GLENS FALLS, NY – Mark Dekanich made 39 saves and the Reading Royals had two breakaway goals to bottle the Adirondack Thunder 3-2 Saturday night at Cool Insuring Arena.
Reading is 5-0-0-0 this season against Adirondack. The Royals are in third place in the North Division with 21 points.
The Royals scored the first two goals. Adam Schmidt tallied early in the first and Ryan Penny added a breakaway goal in the second. Dekanich made 28 saves in through the first two periods, including a pad-stacked stop at the left post midway through the second.
Schmidt scored for the second straight game at 5:49 of the first to open the scoring. Matt Wilkins was about to change, but flipped the puck in front of the Adirondack bench to Schmidt. The forward streaked across the line to the bottom of the left circle. Schmidt swooped net front, started to fall and flipped it past Nik Riopel. He has three goals this season.
Dekanich was huge for the Royals in the first period, making 14 saves.
Penny extended the Royals lead to 2-0 with 10:37 to go in the second. Mark Naclerio lifted it to Penny at the red line and he was all alone. Penny sniped it to the top left shelf for his sixth of the season. He is on a three-game point streak (2 goals, 1 assist). Adirondack’s Pierre-Luc Mercier scored on the man up with 3:44 left in the frame to pull within one.
In the third, Matt Willows scored at 5:45 on a breakaway to make it 3-1 Reading. Willows received a stretch pass from Nick Luukko and deposited his sixth of the season to make it 3-1 at 5:45 of the third. Willows faked to the backhand and slammed it on the forehand while working all alone.
Adirondack’s James Henry tallied with 3:04 left on the power play (2-for-5), but Reading held off a few last-second chances.
Nick Riopel lost with 19 saves.
Reading returns to the ice on Sunday, Nov. 26 when it hosts the Wheeling Nailers at 4 p.m.
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