The Trois-Rivieres Lions and Reading Royals will begin a best-of-seven series on Friday Night in Trois-Rivieres. Trois-Rivieres and Reading would split the eight-game series during the regular season. Five of the eight games during the regular season would be decided by one goal.
Schedule:
Game 1: Friday, April 18th at 7 pm
Game 2: Saturday, April 19th at 7 pm
Game 3: Monday, April 21st, at 7 pm
Game 4: Wednesday, April 23rd at 7 pm
If Necessary Game 5: Thursday, April 24th, at 7 pm
If Necessary Game 6: Sunday, April 27th, at 3 pm
If Necessary Game 7: Tuesday, April 29th, at 7 pm
The Rosters:
Reading:
Trois-Rivieres:
Special Teams:
The Trois-Rivieres Lions dominated special teams this season, finishing second on the PP (24.5%) and leading the league in PP goals (62). Logan Nijhoff (11) and Jakov Novak (10) led the charge for the Lions with the man-advantage. Trois-Rivieres was also strong on the PK this season, finishing fifth in the league (83.5%). Reading wouldn’t have as much luck as the Lions, as they finished 27th on the PP (16%) and 20th on the PK (79.3%). However, TR’s home ice advantage does help the Royals as they were ninth in the league away from home on the PP (21.4%) but had the league’s worst PP at home (11.3%).
Players To Watch
Reading:
Tyler Gratton: The Pottstown, Pennsylvania native played in 71 of the 72 games this season, which led all Reading skaters. Gratton would put up 20 goals and 12 assists for 32 points in 70 games; his 20 goals would lead the Royals offensively.
Gianfranco Cassaro: Cassaro, 26, has had a solid season, putting up 13 goals and 25 assists for 38 points. The Nobleton, Ontario, native defenseman led all Royal blueliners in goals and points this season. He would also lead all Royals in shots on goal (163).
Matt Brown: The Wood Ridge, NJ, began his season in the AHL, playing six games with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms playing in six games. Since joining the Royals in November, Brown has played in 54 games with Reading, putting up 19 goals and 22 assists for 41 points. Despite playing in just 54 games, he would lead the Royals with 41 points this season.
Trois-Rivieres:
Alex Beaucage: The hometown forward has had an impressive year with the Lions, putting up 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in 24 games this season with Trois-Rivieres. Beaucage, who spent the first three seasons in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles, would see 24 games with the Laval Rocket, putting up two goals and three assists for five points. He will be a massive addition to the Lions top six heading into the opening round of the Kelly Cup Playoffs.
Anthony Beauregard: The 29-year-old forward would wear a letter for the Lions this season and came shy of a career high in points. In 67 games, Beauregard led the Lions with 25 goals and 42 assists for 67 points. The Quebec native also has 15 games of Kelly Cup Playoff Experience under his belt, putting up three goals and three assists for seven points.
Chris Jandric: During the 2024-25 season, the Lions got 27 goals from defensemen, 10 of those came off the stick of Jandric. In 54 games with the Lions, the 26-year-old blueliner would put up 10 goals and 40 assists for 50 points. He also led the Lions with 23 points on the PP. The Prince George, BC native comes into the Kelly Cup Playoffs with 10 points in his last 10 games. He finished sixth in points among ECHL defensemen and third in PP assists and PP points. Jandric is the first defenseman in franchise history to pick up 10 goals in a season.
Predection
Despite the results in the regular season between these two teams, the Lions should have no problem escaping the first round. They have more scoring and better goaltending than Reading and a more well-rounded team. I would expect Trois-Rivieres to take this series in a maximum of five games.
ITR 40: Headed For A Repeat? – Inside The Rink
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