ECHL Reading Royals

First-Place Royals Win Fourth Straight, Hold off Growlers, 5-3

Published on November 22, 2019 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals improved to 7-1-0-0 at home and 3-1-1-0 against the Newfoundland Growlers this season with a 5-3 victory Friday at Santander Arena. Five Royals scored and Kirill Ustimenko made 31 saves to win his fourth straight game. The Royals have won seven straight games at home, tied for the longest home winning streak since Kirk MacDonald became Head Coach. Now 11-4-2-0 (24 pts, 1st North), Reading holds a four-point advantage over the Growlers in the North Division standings. Friday marked the first contest of a three-in-three against Newfoundland (10-6-0-0, 20pts, T-2nd North).

Newfoundland goaltender Maksim Zhukov (4 GA) made 17 saves in defeat

Reading and Newfoundland combined for five first-period goals; the Royals held a one-goal advantage, 3-2, after 20 minutes of play courtesy of a strike from Max Willman. Trevor Yates recorded a short-handed marker five minutes into the game while Corey Mackin added a power-play strike midway through the first.

Despite being out shot in the second period, 13-4, Ustimenko stopped every puck faced and Ralph Cuddemi stuffed home the eventual game-winning goal under Zhukov's pad on the power play with 36 seconds left in the second period. The strike made it 4-2 Reading. Cuddemi leads the Royals in goals (11) and assists (12) through 17 games.

Newfoundland forwards Justin Brazeau and Marcus Power had the Growlers' first-period strikes. Zach O'Brien registered a marker late in the third period to cut the Royals edge to 4-3, but Garrett Mitchell scored with less than a minute to go with an empty-net strike to ice the game.

The Royals rematch Newfoundland on Hockey Fights Cancer Night on Sat. Nov. 23 at 7:00 p.m.

Fireworks vs Newfoundland

Friday marked the second time this season Reading scored three first-period goals against the Growlers; the first came against Newfoundland on Oct. 11 in a 6-5 season-opening win.

Forward Trevor Yates' one-time slapshot off a Brayden Low pass broke the ice five minutes into the first frame to give Yates his fourth goal of the season. It was the Royals' first short-handed marker of the campaign.

Newfoundland forward Justin Brazeau deflected a point shot past Ustimenko on the power-play one minute later. Corey Mackin answered with a man-up tally on a cross-ice pass from Thomas Ebbing before the Growlers' Marcus Powers snapped a slot wrist shot to create a 2-2 tie.

Thomas Ebbing recorded his first point with Reading on Mackin's goal.

Max Willman gave the Royals a 3-2 first-period advantage when he sniped home his second goal of the season from the slot with 5:20 left in the frame. Willman has registered a point in three of five contests this campaign.

Reading and Newfoundland have combined for at least five goals in all five matchups this season. The winning team has generated at least five goals in four of the five matchups.

Going streaking

The Royals tied a season-best four-game win streak after defeating Newfoundland Friday. Reading is riding a seven-game win streak at Santander Arena, last suffering defeat on Oct. 20.

Kirill Ustimenko has started five straight games and is 6-1-1-0 over his last eight starts. He was named runner-up for ECHL Goaltender of the Week last week, when he went 3-1-1-0 and started all four games of the Royals' week.

Cuddemi and Mackin e ach own six-game point streaks recording power-play strikes on Friday. Cuddemi has recorded 11 (5g, 6a) of his team-best 22 points in the past six contests while Mackin tallied his sixth point (5g, 1a) in as many games.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

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