READING, PA – The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, defeated the Adirondack Thunder 5-4 on Wednesday, December 29th at Santander Arena. Royals goaltender Hayden Hawkey saved 29 of 33 shots, while Thunder goalie Alex Sakellaropoulos saved 24 of 29. 
The Royals got on the board first one minute into the game. Cam Strong deflected the puck past Sakellaropoulos after Ryan MacKinnon wound up and sent a slapshot on net from the point. The Thunder took the lead around a minute later. Robbie Payne tapped in a loose puck in the blue paint seconds after the Royals took the lead before Colin Long’s wrist shot went over the glove of Hawkey.
The Royals responded back with two goals of their own later into the opening period. Dominic Cormier’s top-shelf power play goal tied the game at two before Mike Crocock’s first ECHL goal gave Reading the lead, 3-2.
Five minutes and 55 seconds into the second period, Reading added some cushion to its lead. On the power play, Patrick Bajkov put a wrist shot on net which was batted off of Sakellaropoulos’ shoulder for Trevor Gooch. Gooch was positioned in front of Adirondack’s net to bat the fluttering puck into the cage out of mid-air.
Minutes later, Brayden Low scored on a breakaway by beating Sakellaropoulos with a backhand shot. Strong was credited with the shorthanded assist after connecting with Low in stride to give Reading a 5-2 lead.
The Thunder brought the game back within a goal, but fell short of the comeback. Payne and Blake Thompson both scored to cut the deficit down to one, but Hawkey denied the final nine shots he faced to seal the victory for the Royals.
The Royals host the Worcester Railers for a Friday afternoon matchup on December 31st at 3 p.m.at Santander Arena.
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