Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (19-23-5-2), proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, fell to the Newfoundland Growlers (23-20-7-2), 5-3, on Wednesday, February 21st at Santander Arena. Nolan Maier (8-13-3-2) suffered the loss in net for the Royals with 22 saves on 26 shots. Luke Cavallin (15-5-3-0) earned the win in net for Newfoundland with 31 saves on 34 shots.
The Royals opened up the scoring with the first period’s lone goal at 16:06 when Joe Nardi shot a one-timer on the empty slot of Cavallin. Steven Leonard and Devon Paliani earned the assists on Nardi’s 11th goal of the season. Leonard earned his fourth assist in the three-game series and Paliani earned his 18th assist during his 150th professional career game.
Tyler Weiss put Newfoundland on the board 1:52 into the middle frame when he was able to lift a loose puck past Maier in the crease. Neil Shea and Jackson Berezowski earned the helpers on the equalizer, 1-1. At 8:56, Shea received a return from Weiss to net his own goal off of a backdoor pass. Both Weiss and Shea earned multi-point games to give Newfoundland their first lead of the game, 2-1.
In a span of 2:39, Grant Cruikshank netted two goals on Maier to extend Newfoundland’s lead to three goals, 4-1. On those goals, Cruikshank was assisted by Zach O’Brien, Cory Dennis, Brennan Kapcheck, and Isaac Johnson.
In the final frame, Yvan Mongo snapped a wrist shot past Cavallin at 1:40 off of a kick save deflection. Kenny Johnson and Ryan Cox earned the helpers on Mongo’s 12th goal of the season. Reading pulled Maier to bring an extra attacker on the ice and scored with 1:15 remaining in regulation on a wrist shot from Cox delivered from the top of the right face-off circle. Darren Brady and Will Zmolek earned the assists on Cox’s second goal as a Royal and second point of the game. With their net still empty, Reading fell short of the comeback and surrendered an empty net goal to Tate Singleton at 19:54 of the third period. Berezowski earned the assist on Singleton’s third goal of the series and 21st goal of the season.
The Royals hit the road up to Glens Falls, NY to take on the Adirondack Thunder at Cool Insuring Arena on Friday, February 23rd at 7pm and Saturday, February 24th at 7pm.
The Royals return home on Wednesday, February 28th to play the Wheeling Nailers at 7pm at Santander Arena. This game will feature a Wild Wednesday promotional game featuring $2 dollar beer at select locations on the concourse, BOGO college student tickets and $6.10 Orange Zone tickets available at the box office.
To order tickets, visit royalshockey.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.