After falling behind early, allowing two goals in the first five minutes of play, the Newfoundland Growlers rebounded to beat the Reading Royals 4-3 in a shootout in ECHL play Saturday night in Reading, Pa.
The win avenged a 4-1 loss to the Royals Friday night.
With Ryane Clowe back behind the bench in Reading after missing 15 games for “medical reasons”, the expansion Growlers registered their first ever shootout win.
Marcus Power sealed the victory, scoring on the fifth St. John’s try in the shootout, and Michael Garteig stopped four of five Reading shots.
After Reading scored a pair of goals 1:05 apart in the first, Zach O’Brien and Alex Gudbranson, who like Garteig was just reassigned to the Growlers from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies over the weekend, drew Newfoundland even.
The Royals would regain the lead 13:34 into the second as Alex Roos beat Garteig to put Reading up 3-2.
Late in the period, once again, the Growlers would tie the game with Power deflecting a Matt Bradley point shot.
The game would remain tied throughout the third period and overtime, forcing a shootout.
The Growlers clew up the road trip with a game in Glens Falls, N.Y. against the Adirondack Thunder on New Years Eve. The team returns home for six games starting Friday night against the Jacksonville Icemen.
