BEAST
Brampton

2-1

ROYALS
Reading

Lineup

Forward lines and defense pairings: 

[one_half]Crisp – Pacan – Marino
Vallorani – MacLean – Pither
Leveille – Blain – Auger[/one_half]

[one_half_last]Corrin – Henry
Thrower – Billingsley
Gagnon – Traccitto[/one_half_last]

Goaltenders:

Fucale
D’Agostini

Scratches: Matt Petgrave, Lucas Venuto, Mike Folkes, Corey Durocher, Brandon Billie

Injured Reserve: 

Game Report

The first game between the Brampton Beast and Reading Royals in this North Division Semifinal series didn’t go the way Brampton had hoped. They had battled hard, but fell just short and found themselves down 1-0 in the series heading into Saturday night’s tilt.

Less than 30 seconds into the game, the intensity on the ice was palpable as Connor Crisp and Ryan Penny got a bit scrappy after a whistle.  The two would sit for roughing minors, and so began a penalty-filled opening frame.  But thanks to solid penalty-killing efforts from both teams, none of the game’s ten power play opportunities resulted in a goal.

The Royals were again the first to light the lamp, just as the Crisp and Penny minors expired.  The two jumped out of the box, with Penny scooping up a loose puck and driving it towards the net and past Zach Fucale.

Fans in Santander Arena were ready for action on this night, and intensely let the officials know what they thought of alleged missed calls and penalties.  The game was chippy, with a much faster pace and higher frequency of physical play throughout.

In the second and third periods, the Beast came out flying and dominated the ice once again.  They outshot Reading 13-3 in the middle frame, but couldn’t get the equalizer past Mark Dekanich.  With less than four minutes left in regulation, Tim Billingsley finally put Brampton on the board, assisted by Reggie Traccitto and Brandon MacLean.  That goal would carry the Beast to overtime.

The extra period was all Brampton. They outshot Reading 12-5 and Fucale continued to make some impressive saves to keep his team in the hunt.  With about five minutes remaining, Jordan Henry took advantage of an opportunity to bang home a greasy goal and win the game for Brampton.

The Beast will head back to Ontario with the series tied at 1-1.  They’ll host the Royals for the next three games of the series, before heading back to Pennsylvania for games six and seven, if necessary.

▲     Connor Crisp, Dalton Thrower, Tim Billingsley, Jordan Henry, Zach Fucale, Chris Leveille

▼     Mathieu Gagnon, David Ling

1. Jordan Henry  BRM
2. Ryan Penny  REA
3. Tim Billingsley  BRM

Post-game interview with Colin Chaulk

Post-game interview with Tim Billingsley

Post-game interview with Jordan Henry

Post-game interview with Zach Fucale

Quotes courtesy of AHL Report

Less than 4 mins left in the game & @BramptonBeast light the lamp to pull even w/@RRoyalsHockey -get to https://t.co/RDjVzhzDKj for the end! pic.twitter.com/TBAJWTEONV

— ECHL (@ECHL) April 16, 2017

.@Fucale31 and the @BramptonBeast look pretty pumped up for Game 2! 💪 Warmups are finished, puck drop in 15 min! @TheAHLReport pic.twitter.com/qcln1jQydf

— Amy (@FlyersRule) April 15, 2017

#IceCaps are playoff bound! @RocketSports @AllHabs pic.twitter.com/myiwEHl8Kp

— AHL Report (@TheAHLReport) April 16, 2017

Follow @theAHLReport on Twitter