'Blades Open Road Trip with 4-2 Loss at Reading

READING, PA – Goaltender Philip Grubauer made 28 saves to lead the Reading Royals to a 4-2 victory over the Florida Everblades at the Sovereign Center Wednesday night.

After a scoreless first period, the Reading Royals would be the first to score in the game at 5:40 into the second. Yannick Tifu carried the puck into the zone on the right wing side and swung a pass across to the left side circle to Adam Comrie. Comrie fired a wrist shot which beat ‘Blades goaltender Pat Nagle for game’s first goal.

A couple of minutes later, Florida countered on the power play to tie the game at one. Justin Shugg slapped a pass from the circle to Brayden Irwin who was standing on the backside of the net. Irwin caught the puck and flipped a shot into the net past an outstretched Phil Grubauer, who attempted to make the save. Irwin’s goal was his third of the season.

Reading took advantage of their own power play opportunity, as David Marshall chipped in a shot from the top of the crease to pull the Royals ahead by a 2-1 count.

The Royals leading scorer Denny Urban added to the league with four minutes remaining. Urban pulled the trigger on a wrist shot from the left wing circle which hit the arm of Nagle and deflected into the net for the goal. Urban’s 10th goal of the season gave his team a 3-1 leads after 40 minutes played.

Reading didn’t let up in the third and controlled play a majority of the way out. Stanislav Galiev got behind a ‘Blades defensemen who slipped and fell down and went in on goal uncontested. Galiev deked the right of the crease, but slide the puck around and behind Nagle for the goal at 15:20 of the third.

The Everblades Taylor Ellington beat Grubauer wrist shot for his third of the season, to keep things interesting at 4-2 four minutes remaining. Florida pulled the goaltender to allow for the extra attacker, but it would not be enough as, the Everblades fell by a 4-2 score to Reading who now has won nine of their last 11 contests.

Pat Nagle takes the loss allowing four goals on 38 shots faced, while Grubauer earns the win stopping 28 of 30 shots seen in the game. The Everblades will now travel to the state of West Virginia, to take on the Wheeling Nailers for a pair of games on Friday and Saturday. Friday’s game is set for 7:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on 96 K-Rock (96.1 FM), and online by at www.floridaeverblades.com

The Capital Bank Box Office is open Monday thru Friday from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Fans may also call Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000, or order online at www.ticketmaster.com

Partial-season packages start as low as $150, and offer a flexible option for fans. For more information on all available packages, call the Everblades office at 239-948-7825, or purchase tickets online. ###