Photo Credit: Emily Raffle
The Reading Royals sustained two wins and one loss this past weekend. The less complicated way to sum up this wild
three-game series against the Trois-Rivieres Lions was four points and fourteen Royals goals total.
Game One
Game one ended with a Royals 7-5 victory. The first period started with lots of power and speed on both sides of the puck. It was three goal period for each team, as the first ended in a 3-3 tie. Pat Nagle was tested in the first period, and eventually ended the game with 27 saves on 32 shots.
The second period was filled with lots of scoring once again as the period came to a halt tied at five a piece. Charlie Gerard and Evan Barratt shined in the second, while both tallied goals for the Royals.
Shane Sellar and Jacob Gaucher provided
goals six and seven, both on the Power Play leading to a Royals hard earned 7-5 victory.
Game Two
Game two’s scoring was opened by Alec Butcher, unassisted. However, the game opened with a fight between Brendan Hoffmann and Cedric Lacroix. Each got five minutes for fighting. The fun filled first period ended 1-0 in favor of the Royals.
The second period was grounds for not wanting to say anything to potentially jinx a milestone. With three penalties total being handed out, two for the Lions and one for the Royals. And then along came the rocket that is Penn State’s and Pennsylvania’s very own, Evan Barratt. The First goal came with assists from Brendan Hoffmann and Captain Garrett McFadden.
The second goal came with an assist from his solid linemate Charlie Gerard. The
chemistry between the two is unmatched. Second period ended with a Royals 3-1 lead.
The third period came with a few penalties and a couple of goals. Gerard snuck one in
with assists by Zach Shankar and Evan Barratt. Now comes the moment nobody wanted to jinx. It was a chance of an empty netter with Barratt out on a
shift. One thing leads to another following Barratt’s hat trick goal, hats were being thrown on the ice, as the Barratt puts the puck to the back of the net. It marked the Royals first hat trick of the season. Barratt
on his hat trick:
“It’s pretty cool. Had a lot of help out there, some nice plays and lucky to finish. But we’re rolling right now, we’re feeling good.” – Evan Barratt
After being asked if he was jittery after his second goal to get a third, “I don’t know, you want to say no but obviously you’re thinking about it a little bit. It was a tight game still to point at the time so you want to win and have a good weekend. Got a lot of games coming up so I think winning that game is big going into tomorrow but of course you think about it as soon as you score a second one.”
Game Three
Feeling hopeful for a series sweep, the Royals fell 6-4 to the Lions on Sunday
afternoon. With a wondrous lead going into the third, out of nowhere came the Lions. They scored four of their six goals in the third period. Not all is lost statistically for the Royals, as Barratt continued his point streak with two goals in the game making it 11 total for the season.
Both the first and second period were just as aggressive and showy as the first two games of this weekend series. However, things seemed to have taken a turn in the third period of play. Oddball penalties and visible frustration from the Royals seemed to mount. The Royals couldn’t quite keep this one in their favor.
Sunday afternoon was also goaltender Ryan Kenny’s professional debut. Despite the result of this game, the strength and skill shown from this young goalie shows that he has a promising career ahead of him. Facing a solid opponent during a series where the results have been close, he posseses the tenacity and determination to grow as a goaltender.
Here’s what Ryan Kenny had to say following his debut, “Despite what happened it was a dream come true. This is something I have looked forward to my entire life. I remember going to east coast league games when I was a kid. It was an
unfortunate outcome but it was still such an awesome opportunity and I’m so
grateful.”
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Kenny called his first game a learning experience and looking forward to learning
more in the future. Ended the night with his mentality to being a better goalie, “Trying
your hardest everyday. If you don’t do that then bad outcomes happen.”
