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Saturday, October 17th

Gargoyles Fall 3-2 On Opening Night to Reading

Gargoyles Fall 3-2 On Opening Night to Reading
GREENSBORO, NC – A fresh season began at First Horizon Coliseum on Friday night as the Greensboro Gargoyles took the ice for the first time under new Head Coach Mitch Giguere. The Gargoyles opened their 2026-27 campaign against the Reading Royals, a familiar opponent they faced 12 times during their inaugural season. With a fresh set of faces and several returners from the franchise's first season, Greensboro came up just short in a 3-2 loss to Reading.
A quiet opening period saw the teams enter the first intermission scoreless. Reading successfully killed off a double-minor penalty midway through the first period, adding to a sluggish start for the Greensboro offense. However, the fireworks would not wait long into the second frame. Just 23 seconds into the period, Reading's Artem Kulakov and Greensboro's Tristan De Jong dropped the gloves for an old-school center-ice fight.
In the seconds following the tilt, Wyatt McLeod opened the scoring for Reading, giving the Royals a 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, Jack Seymour, who was a consistent offensive presence throughout the night, responded for Greensboro to even the score at 1-1.
At 7:23 of the second period, Seymour was called for holding, sending Reading to its first power play of the night. Braeden Kessler capitalized on the man advantage, redirecting a one-timer from Zach Berzolla past Greensboro's Yegor Velmakin to restore the Royals' one-goal lead.
Late in the second period, Seymour and his linemates, Tyler Cristall and Markus Oden, generated another dangerous opportunity around the Reading crease, stuffing the puck past Yaniv Perets. For a moment, the Gargoyles appeared to have another quick response, but the goal was immediately waved off for goaltender interference.
Trailing 2-1 entering the final period of regulation, Greensboro needed a response and found one on its fourth power-play opportunity of the night. Defenseman Austen May fired a shot home just 17 seconds into the man advantage, tying the game at 2-2 with 18:48 remaining in regulation.
The physicality continued to build as the clock ticked under 15 minutes in the third period. Greensboro's Demetrious Koumontzis was sent to the penalty box for high-sticking, giving Reading its fourth power play of the game. Just over halfway through the man advantage, Luke Reid fired a wrist shot from the point through traffic and into the back of the net, putting the Royals ahead 3-2 with 13:41 remaining.
The final minutes featured dynamic, end-to-end hockey as the physicality intensified, and the energy inside First Horizon Coliseum continued to build. Greensboro earned a late power play with 2:19 remaining and eventually pulled Velmakin for an extra attacker with under 90 seconds to play. Despite generating multiple high-danger scoring opportunities, the Gargoyles could not find the equalizer as time expired on the first of 72 regular-season games.
Velmakin delivered a strong performance in his North American debut, turning aside 35 of 38 shots faced. The former top KHL goaltender was tested throughout the night, with more than 15 shots coming through multiple bodies in the shooting lanes.
The Gargoyles look to enter the win column for the first time in the 2026-27 season on Saturday night as they host the Reading Royals for the second game of Opening Weekend. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at First Horizon Coliseum.