READING, PENNSYLVANIA – Dan Leavens had a pair of points but the Brampton Beast dropped a 5-4 decision against the Reading Royals on Saturday night.

The Brampton Beast met the Reading Royals for the second time in as many nights when the two clubs clashed at Santander Arena on Saturday night. The Beast were coming off a 5-2 loss and had revenge on their mind for the rematch.

Brampton got off to a hot start with a goal in the first minute of play from David Pacan. Dan Leavens spun and fired a shot from the circle that was deflected by Pacan through the pads of Felix Sandstrom. That gave Brampton an early 1-0 lead.

Brampton continued to fire in the first and were rewarded with their second goal of the contest. Chris Clapperton sent the puck to Trent Bourque who fired a shot that beat Sandstrom down low to give the Beast a 2-0 lead at 3:59.

The Royals fought back and scored their first goal at 4:11 with Corey Mackin getting the final touch past Alex Dubeau. That tally sent a hail of teddies onto the ice at Santander Arena.

The Royals used the momentum and scored twice more in the frame, once from Garret Cockerill at 17:06 and once again from Mackin at 17:47 to take a 3-2 lead into the first intermission. Brampton had a slight edge in shots 15-14 after 20 minutes of play.

The second period only saw a single goal and it was on the Beast side. David Vallorani sent the puck to Chris Martenet who skated his way into the zone. He spied the wide-open Leavens who had an empty net and he tipped the puck home for his 11th of the season at 12:27.

That gave the Beast a 3-3 tie heading into the third and final frame. Brampton was up 27-21 in shots after 40 minutes of play.

The third period saw Brampton jump ahead on a power play goal from Chris Clapperton.  That gave the Beast a 4-3 lead at 6:46 of the third.

Reading would fire back and would be rewarded with a pair of goals, one from Steven Swavely at 9:24 to tie the contest and the second one from Garrett Mitchell on the power play to take the lead.

Despite a furious final push with Dubeau pulled for the extra attacker, the Royals stood firm and finished the night the winners by a score of 5-4.

Sandstrom recorded the win after making 36 stops through 60 minutes. Dubeau would be tagged with the loss and would finish with 22 stops of his own.

Notes: Molson Three Stars 3) Leavens (BRA) 2) Mitchell (REA) 1) Mackin (REA) Brampton finished the night by going one-for-five on the man advantage. Reading ended the night one-for seven. The Beast are back at home tomorrow for a date with the Allen Americans. Puck drops at 4:00 PM at the CAA Centre.