Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (0-0-0-0, 0 points), proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, open the 2026-27 regular season against the Greensboro Gargoyles (0-0-0-0, 0 points) on Friday, October 16th at 7:00 pm at First Horizon Coliseum.

The game marks the 18th time in 25 seasons the Royals have opened their season with an away game. The Royals are 9-11-4-0 all-time in season openers with a 6-9-3-0 record in season openers on the road. 

The season opener begins a two-game road-trip for the Royals with two games against Greensboro (Oct. 16-17).

Home Opener:

The Royals play their home opener at Santander Arena on Saturday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m. against Kalamazoo. The home opener opens a two-game series with the Wings which concludes on Sunday, October 25 at 3:00 p.m. 

The Royals hoist a record of 9-11-1-3 in home openers with their last home opener victory coming against the Norfolk Admirals, 6-4, on October 23 of the 2021-22 season.

Fans can secure their seat for Opening Night with Single Game Tickets or a Royals ticket plan. The Royals offer plans ranging from as low as 4 games all the way up to our full season Royals365 Membership.

VIEW ALL TICKET PLANS

Royals Right Now:

The Royals begin the regular season following a two-game preseason split against the Trenton Ironhawks, ECHL affiliate of the New York Islanders, on Friday, October 9th (5-1 L) at Igloo Ice Rink, Mt. Laurel, New Jersey and Saturday, October 10th (4-3 OTW) at Santander Arena.

Returning forward Jeremy Michel scored two goals over the exhibition slate while fellow returning forwards Liam Devlin and Austin Saint stood out, with Devlin notching two points (1g, 1a) and Saint netting the overtime game-winning goal 3:19 into the extra session of Saturday's finale.

2026-27 season additions Hunter Strand (1g, 1a) and Zach Berzolla (2a) added multi-point efforts in the post-regulation win.

Previous Game Recap

Scouting the Gargoyles:

Greensboro enters their franchise's second season following a league-low 19 win and 54 point campaign, finishing 19-46-6-1 to become just the second team over the last eight full ECHL seasons (since 2016-17) to not reach 20 wins in a season (Allen, 2024-25, 16 wins).

ECHL affiliates to the 2026 Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) and Calder Cup runner-up Chicago Wolves (AHL), Greensboro is led by first-year head coach Mitch Giguère who was named the team's second head coach on June 15th, 2026 after three seasons as assistant coach of the Wheeling Nailers.

On the ice, the Gargoyles are led by the recently named second captain in franchise history Demetrios Koumontzis. The 26-year-old is one of five remaining players from the Gargoyles’ inaugural Opening Night roster. Koumontzis was named an alternate captain on January 14, 2026, midway through the team’s first season. Selected by the Calgary Flames in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL Draft, the Arizona native enters his fourth professional season.

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

FloSports: flosports.link/3yarTg4

Mixlr: mixlr.com/readingroyals

Listen back to Royals game all season on demand with a FloSports subscription, through the FREE Mixlr app, or via Flyers Radio 24/7, the Flyers’ dedicated online streaming station on the Flyers Broadcast Network, where game broadcasts during the 2026-27 season will be streamed weekly, every Tuesday and Thursday at 2:00 p.m. ET and 2:00 a.m. ET.

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What's Upcoming:

Home Opener:

The Royals player their home opener at Santander Arena on Saturday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m. against Kalamazoo. The home opener opens a two-game series with the Wings which concludes on Sunday, October 25 at 3:00 p.m. The Royals hoist a record of 9-11-1-3 in home openers with their last home opener victory coming against the Norfolk Admirals, 6-4, on October 23 of the 2021-22 season.

Fans can secure their seat for Opening Night today with a Royals ticket plan. The Royals offer plans ranging from as low as 4 games all the way up to our full season Royals365 Membership.

VIEW ALL TICKET PLANS

RRYHA Upcoming:

CALLING ALL FUTURE ROYALS! Registrations are now OPEN for the RRYHA In-House Leagues, presented by Visions Federal Credit Union! Open to all 4-16 year olds, learn more about each league and register your skater 👉 https://bit.ly/YTHLeagues

𝙇𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙣 𝙏𝙤 𝙋𝙡𝙖𝙮, presented by Visions Federal Credit Union! Be the first to skate the new introduced Lions Cubs LTP Program (ages 4-9) or attend the Intermediate Skills Clinic (ages 10-16) (REGISTER)

𝙎𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝘾𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙨 (REGISTER: bit.ly/4pSVJhc)

Support the Reading Royals official charitable arm, 𝙎𝙡𝙖𝙥𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙩 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙨, which believes that Every Child Deserves to Play. Learn more about Slapshot Charities: bit.ly/4j1qaQa

See upcoming Learn to Skate sessions at the Body Zone Sports & Wellness Complex (LEARN MORE: https://bodyzonesports.com/learn-to-skate/)

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Follow the Royals on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and subscribe to the 𝘙𝘰𝘺𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘒𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮 email list to know when promotions and deals at all homes games this season goes live!

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2026-27 Season Memberships

Royals365 Season Memberships, select game plans, and group tickets are available for the 2026-27 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 25th season in the ECHL. They won their first Kelly Cup championship in 2013 and have clinched playoff berths in 14 of their last 16 seasons. They are five-time division champions and were the 2021-22 Eastern Conference regular season champion. The Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA), founded in 1996, owns the Royals and oversees operations at Santander Arena.