Royals Play 1,500th All-Time Regular Season Game in Season Opener

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, open the 2023-24 regular season against the Newfoundland Growlers on Friday, October 20 at 5:30 p.m. EST at the Mary Brown’s Centre. The season opener is the first of three-straight games in St.John's, Newfoundland between both teams. The Royals and Growlers face off at 5:30 p.m. EST on Saturday and then close out the series at 2:30 p.m. EST on Sunday.

Additionally, the season opener is the 1,500th regular season game in franchise history. Entering the season opener, the Royals hoist an all-time record of 802-546-151.

The Royals hold a 8-10-3-0 record all-time in season openers. The Royals are 1-1 in season openers against the Growlers (4-2 L, 2022-23; 6-5 W, 2019-20).

Reading fell to Newfoundland in their last meeting, 5-2, in Game 5 of the North Division Final series on Saturday, May 13. Nine players on the Royals current roster competed in the five-game series against the Growlers. Forwards Alec Butcher, Brendan Hoffmann, Yvan Mongo, Devon Paliani and Shane Sellar, as well as defensemen Mason Millman and Tyler Heidt played the entirety of the series. Forward Solag Bakich and defenseman Mike Chen appeared in two games.

The Royals finished the 2023 preseason 1-0-0-1 after playing both contests against the Adirondack Thunder. Reading fell in the preseason opener, 4-3, in a shootout at Santander Arena on Thursday, October 12. The Royals and Thunder faced off again in the preseason finale on Friday, October 13 where Reading defeated Adirondack, 3-1. Forward Yvan Mongo led the Royals with two goals while forward Mason McCarty and defenseman Adam Brubacher each recorded two assists. The Royals scored on one of six total power play opportunities*Alec Butcher PPG) while the penalty kill unit killed off all nine penalties assessed to the Royals across both preseason games.

In the 2022-23 regular season, the Royals finished as the second place in the North Division with a 41-25-5-1 record and 88 points. Newfoundland finished first in the North Division and the Eastern Conference. The Growlers posted a 48-22-2-0 record and 98 points in the regular season. The Growlers 2022-23 season came to a close in the Eastern Conference Finals of the Kelly Cup Playoffs where they fell to the Florida Everblades four games to two.
 

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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Today's game will be streamed on the Royals Broadcast Network available on the following platforms: 

• FloSports: flosports.link/3yarTg4
• Mixlr: mixlr.com/readingroyals

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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.