RECAP | GROWLERS DOUBLE UP ROYALS IN 4-2 WIN

Newfoundland Growlers (14-2-0-0) vs Reading Royals (6-5-4-1)Wednesday, December 1 – St. John’s, Newfoundland

Goal Summary

Game Story

The Newfoundland Growlers reigned victorious in their first game back at Mary Brown’s Centre as they beat the Reading Royals 4-2 on Wednesday night.It was a slow start offensively at both ends of the ice in the opening portion of the game. The best chance of the first period fell to Growlers forward Bobby Lynch who beat everyone but Royals net minder Pat Nagle on an impressive end-to-end rush just before the intermission.

Lynch would get his redemption in the middle frame as his power play pass attempt took a rather fortuitous bounce off a Reading player and beat Nagle to make it 1-0 Newfoundland 12 minutes into the second period.

Reading wasted little time finding an equalizer however as Jacob Pritchard beat Evan Cormier with a wraparound effort just 30 seconds to draw things back to level for the away side.

A quick response from the hosts had them once again in front with 6:34 remaining in the second as Matteo Pietroniro sprung Zach O’Brien on a breakaway where the Growlers leading scorer made no mistake, beating the goalie high over the glove to make it 2-1 Newfoundland — a score line which would hold up after 40 minutes.

Just one minute into the third period, Ty Pelton-Byce would give the Growlers a two-goal advantage as he stole the puck from a Royals defenseman and fired one short side past Nagle. Todd Skirving would bump it up to 4-1 three minutes later when he deflected home a Riley McCourt shot from the point.

Pritchard would get Reading back within two just after the midway mark of the third period, taking full advantage of a 5-on-3 opportunity to score his second of the game.

Luckily for the home crowd, that was close as the Royals would get to mounting a comeback. Cormier had a relatively quiet night in the Newfoundland net but stood tall when called upon, stopping 20 of the 22 shots he faced.

Quick Hits

• The Growlers got points from seven different skaters on their four goals.
• Evan Cormier picked up his seventh consecutive victory in this one having started every game during the Growlers current seven game winning streak.
• Eleven Newfoundland players made their Mary Brown’s Centre home debut on Wednesday.

 Three Stars1. NFL – T. Pelton-Byce2. NFL – T. Skirving3. REA – J. Pritchard