Reading Overcomes Norfolk In High Scoring Battle

(Photo Credit: Tom Boland / Reading Royals)

READING, PA. - The Reading Royals (39-26-4-2) plastered 47 shots on net on Wednesday, en route to their 6-4 victory over the Norfolk Admirals (26-39-5-0).

In what became an evening of scoring frenzies, Mike Pereira began the pattern by recording a pair of goals just 2:20 apart in the first period to give his team a 2-0 lead.  Both coming as the trailer in transition for Reading, two well-placed shots blasted by Philippe Desrosiers allowed the third-year pro to earn his 17th and 18th goals of the season.

Another Mike was responsible for getting the Admirals on the board just a few moments later though, as Michael Pontarelli made a flawless pass to find a wide open Scott Jacklin in the slot for a goal.  It was the second in as many games for the waiver claim, who has paid strong dividends since joining the club in the beginning of March.

A quick response from Reading gave them a 3-1 lead at the end of the first period though, concluding a sequence of four total goals in just 4:25.

That trend continued in the second period though, as the two sides combined for five goals in just 4:33.

First, Reading extended their lead on Ryan Penny's 24th of the season.  The rookie reaped the benefits of a dazzling play by Mike Huntebrinker, who chipped the puck one-handed through two Admirals defenders while falling down, setting up the breakaway for Penny.

Down by a score of 4-1, Norfolk scored three times in the next 84 seconds to earn themselves a share of a 4-4 tie.  Mikael Tam opened the streak, netting his first goal in 16 games with a rifling shot from a low angle.

Then, Domenic Alberga received a generous bounce in his favor to make the game 4-3.  On a two-on-one with Ben Murphy, #8 attempted to slide the puck to his parter but it ricochetted off of a diving Todd Perry and behind his own goaltender.  Jordan Abt, who had three total assists on the night, earned one of them on the tally.

Joey Benik completed the the stretch, burying a beautiful feed from John Dunbar to even the contest.  Dunbar picked up the puck below the goal line and drew the attention of the defender, setting up an easy slam dunk for the St. Cloud State product.

After a timeout by interim head coach Kirk MacDonald, who was coaching his first game in the position, Oliver Labelle responded for the club to retake the lead.

Labelle's 26th of the season made it 5-4 and a birthday goal from Justin Crandall in the third polished off the 6-4 victory for Reading.

Mark Dekanich picked up the win in net for the home team, making 32 saves on 36 shots.  Philippe Desrosiers takes his first loss of the year against Reading, allowing six goals on 47 attempts.

The two sides will now wrap up their regular season against one another this weekend in Norfolk.  With games on Friday and Saturday, tickets are available now on Ticketmaster.com and at the Scope box office.