READING – The Reading Royals defeated the Adirondack Thunder, 7-3, on Saturday night in front of just under 3,000 fans inside Santander Arena.
Reading opened the scoring 7:42 into the game after a defensive zone turnover. Jacob Frasca took a shot that was denied by Tyler Brennan, but Cam Cook kept digging and pushed the puck into the net for a 1-0 lead on his second of the year.
Adirondack answered back with a power-play goal as Tyler Brennan sent a long pass from his crease to Brannon McManus at the far blue line. McManus skated in and blasted a slap shot over the shoulder of goaltender Yaniv Perets to tie the game 1-1. Tyler Brennan was awarded the assist on McManus’ sixth goal of the year at 9:26 of the first.
Brandon Saigeon and Alec Butcher scored back-to-back goals at 11:47 and 13:34 of the first period and Adirondack trailed 3-1 after 20 minutes of play with the Royals holding a 15-7 shot advantage.
In the second period, Kyle Haskins collected a rebound in front of the net and slid the puck by Tyler Brennan for a 4-1 lead. The goal was Haskins’ fourth of the year with assists from Jake Willets and Alec Butcher at the 8:46 mark.
Late in the second, Jacob Graves sent a wrist shot through a screen and Brian Carrabes tracked down the rebound and buried his second goal of the season with 16.1 seconds left in the period. The goal was Carrabes’ second of the year with assists from Graves and Pierson Brandon and Adirondack trailed 4-2 after two periods.
Jimmy Dowd Jr. scored for the Thunder late in period three, but Reading scored three more goals prior to that in a 7-3 victory. Tyler Brennan made 36 saves in the loss.
The Thunder returns to Harding Mazzotti Arena for four home games at Thanksgiving. On Thanksgiving Eve, November 26, fans can enjoy $4 Labatt Blue Light and the first 1,000 fans (21+) receive a FREE Thunder Labatt Blue Light koozie. On November 28 against Worcester, enjoy $4 Labatt Blue light until the end of the first period. Saturday, November 29 is Military Appreciation Night with a t-shirt giveaway, postgame jersey auction and $4 Michelob Ultra. Finish the weekend with Sunday Funday on November 30. Puck drops at 3 p.m. and fans can get $5 16oz. Busch Light the entire game.