Reading, January 11, 2025 – The first period did in the (Montreal Canadiens affiliate) Lions de Trois-Rivières as the team ultimately fell 5-4 to the (Philadelphia Flyers affiliate) Reading Royals at Santander Arena on Saturday night.
The Lions allowed four goals in the first 15 minutes of the opening period. On the bright side, Trois-Rivières successfully killed off Reading’s three power play opportunities, but the Lions faced an uphill battle trailing 4-0 after 20 minutes of play.
Lions head coach Ron Choules opted to change goaltenders during the first intermission, having Luke Cavallin replace Hunter Jones to start the second period. The Lions managed to narrow the gap slightly just over five minutes into the period when captain Morgan Adams-Moisan found the back of the Reading net to make the score 4-1. That goal also saw Royals’ netminder Vinnie Purpura forced to leave the game with an injury. At the 12:40 mark of the period Royals captain Todd Skirving scored to regain Reading’s four-goal lead, but then at 14:13 the Lions’ Xavier Cormier replied. After 40 minutes of play Reading was up 5-2.
Trois-Rivières’ Alex Beaucage scored 54 seconds into the third period to reduce the gap to 5-3. The Lions peppered the Reading goal, and the pressure paid off when Tyler Hylland scored to make it a one-goal game with 49 seconds remaining in the period. But that was as close as the Lions would get, and Reading made their home fans happy with a 5-4 victory.
The Lions and Royals meet again Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. for the third and final game of their three-game series at Santander Arena.
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