Friday night at the Arena in downtown Reading for the season's first three-in-three at home, the Trois-Rivieres Lions visited from the province of Quebec for the first time since December of 2023. In the Friday opener the Royals scored first on an opening-period marker from Brock Caufield (brother of current NHLer Cole Caufield) but that would be the lone score in a rather pedestrian 4-1 loss, Keith Petruzzelli took the decision in goal. Saturday night was Star Wars Night at the Arena, on this night the FOURS was with the Royals. Goals from Matt Brown and recent addition Cam Cook gave the good guys a 2-0 lead in the first four minutes, midway through the period Tyler Gratton hit the net and in the closing moments Gianfranco Cassaro upped the advantage to 4-0. In the second a Todd Skirving goal was sandwiched between two scores for Trois-Rivieres, in the third the visiting Lions made it close with two more but the Royals held on for a 5-4 win. It was a physical game and both teams paid the price, in the middle period starting goalie Vinnie Purpura was injured in a goalmouth scramble and left the game. In the third Connor McMenamin was involved in a collision along the boards, he was removed on a gurney and taken to a local facility. In the rubber game on Sunday afternoon the Royals were able to field a full lineup (such as it was with TEN players on the injured list) but the Lions played with only sixteen skaters (you're allowed eighteen) as the battle of attrition was on full display. Games like this are always interesting because by the time it ends the teams will have played three full games in less than forty-eight hours and it's mostly a matter of who can suck it up and bring the energy. On this afternoon the visitors took a 2-0 lead in the first, goals by Todd Skirving and Cam Cook in the second plus another for TR made it 3-2 entering the final period. Early in the third Skirving cashed in on a power play to tie the score, with nine minutes left Tyler Gratton struck to give the Royals a 4-3 lead. Down the stretch the Lions pulled the goalie for the extra attacker but were unable to find the equalizer, the Royals took it 4-3. Keith Petruzzelli won for the second straight day (having also earned the win in relief of Purpura on Saturday). The Royals hit the midpoint of the overall schedule at 13-19-4, the home record 5-7-3. The club stays home for games on Friday the 17th and the following night plus a High Noon game on Martin Luther King Monday. Take care, thanks for reading.
