The Lions lose 5-1 to the Royals

Saturday night’s match-up against the Reading Royals started as a completely different affair as compared to the teams’ Friday encounter. Only one goal was scored in the first period, off the stick of Reading’s Alec Butcher. At the same point of the game on Friday, four goals had already been scored, so it looked as though the teams were taking a different approach for game two of their three-game series. Emotions were running high, as just over a minute into the game the Lions’ Cédric Lacroix and the Royals’ Brendan Hoffman (the second star in Friday’s game) went toe-to-toe.

After a somewhat tranquil first half of the second period, the offensive fireworks finally began when Reading’s Evan Barratt scored at the 14:45 mark and then again three minutes later. With one minute remaining in the period Brett Stapley got the Lions on the scoreboard with a blast from the slot that found its way into the top right corner. Hopes were high that Stapley’s goal would be the motivation the team needed to mount a third period comeback!

Unfortunately, that turned out not to be the case as the Royals continued to press the Lions’ goal in the third period. Reading’s Charlie Gerard scored his 27th goal of the season at the 6:13 mark with Zach Shankar recording his first professional point with an assist on the play. Trois-Rivières’ Cédric Lacroix was later given a 10-minute misconduct and was sent to the showers for the rest of the game. The Royals finished the night in style with Barratt registering his first professional hat trick, and Reading garnered two points with a 5-1 victory.