Royals finish week with four points, fall, 5-3 at Worcester
Worcester, MA – The Reading Royals tied the game three times, but Worcester Railers’ forward Ben Thomson scored a go-ahead goal with 9:01 left in the third to give the Railers the lead for good, 5-3, Sunday at the DCU Center. Nic Pierog and Thomson scored twice. Pierog bagged his second goal into the empty net with 1:04 to go.Frank DiChiara scored twice for Reading and has 12 goals and a team-leading 37 points this season.Felix Sandström made 32 saves in defeat. Ian Milosz won with 29 blocks (3 GA) and is 2-0-0-0 against the Royals this season.Reading scored their third power-play goal of the series to tie the game at one at 4:37 of the first. DiChiara tattooed the puck over the shoulder of Milosz top shelf. With 2:22 to go in the period, Nic Pierog buried his fifth short-handed goal of the season and the Royals trailed by one after one.Corey Mackin’s left-post tuck tied the game at two with 11:50 to go in the second. After a Ben Thomson goal for Worcester, DiChiara scored his second of the game to equalize it at three with 52.6 seconds to go in the middle period.Reading starts a five-game homestand vs. Adirondack Fri., Jan. 17 at 7:00 p.m. The upcoming homestand includes a 4-for-48 game (Jan. 17), dollar deal day (Jan. 19), youth jersey giveaway and (MLK Day – Jan. 20). 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 ScoreTied it thriceThe Royals fought back three times to tie the score.Reading tied the game the first time when DiChiara responded early. It came three minutes after Arnaud Durandeau tallied. Once Worcester took a 2-1 advantage, Mackin tied it ten minutes later with helpers from Garret Cockerill and Derian Hamilton. DiChiara’s left-circle goal was his second of the game and came four minutes after Ben Thomson provided Worcester a 3-2 lead.The Railers led by one four times before the empty-net strike gave Worcester the game’s only multi-goal advantage.Upcoming Home Games: royalshockey.com/promotions Fri Jan. 17 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Adirondack (4-for-$48 game | Opioid Awareness Night): 4 tickets, 4 sodas and 4 burgers for $48 by calling 610-898-7825 | $1 Sprite beverage special | Toiletry Drive | DVD DriveSun., Jan. 19 at 4:00 p.m. vs. Worcester ($1 Deal Day): $1 Hot Dogs, $1 Nachos, $1 Sodas | $2 Kids Tickets (12 and younger) | 1 free Applebee’s Meal and free kids ticket if you present a report card with an “A” grade on itMon., Jan. 20 at 1:00 p.m. vs. Worcester (Kids Jersey Giveaway | MLK Day): First 1,000 kids receive a kids jersey | Free Parking from Reading Parking Authority | Kids are off from school on MLK Day | 1 kids ticket, 1 guaranteed kids jersey, 1 hat, 1 Applebee’s kids meal ($15) | Kids Club Game| Postgame team meet-and-greet on the iceAbout 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.