The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, lost, 9-1, to the Trois-Rivieres Lions on Friday, Nov. 26, at Colisee Videotron. Kirill Ustimenko made 16 saves on 21 shots before pulling pulled for Hayden Hawkey, who made 15 saves on 19 shots. Kevin Poulin saved 25 of 26 shots en route to the win.
Trois-Rivieres opened the game with four first period goals. Anthony Nellis opened the scoring 4:49 into the game and potted a second goal following Cedric Desruisseaux’s first of the season. Arsen Khisamutdinov recorded his third of the season to cap off an electric 10-minute span for the Lions.
Alexis D’aoust and Peter Abbandonato scored for the Lions in the second period to make it 6-0. Following D’aoust’s goal, Hawkey came in for Ustimenko.
Grant Cooper got the Royals on the board off a right-circle faceoff win by Cam Strong with 1:25 remaining in the middle frame. He fired the puck past Poulin from the right hashmark to give the Royals a lifeline heading into the third period.
In the third, Trois-Rivieres added three more goals, one from Shawn St.-Amant and two from Charles-David Beaudoin. Beaudoin scored twice in 1:05 late in the period to achieve the final score of 9-1.
The Royals play Trois-Rivieres Saturday, Nov. 27 at 3:00 p.m.
About the Royals
The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are entering their 20th season in the ECHL. They won their first Kelly Cup championship in 2013 and have clinched playoff berths in 10 of the previous 11 seasons. They are four-time division champions. The Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA), founded in 1996, owns the Royals and oversees operations at Santander Arena.