Kalamazoo, MI - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (1-2-1-1=4, 2nd East Division), affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, sustained a 6-1 loss to the Kalamazoo Wings at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The loss brought the first road trip of the year for the Royals, during which the team went 1-1-1, to an end. Goaltender Kevin Regan (1-2-1-1; 37/43) saw a lot of rubber and made a number of quality stops but was unable to keep the Kalamazoo attack at bay, particularly during several defensive zone breakdowns for Reading. Ryan Nie (3-0-0; 27/28) beat the Royals for the third time this season. Reading's power play was held off the board in three chances with the man advantage; the Wings broke through on one of the three chances they had with the man advantage.The two teams traded chances in the early going until the Wings broke through 13:42 into the first when Will Colbert was permitted to walk deep into the left circle where he ripped a hard snap shot short-side on Regan for his first goal of the year. 2:12 after that, it was Darryl Bootland's turn to get a point blank shot after a tic-tac-toe passing play involving Bryan Jurynec and Rick Cleaver. Bootland fired high glove side on Regan for his third of the year.
The Royals had a couple of chances to get back into the game early in the second period-including a breakaway for Danick Bouchard on which he hit the post; but the Wings weathered the early storm and built a three goal lead with a power play goal by Cleaver 6:52 into the second. After a failed clear from the defensive zone, a scramble ensued around the Reading net. Bootland took control below the goal line and fed to Cleaver in the low slot. Cleaver, who was wide open and all alone, drilled the puck into what was essentially a wide open net for his second of the year. 1:26 later, Cleaver bagged his second of the night, when Anton Kharin slid a pass to the mid-slot where a hard charging Cleaver ripped it bar-and-down for his third of the season.
The Royals finally broke through 9:01 into the third, when Ben McLeod fired a shot out of the right circle that hit Nie in the upper body. The rebound fluttered into the air, and Dinos Stamoulis, charging off the left point, settled with his glove and shot. Nie stopped that, but the rebound fell to Stefano Giliati who buried it for his fourth of the year. It would provide short-lived hope for the Royals, however, Kalamazoo re-gained the four goal advantage 11:34 into the third, when Kharin re-directed a stretch breakout pass from Sam Ftorek through the neutral zone and into Reading's end. Kharin tracked the loose puck down himself and made a cross-crease pass to a hard charging Trent Daavittila, who forced it through for is second of the year. Twenty-two seconds later, the Wings stretched their lead to five (6-1), when Matt Jones ripped a snap shot from the high slot that beat Regan for his first of the year. The remaining time in the game turned mucky and murky with a couple of fights mixed in with a significant amount of sloppy play, as the Royals first road trip came to a somewhat slow and painful end.
The Royals return to the Sovereign Center on Thursday (October 29 @ 7:05 pm) when the Toledo Walleye make their first trip in team history to Reading. Thursday's broadcast time is 6:30 pm on the Royals Radio Network presented by Transmissions by Arbogast. To become a part of Royals hockey, call 610-898-PUCK or log onto www.royalshockey.com .
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