Royals face off against Growlers in Game 3 in St.John’s

The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, continue their second round against the Newfoundland Growlers in Game 3 of the 2022 Kelly Cup playoff Division Final round on Tuesday, May 10 at 5:30 p.m. EST at Mary Brown’s Centre. This is the twelfth meeting between the two teams this season where Reading leads the season series with a 6-4-1 record against the Growlers. The Royals will be on the road for three games in three days before returning back to Reading for Game 6 Saturday, May 14, and Game 7 Monday May 16, if necessary. Reading fell to Newfoundland in Game 2 of the playoff series, 4-1, Sunday, May 8 at Santander Arena. Zach O’Brien’s three-point game(1G, 2A’s) along with Ben Finklestein’s two-point night(1G, 1A) and a 26 save performance from Keith Petruzzelli provided the Growlers a bounce back win to even the series at 1-1 heading back to St.John’s, Newfoundland for three straight.

Finkelstein opened the scoring with his first of two points 11:19 into the first period on the power play. Finklestein beat Pat Nagle, who saved 32 of 35 shots faced, glove side to score his second goal of the postseason and provide Newfoundland an early lead after the first period, 1-0.

O’Brien and Tyler Boland extended Newfoundland’s lead to three with a pair of goals in the second period. A Royals’ turnover on their own end allowed O’Brien to play the puck and snap a shot through Nagle’s five-hole for his third goal of the postseason while Boland buried a one-timer for the Growlers second power play goal of the game for his team leading ninth goal in the playoffs. O’Brien and Finklestein earned the helpers on Boland’s first goal of the series as O’Brien collected his third point and Finkelstein earned his second point in the game.

Reading’s lone goal of the game came in the third period off of a redirection from Kevin Conley. The rookie scored his second goal of the series as well as his Kelly Cup playoff career to cut Newfoundland’s lead down to two goals. However, the Growlers sealed the Game 2 victory with an empty net goal scored by Derian Plouffe with 30 seconds remaining in the third period. Reading’s specialty teams went 0-for-4 on the power play and 1-for-3 on the penalty kill as Newfoundland scored two of their three goals on Nagle on the man advantage.

The Royals finished as the first place in the North Division and continue a best of seven series against the Newfoundland Growlers who are the second seed in the Eastern Conference in the Kelly Cup playoffs. Reading hoisted a 45-17-7-2 record with a .693 point percentage while the Growlers finished second place in the North Division with a .664 point percentage. The Growlers eliminated the third seeded Trois-Rivières Lions in their Divisional Semifinal round four games to three. UPCOMING KELLY CUP PLAYOFF GAMES

Division Finals (vs. Newfoundland Growlers):

• GAME 3 - AWAY (Tuesday, May 10 5:30 p.m.EST)

• GAME 4 - AWAY (Wednesday, May 11 5:30 p.m. EST)

• GAME 5* - AWAY (Thursday, May 12 5:30 p.m. EST)

• GAME 6* - HOME (Saturday, May 14 at 7:00 p.m. EST): BUY TICKETS!

• GAME 7* - HOME (Monday, May 16 at 7:00 p.m. EST): BUY TICKETS!

  • *If necessary

Buy tickets HERE: https://bit.ly/2ndRdKellyCupPlayoffs

Reading Royals season, flex memberships and group tickets are available for the 2022-23 season by visiting the Royals’ box office at Santander Arena or by calling 610-898-7825.

About the North Division and Eastern Conference Champion Royals

The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are entering their 21st season in the ECHL. They won their first Kelly Cup championship in 2013 and have clinched playoff berths in 11 of the previous 12 seasons. They are five-time division champions and the 2021-22 Eastern Conference champion. The Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA), founded in 1996, owns the Royals and oversees operations at Santander Arena.