The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, beat the Newfoundland Growlers, 4-2, Saturday, Dec. 4, at Mary Brown’s Centre in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Pat Nagle saved 34 of 36 shots, while Evan Cormier stopped 20 of 23 shots.
Frank DiChiara opened the scoring with a goal early in the second period. He sped into the zone and behind the defense swatted at the puck multiple times before it squeaked by Cormier to make it 1-0. Later in the period, DiChiara skated in from the left side of the zone before cutting into the low slot. He lost control of the puck but fooled Cormier in the process, and Brayden Low connected with it while positioned underneath the goal line to send it in the net, 2-0.
Marcus Power connected on the power play under a minute later to cut the Royals’ lead in half, 2-1. However, Brad Morrison scored his first goal as a Royals player seconds into the third period to rebuild the Royals’ lead to two.
After the Growlers’ Orin Centazzo scored late in the third period, Morrison, loaned from Lehigh Valley, sealed the game with a solo effort for the empty netter. He now has 23 points in 30 ECHL games.
The Royals play the Adirondack Thunder Friday, Dec. 10 at 7:00 p.m. at Cool Insuring Arena before returning home for Affiliation Night against the Thunder the following night.
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.