St. John's, NL – The Reading Royals, proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, dropped their second game of the 2023-24 season against the Newfoundland Growlers, 4-1, on Saturday, October 21st at the Mary Brown’s Centre. Nolan Maier (0-2-0) suffered the loss with 22 saves on 25 shots faced. Vyacheslav Peksa (1-0-0) earned the victory in net for the Growlers with 20 saves on 21 shots faced.
The Royals and Growlers combined for 11 shots on goal in a scoreless first period. A blocked shot from Darren Brady on a rebound off of Maier’s right pad to Grant Cruikshank kept Newfoundland off the board late in the first period.
3:04 into the second period, Cruikshank beat Reading’s defense and Maier to end the scoreless affair with a power play goal. Neil Shea extended Newfoundland’s lead to two with a goal assisted by Brock Caufield and Tate Singleton 1:53 later.
The same line for Newfoundland struck once more 9:28 into the middle frame. Caufield netted his second goal of the season with Shea and Singleton earning the assists. The Royals remained scoreless with 13 shots on Peksa through two periods.
Ryan Chyzowski finished off a forced turnover at Newfoundland’s blue line started by Devon Paliani and raced in on Peksa with the puck. Chyzowski beat Peksa blocker side for his third goal through two games this season. The unassisted tally cut the deficit to two goals, 3-1.
Maier made a blocker save with 6:54 remaining in regulation that kept the Royals comeback effort alive. The Growlers ended the late attack by the Royals with an empty net goal scored by Shea in the final minute of regulation. Shea’s second goal of the game was his first multi-goal game of his professional career.
The Royals conclude their three-game season opening series against the Growlers in Newfoundland on Sunday, October 22 at 2:30 p.m. EST at the Mary Brown’s Centre.
The Royals host the Trois-Rivières Lions in their first home game of the season at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 28th. The Royals Opening Night presented by Supportive Concepts For Families features a pregame block party on Penn St. from 3-6 p.m. as well as a post-game firework show.
To secure your tickets to the home opener and all 36 home games this season, visit: royals hockey.com/tickets.
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2023-24 Season Memberships
Reading Royals Season Memberships, six-game plans, ten-game plans, and group tickets are available for the 2023-24 season now 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 22nd 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.