Royals Take On Growlers In Must Win Game Five

St.John's, NL - The Reading Royals proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, continue a best-of-seven series against the Newfoundland Growlers in Game Five of the North Division Final of the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs on Saturday, May 13 at 5:30 p.m. EDT at the Mary Brown's Centre. See times and dates for the second round playoff series below:

• GAME 1 - HOME  - 3-0 L (NFL 1-0)

• GAME 2 - HOME  - 5-4 OTL (NFL 2-0) 

• GAME 3 - HOME  - 6-3 L (NFL 3-0)

• GAME 4 - AWAY  - 6-3 W (NFL 3-1)

• GAME 5 - AWAY (Saturday, May 13 at 5:30 p.m. EDT)

• GAME 6* - AWAY (Monday, May 15 at 5:30 p.m. EDT)

• GAME 7* - AWAY (Tuesday, May 16 at 5:30 p.m. EDT) *If necessary

Royals vs. Growlers Game Five Preview:The road teams remain unbeaten after the best-of-seven North Division Final shifted to Newfoundland with the Royals down 0-3 in the series ahead of Game Four. The Royals handled the Growlers with their season on the line in Game Four on Thursday, May 11 with a 6-3 win. Prior to the elimination game, the Royals lost Game Three in the final home game of the playoff series, 6-3, on Tuesday, May 9 at Santander Arena. Prior to Game Three, the Royals suffered a shutout loss in Game One, 3-0, on Saturday, May 6 and an overtime loss in Game Two on Sunday, May 7, 5-4.Through the four games of the series, forward Evan Barratt leads the Royals in goals (3) and tied with forward Jack Gaucher for the team lead in points (5). Forward Isaac Johnson (2g-4a) and defenseman Jonny Tychonick (6a) lead the Growlers in points with six each. Royals goaltender, Pat Nagle snapped a three-game losing streak and posts a .857 save-percentage in the series while Growlers goaltender, Dryden McKay posts a .888 save-percentage and wins in seven of his last eight starts. The Royals are 3/18 on the power play in the series while the Growlers are 4/16 and 2/18 at home in the postseason.

2022-23 Royals vs. Growlers Regular Season Recap:The Royals are 24-19-10 all-time against the Growlers and earned a point in six of their last seven meetings of the regular season. The Royals previously swept the Growlers in a two-game home series to conclude each of their respective regular seasons. Prior to the home series, Reading took the opening two games of a three-game series in St.John's, Newfoundland before falling in overtime in the series finale. The Royals hosted Newfoundland for a two-game series in February and split the series. Reading fell to the Growlers in the finale of a two-game series on Monday, February 20, 4-2, after defeating the Growlers in the series opener on Saturday, February 18, 5-2, for their first win against Newfoundland in the regular season.The Royals and Growlers opened their regular seasons' against each other in a three-game series in St.John's, Newfoundland. The Growlers took the series opener and finale with regulation wins on Friday, October 21, 4-2, and on Sunday, October 23, 6-2. Reading earned their first point of the season in game two of the series after falling in overtime to the Growlers, 4-3.Reading (88 pts) became the second team in the Eastern Conference and sixth team in the ECHL to secure a Kelly Cup Playoff berth this season on March 31. The Growlers (98 pts) became the first Eastern Conference team to clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff berth this season on March 18.

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All games will be streamed live on the Royals Broadcast Network available on the following platforms: 

• FloSports: flosports.link/3yarTg4

• Mixlr: mixlr.com/readingroyals

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2022-23 & 2023-24 Season Memberships

Reading Royals season tickets, flex memberships and group tickets are available for the 2022-23 & 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.