Game 26 Preview: Brampton at Reading

Royals home Friday and Saturday this weekend

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (13-8-4-0, 30 pts., 3rd North) are home twice this weekend vs. the Brampton Beast (15-8-1-0, 31 pts., 2nd North), starting Friday at 7:00 p.m. for Star Wars Tribute Night. It’s the third straight game the teams meet; Brampton won the opening two in regulation last weekend in Canada.In the last game between the clubs Dec. 8, Rob Michel scored his first professional goal and Felix Sandström was perfect for all but 40 seconds; the Beast scored on consecutive shots to best Reading, 2-1. He and Kirill Ustimenko have split the last eight starts.Friday, fans will have the chance to win tickets to see “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”; the first 25 dressed in costume will receive coupons to see the movie at the Reading IMAX.Saturday is Affiliation Night, pres. by The Works in Wyomissing, plus the annual Teddy Bear Toss at Santander Arena. Flyers mascot Gritty will be at the game as well as local mascots. The first 1,500 fans receive a plush bear to throw on the ice after the Royals first goal, courtesy of Artistic Toys.Today’s promotions: Character Appearances | Lightsaber Training Session | Free Souvenir Cup Refills | Postgame Party with players at Cheers! Restaurant at the DoubleTree Hotel.Broadcast Coverage: Listen: Deibler Dental In-Arena Broadcast at 99.3 FM and  Mixlr.com/ReadingRoyals.Royals leadersGoals: Cuddemi (21)Assists: DiChiara/Knodel (18)Points: Cuddemi (34)PIM: Mitchell (45)+/-: Knodel (12)Beast leaders Goals: Sparks (14)Assists: Leavens (17)Points: Sparks (28)PIM: Petgrave (43)+/-: Leavens (17)A Royals win would…Snap a five-game winless streak (0-4-1-0)…Be the fifth regular season home win all-time vs. Brampton.Head-to-headThe Royals face off against the Beast five times in December and play a total of eight games this season. Reading had two man-up tallies on Dec. 7 with goals from Trevor Yates and Ralph Cuddemi (gamesheet). Kirill Ustimenko made 22 saves in the 5-3 loss against the Beast (4 GA). Reading’s power play moved up to fifth in the ECHL at 21.5%. The ]Beast rank seventh with a 21.0% success rate. Brampton’s Lindsay Sparks has four goals in the series to lead all players.Without RalphWith Ralph Cuddemi joining Laval on a professional try-out contract, Reading has four active skaters with at least seven tallies. Frank DiChiara (10g) rattled off seven multi-point games in 11 contests before slowing his pace last weekend at Brampton. Matthew Gaudreau earned two assists last Saturday in Canada and has 18 points (7g) in 16 games. Brayden Low and Corey Mackin join Gaudreau with seven goals.The force is with us (at home) The Royals hold a 9-2-1-0 record at Santander Arena this season. Ralph Cuddemi has notched the most game-winning goals at home (4), but he is now in AHL Laval on a professional try-out contract. He is followed by Frank DiChiara (2). Reading has only lost at home on Saturday this season. Most recently, a 7-4 takedown by Toledo Walleye on Sat. Nov. 30 ended the team’s nine-game November point streak. Of the nine games, six were played at home.Scouting Brampton This weekend shapes up to be another battle for second place with the teams separated by one point. Ten of Brampton’s 31 points have come on the road with a 5-4-0-0 away record.Lindsay Sparks leads the team in goals and points (14g, 28pts). Daniel Leavens is tops in assists and follows Sparks in goals and points (10g, 17a, 27pts). Christopher Clapperton leads Brampton rookies with four goals and is eighth on the team in the points ranking (15pts).Beast netminder Alex Dubeau holds an 8-3-0-0 record with a 2.54 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. He was between the pipes for the Beast’s 5-3 victory over Reading on Dec. 7 and made 24 saves (3 GA).This Day in Royals History On Dec. 13, 2015, the team’s all-time leading points scorer Ryan Cruthers scored a game-winning goal at 4:01 of the third to defeat the Nailers, 2-1, at Santander Arena. That game was the middle of a two-city, three-in-three between the clubs; Reading won the first two at home. Cruthers’ performance came a day after he generated four assists, his top assist performance of his career. Martin Ouellette stopped 40 of 41 shots and was named the game’s first star.Upcoming Home Games Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Brampton (Affiliation Night) Toss Bears on the ice after the Royals’ first goal | Plush Bear giveaway to first 1,500 fans | Slapshot invites local mascots including Flyers Mascot Gritty to the game | Gritty Meet and Greet Add-Ons Available | Philadelphia Flyers Theme Affiliation Jerseys - Game Worn Jersey Auction Online | $1 Frozen TreatsTuesday, Dec. 31 at 4:00 p.mm. vs. Maine (Car Giveaway) Royals giving away a  2019 Jeep Compass Limited if a player records a hat trick | Register to win the car at  the game | Balloon Drop and Countdown | Tuxedo Royals Jersey | Live New Year’s Celebration in other Countries | $1 Champagne SodaAbout 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.