Reading, Pennsylvania, March 14, 2025 – (Montreal Canadiens affiliate) Lions de Trois-Rivières have officially qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs, courtesy of a 5-3 victory over the (Philadelphia Flyers affiliate) Reading Royals on Friday night.
The Lions took an early lead thanks to Nicolas Guay's 11th goal of the season, a power play marker at 3:44. The Royals responded just under 10 minutes later when Matt Brown, who had been a force to be reckoned with right from puck drop, beat Trois-Rivières goaltender Hunter Jones with a top-corner shot.
After surrendering 14 shots in the first period, the Lions solidified their defensive efforts in the second frame and allowed only five shots on Jones. At the other end of the ice the Lions got two quick goals from Tommy Cormier at 13:42 and then Jacob Paquette at 17:07 to give Trois-Rivières a two-goal lead after 40 minutes of play.
The Royals put pedal to the metal at the start of the third period and quickly knotted the score at 3-3 when Gatineau, Quebec native Yvan Mongo – making his return to the Reading lineup – scored his first two goals of the season at 3:43 and 4:04. But the hero of the night was the Lions’ Logan Nijhoff who gave Trois-Rivières a 4-3 lead at 15:21 and then Isaac Dufort sealed the victory with an empty net goal with just four seconds remaining.
The Lions and Royals play the second and final game of their two-game series Saturday night in Reading.
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