23% on the man up. Entering the game, the Royals ranked fifth in the league.The Royals home schedule with promotional details is located at royalshockey.com/promotions.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.