READING, PA – Derek Whitmore scored on a breakaway seven seconds into overtime to salvage a 5-4 overtime win for the Reading Royals (1-0-0-0) over the Adirondack Thunder (2-0-1-0) Saturday at Santander Arena. The Royals allowed four straight goals before forcing an extra session.
Ryan Penny won the face-off to Whitmore at the red line to start the 3-on-3 overtime. Whitmore broke through the defense and lifted it to the top left pocket for his first career ECHL marker.
Before Adirondack’s comeback, Chris McCarthy and Alex Krushelnyski scored goals 1:40 into the first, making the home crowd raucous. Matt Willows scored with 45 seconds left in the first and Tyler Brown tallied at 1:41 of the second to extend the Reading lead to 4-0.
Adam Comrie (2 assists), Krushelnyski (1 goal, 1 assist) and Adam Schmidt (2 assists) had multi-point performances.
Adirondack charged back with three goals in the second period. Mark Dekanich allowed just one goal in the third and made 29 saves to best Thunder goaltender Nick Riopel (30 saves).
McCarthy scored the first goal of the season at 1:19 of the first, taking a pass at the left post from Schmidt and depositing it.
The Royals allowed goals at 5:31, 12:33 and 16:00 of the second to allow Adirondack to make it 4-3. J.C. Campagna tied the game with 11 minutes gone in the third on the power play. The Royals were 0-for-2 on the man advantage while Adirondack was 1-for-5.
On Sunday, the Royals are back at home against the Wheeling Nailers at 4 p.m. on a “4 for $44” game. Fans will receive four hot dogs, four bags of chips and four sodas for $44. The first 2,000 fans will get a limited-edition Royals puck, courtesy of Deibler Dental.
The Royals are home for two games next week, hosting the Toledo Walleye on Thurs., Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. and Adirondack on Sun., Oct. 29 at 4 p.m.
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