READING, PA – When Reading Royals Head Coach Larry Courville was relieved of his duties on April 3rd, no one knew how the change would affect the team as it headed into the 2017 ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs. Under newly elevated interim bench boss Kirk MacDonald, the Royals finished the regular season well but the playoffs are usually a whole different matter. On Thursday night, MacDonald and his team took another step in the right direction with a 2-1 win over the Brampton Beast and take a 1-0 first round series lead.
Defenseman Todd Perry picked a great time to score his first ever playoff goal with the game winner for the Royals. Robbie Czarnick got the other goal for Reading while Conner Crisp scored on the power play for the Beast. Royals goaltender Mark Dekanick made 43 saves in the win and Andrew D’Augastini took the loss with 34 saves on the night.
Perry’s goal was in this 37th career playoff game, tied for second in team history. Game Two is also in Reading Saturday night before the shifts to Brampton for Games 3-5. This is the first ever playoff series between the two teams.
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