Trois-Rivières, April 18, 2025 – (Montreal Canadiens affiliate) Lions de Trois-Rivières defeated the (Philadelphia Flyers affiliate) Reading Royals 4-2 on Friday night to take the opening game of their North Division semifinal series.
The Lions got their playoff campaign off to a promising start by dominating the opening minutes of the first period. Trois-Rivières’ Jakov Novak carried his end-of-regular-season hot streak into postseason play when he scored a power play marker at 4:02 via a terrific pass from Xavier Cormier to give the Lions an early 1-0 lead. With slightly more than three minutes remaining in the period, however, the Royals’ Mason Primeau scored to tie the game at 1-1.
The Royals took a 2-1 lead at 3:54 of the second period when Cam Cook found the back of the Lions’ net. The Lions then proceeded to pepper Reading goaltender Keith Petruzzelli, firing 19 shots in his direction during the period, and that barrage paid off when Alex Beaucage recovered a loose puck in the goal crease to even the score at 2-2 at 8:29.
Justin Ducharme regained the lead for the Lions at 1:30 in the third period, while throughout the period Trois-Rivières goaltender Luke Cavallin made key saves to maintain his team’s lead. Beaucage ultimately scored his second of the night, this time into an empty net at 19:16, to give the Lions a 4-2 opening game win.
The Lions and Royals play Game 2 of their semifinal series on Saturday night, with puck drop at 7:00 p.m. at Colisée Vidéotron. The series then shifts to Reading for Games 3, 4 and (if necessary) 5.
1st star: Alex Beaucage, Lions de Trois-Rivières
2nd star: Xavier Cormier, Lions de Trois-Rivières
3rd star: Justin Ducharme, Lions de Trois-Rivières
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