Royals Edged Out by Admirals in Road-Trip Opener, 4-3

Norfolk, VA - The Reading Royals (26-15-2-0), proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, fell to the Norfolk Admirals (9-33-1-2), 4-3, on Wednesday, February 8 at Norfolk Scope Arena. The Royals have dropped five of their last six games (1-4-1) and suffer their second consecutive loss by a one-goal differential. Nolan Maier suffered the loss with 19 saves on 23 shots faced (11-7-2-0). Cale Morris earned the win in net for Norfolk with 27 saves on 30 shots faced (4-8-0). 

BOX SCORE 

Reading scored the game’s opening goal for a ninth consecutive contest to take an early one-goal lead over the Admirals 3:56 into regulation. Charlie Gerard finished off an odd-man rush he led into Norfolk’s zone with Dominic Cormier skating up the right wing. Cormier snapped a cross-crease feed from Gerard on goal which banked off of Morris' right pad to Gerard in stride. Gerard buried the rebound in the back of Norfolk’s net for his 20th goal of the season to join Max Newton as Royals skaters with 20 or more goals this season. 

A game tying goal scored by Norfolk’s Eric Cooley and a shorthanded goal earned by Reading’s Tyler Kirkup put both teams on the board and the Royals ahead after 20 minutes of play, 2-1. Kirkup’s seventh goal of the season was the Royals’ third shorthanded goal in the club’s last six games and seventh overall this season.

Norfolk took their first lead of the game in a two-goal second period featuring a shorthanded goal of their own. Stepan Timofeyev cut through the slot on an odd-man rush with Eric Cooley and settled the centering pass from Cooley on his forehand as he barreled down on Reading’s net. Timofeyev flipped the puck to his backhand and over the right pad of Maier for his seventh goal of the season. Six minutes later, Darick Louis-Jean put in his own rebound past Maier’s right pad to capture Norfolk’s first lead of the game. The goal came a second after four-on-four play and a two-minute roughing penalty against Alec Butcher expired. The shorthanded goal was the sixth allowed by the Royals this season and was Louis-Jean's first ECHL career goal. 

Jacob Gaucher evened the score on Reading’s sixth of seven power plays in the game. Gaucher scooped up a loose puck at the right face-off circle and tucked a wrist shot in between Morris’ left shoulder and crossbar from the side of Norfolk’s net. Gaucher’s 14th goal of the season is the rookie forward’s fifth point in his last three games.

Norfolk took back their lead for good on a blue-line to blue-line pass that connected and translated into to Ryan Foss’ game winning goal. From just outside of Norfolk’s right face-off circle, Cooley delivered a puck up ice to Foss who skated a step ahead of Will MacKinnon into Reading’s zone and snapped a shot past Maier to put the Admirals in front for good. Foss’ 10th goal of the season earned him his team leading 26th point and joined him with Mathieu Roy for the two Admirals skaters with game winning goals against the Royals this season.

Reading has dropped two of their last five games against the Admirals and hold a 5-2 season series lead over Norfolk (34-9-4 all-time). The Royals are now 2-12 when trailing after two periods and hold a 21-9-2 record against divisional opponents (.688%).

The Royals continue a four-game road-trip in Worcester, Massachusetts on Friday, February 10 and Saturday, February 11 against the Railers at 7:05 p.m. both nights at the DCU Center. The road-trip concludes in Norfolk on Wednesday, February 15 against the Admirals at 7:05 p.m. at Norfolk Scope Arena. 

The Royals return on Saturday, February 18 for a 4:00 p.m. two-game series opener against the Newfoundland Growlers at Santander Arena. The home game features the Ant-Man + The Wasp promotional game promotional game. Order tickets and see the full ~ promotional schedule ~ now!-Upcoming Games:

• Ant-Man + The Wasp Night - Feb. 18 vs. Newfoundland
  • Join the Royals as they team up with Marvel's Ant-Man
  • Ice Angels poster giveaway
  • Specialty jerseys, available in online auction
  • Ant-Man character appearance
  • Slapshot Saturdays: $2 off craft draft beers from 3-4:00 PM
  • Slapshot Saturdays: pre-game photo on ice with Slapshot from 3:00-3:15 below section 109

• Presidents Day - Feb. 20 vs. Newfoundland
  • Specialty 1:00 p.m. afternoon game
  • FREE admission for kids ages 14 and under

• Career Ready Berks Night - Mar. 3 vs. Trois-Rivières
  • Career Ready Berks Night Job Fair presented by Mitsubishi Chemical Group
  • $2 off domestic drafts 6-7:00 PM
  • 4 for $60 deal including 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 drinks, and 4 pairs of thundersticks. Presented by Deibler Dental

2022-23 & 2023-24 Season Memberships

Reading Royals season tickets, flex memberships and group tickets are available for the 2022-23 & now 2023-24 season by visiting the Royals’ box office at Santander Arena or by calling 610-898-7825. 

About the Royals

The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are in 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 were 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.