BRAMPTON, ON – Defenseman James de Haas scored the tying goal in the third and powered in the winning goal at 1:03 of overtime to complete a come-from-behind, 4-3 decision against the Brampton Beast Sunday at Powerade Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Adam Schmidt (3 assists) sprung a 75-foot pass to de Haas at the Beast line in overtime. de Haas walked into the zone and wristed it in from the top of the left circle for his first professional multi-goal game. His shot beat Zach Fucale (loss, 31 saves) to the top right shelf. Reading fell behind, 3-2, at 6:14 of the third on a short-handed strike from Brampton’s Alex Foster. de Haas evened the game with a slap shot at 12:29 of the third.
Reading is 6-2 in overtime this season, tied for the most extra-session victories in the league. The Royals are 8-2 in games decided past regulation.
Meanwhile, John Muse moved to 12-1-0-0 in his last 13 decisions, stopping 28 shots.
The Royals scored on their first and last shots. Matt Wilkins ripped the opening goal at :52 of the first period, the quickest Reading has tallied this season. He coaxed a turnover at the right slot, took a stride and shot it to the top right shelf for his eighth of the season. The Union College graduate has three goals and seven points over the last games.
The Beast struck back 1:56 later. Scott Jacklin pounded it through Muse a foot outside the right-side crease. With 5:52 remaining in the frame, Matt Petgrave dashed in between the circles, received a centering pass from Chris Leveille and touched it to the top shelf. Alex Foster recorded the secondary assist.
Willows tied the game at 2-2 at 8:32 of the middle frame. He scored one second after Reading’s second man-up opportunity expired. Nick Luukko stroked one off a defender in front of the cage. It pin-balled off Schmidt to Willows. The Royals leading scorer (41 points) backhanded it in at the left post.
Foster’s short-handed strike gave the Beast a 3-2 edge at 6:14 of the third. Reading’s power play was 0-for-5 and killed off all five Beast opportunities.
de Haas wired the tying goal to the bottom right pocket of the cage with 7:31 left, assisted by Schmidt and Tyler Brown.
The Royals travel to Glens Falls, NY for a North Division showdown with the Adirondack Thunder (52 points) on Tuesday, January 30th at 7 p.m. Then on Friday, February 2nd at 7 p.m., the Royals are in Norfolk for the first of two games against the Admirals. The teams rematch at 7p.m. on Saturday, February 3rd.
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