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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Suffer Third Period Stumble in 5-2 Loss to Brampton

April 2, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (Loss, 37-25-4-280) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, were defeated by the Brampton Beast (Win, 38-23-3-584), 5-2, at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania.

In the final matchup of the regular season between the Royals and Beast, Reading struck on the team's first shot and was tied at two after two, only to suffer a third period stumble and a lopsided loss. Brampton's David Pacan, who racked up four goals and five points, scored what proved to be the third-period tie-breaking game winner just 2:03 into the final frame, sending the Royals tumbling from that point forward. The win clinched a playoff spot for Brampton, while Reading dropped to fourth place in the North with a Sunday showdown looming in Wheeling, West Virginia, against the fifth place Wheeling Nailers.

Things started on an uptick for the big FANdemonium crowd at Santander Arena as the Royals struck on the team's first shot when Olivier Labelle led out Matt Willows with a pass down the right wing side. Willows carried into the right circle and uncorked a bullet that buzzed by goaltender Andrew D'Agostini for his twenty-first of the year only 1:06 into the contest.

Brampton tied the game with 45.3 seconds left in the opening frame when former Royal David Vallorani took a long range wrister from the right point. Goaltender Mark Dekanitch made the save, but the rebound trickled off his blocker and right leg pad, falling to a spot at the top of the crease where Pacan scored started his scoring spree with a punch-back rebound goal.

The Beast took their first lead of the game 4:12 into the second period shortly after Dekanich made a brilliant power push and back-door blocker save on Connor Crisp who got free for a straight break to the net. However, neither Dekanich nor his teammates were able to find the loose puck after the big save, and Crisp forced it back to the low slot where Pacan stepped up and fired it home for his thirty-eighth of the year.

Reading tied things at two on a multi-shot rebound flurry of their own 7:39 into the middle frame. The flurry began with back to back bids by Olivier Labelle and Willows, but it was Steven Swavely who got the third swipe, chipping the puck up and over D'Agostini for his fifteenth of the year.

The Beast started the third period rout 2:03 into the final frame when Brandon Marino threw a wrister off the right half wall, which was angled in on a beautiful fly-by deflection by Pacan as he was floating left to right across the front of the crease. Brampton tacked on an insurance goal 8:19 into the third when defenseman Willie Corrin side-stepped a check by a Reading forward at the top of the left circle and then drilled a bullet across the body of Dekanich making it 4-2 with his ninth of the year.

From that point forward-and really for the vast majority of the third period-Reading was held at bay, never really mounting a credible come-back effort. Pacan tacked on his league-leading fortieth of the year into an empty net with 2:42 left in regulation; but by that point the damage was already done, as the Royals' drive to earn a playoff berth will have to wait for a later date.

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