Royals Rout Growlers To Secure Second Place In North Division In Regular Season Finale

Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (41-25-5-1), proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, defeated the Newfoundland Growlers (48-22-2-0), 6-2, on Saturday, April 15 at Santander Arena. The Royals clinched second place in the North Division and home ice advantage for their first round Kelly Cup Playoffs against the Maine Mariners. Pat Nagle (21-7-0) earned the win in net for Reading with 25 saves on 27 shots faced for his 250th professional career win. Luke Cavallin (24-9-1-0) suffered the loss after he allowed five goals on 32 shots faced in 35:03 of time in net. Dryden McKay allowed one goal on five shots after Cavallin was pulled from net with 4:57 remaining in the second period. 

BOX SCORE 

Reading scored five consecutive goals after Newfoundland tallied the game’s opening goal 1:42 into regulation. Isaac Johnson tapped in a loose puck at the goal line of Nagle’s net for his 19th goal of the season to give the Growlers the early advantage. Charlie Gerard tied the score 1:13 later with a wrist shot snapped past Cavalin off of a feed by Solag Bakich. Gerard’s 33rd goal of the season was his team leading 76th point of the season and put both teams on the board 2:55 into the game.

The Royals took their first lead of the game on Zayde Wisdom’s first goal as a Royal. The 20 year old blasted a one-timer past Cavallin 10:54 into the first period to give Reading a one-goal lead at the end of 20 minutes, 2-1. 

Reading extended their lead to four in the second period behind a strong defensive effort in front of Nagle. Devon Paliani scored his 15th goal of the season 7:48 into the period. Shane Sellar and Tyler Heidt followed with their 18th and fourth goals, respectively in the following seven minutes of play. Ryan Cook earned his second assist of the game on Paliani’s goal for his second multi-point game as a Royal.

For the second-straight game against Newfoundland, Reading held the Growlers to five or fewer shots and scoreless in the middle frame. Only four of the 10 combined penalties were assessed in the first two periods of the game. Neither team converted on each of their five power play opportunities.

Reading and Newfoundland exchanged goals in the third period to bring a 2022-23 regular season to a close in commanding fashion. The Growlers cut into the lead on Nolan Walker’s shorthanded goal 6:45 into the final frame. The shorthanded goal was the 12th allowed by the Royals this season.

The shorthanded goal cut Reading’s lead down to three goals until Evan Barratt struck the back of the net to propel the Royals back up by four. Barratt redirected a wrist shot from Wisdom past McKay to earn Wisdom his first multi-point game of his ECHL career. Barratt’s 26th goal of the season scored at the 11:28 mark into the third period was the final exclamation on the Royals’ second six goal outing against the Growlers this season. Reading previously scored six goals against Newfoundland on March 10 in a 6-1 victory at the Mary Brown’s Centre.  

The Royals outshot the Growlers with 37 shots to Newfoundland’s 27 in the game. Reading finalized their season series record against the Growlers at 5-3-2 and improved their all-time record against Newfoundland to 20-13-9.

The Royals open their run at the Kelly Cup with a first round matchup with the Maine Mariners. Games one and two of the first round playoff series are scheduled for Friday, April 21 and Saturday, April 22 at 7:00 p.m. at Santander Arena. Playoff tickets will be available at ~ royalshockey.com ~ on Monday, April 17 at 1:00 p.m.-

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 12 of the previous 13 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.