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Reading Royals

First-Place Royals Look for Sixth Straight Win against Thunder

December 8, 2017 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Glens Falls, NY - The Reading Royals (12-7-2-0, 26 pts) are in a three-way tie for first place in the North Division and look to stay ahead of the Adirondack Thunder (11-8-1-1, 24 pts., 4th North) Friday at 7:00 p.m. from the Cool Insuring Arena. Reading is 5-0-0-0 against Adirondack this season.

The Royals jumped into first with a 2-1 win over the Wheeling Nailers Wednesday in Reading. Alex Krushelnyski scored his team-leading 10th of the season and Nolan Zajac potted the other goal. Mark Dekanich was perfect over the final half of the game, finishing with 26 saves. The Royals scored the first two goals.

During the five-game dominance against Adirondack, the Royals are outscoring the Thunder, 25-13. The Royals are 4-0-0-0 at home vs. Adirondack and won the only road game, 4-3, on Nov. 25.

Reading plays the next two games on the road and takes on Manchester at 6:00 p.m. After this weekend, the Royals have seven of the next eight at home.

The next Royals home game is Fri., Dec. 15 at 7:00 p.m. against Wheeling. It's a big night on Sat., Dec. 16 for the annual Teddy Bear Toss game and Ugly Sweater Jerseys against Wheeling at 7:00 p.m. Plus, the first 2,000 fans receive a Royals Christmas ornament, presented by Met-Ed.

McCarthy finds groove

Royals forward Chris McCarthy has points in three of four games (3g, 2a), boosting to third on the team with seven goals. Prior to the uptick, McCarthy had one point in his previous 11 contests.

McCarthy's efforts included a tying goal against Wheeling in the last half of the third period Sat., Dec. 2 that helped the Royals force overtime. He has helped Reading force overtime with tying third-period goals twice this season; against Toledo Oct. 26, he scored consecutive late-game markers and the Royals bested the Walleye in overtime.

A fourth-year forward from Collegeville, PA, McCarthy is in his second season with the Flyers organization. He had 19 goals and 47 points last season with Reading.

First goals

The Royals have played 21 games and scored the first goal in 16 of them, tied with Colorado for most in the ECHL. When scoring first, the Royals are 11-3-2-0. Despite a few bumps, two of the regulation losses came against teams outside the North Division, South Carolina and Cincinnati.

Nine players have scored a "first goal" and five players have multiple opening markers. Matt Willows and Alex Krushelnyski each have three opening goals to lead the Royals.

Last season, the Royals were sixth by scoring first in 40 games (30-8-2-0 record). During 2015-16, the Royals scored the first goal 41 times, fourth-best in the league (Missouri 47 | South Carolina 43 | Kalamzoo 43).

Scouting Adirondack

The Thunder have won back-to-back games, defeating Worcester in OT and Brampton in a shootout last weekend. Ty Loney potted the overtime-winning goal against the Railers and Ben Murphy defeated the Beast with a ninth-round shootout marker.

Adirondack has had numerous roster moves since the last meeting, with a host of players going up to the AHL. Shane Conacher (18 points) returned from the Syracuse Crunch Thursday. Pierre Luc-Mercier is third on the team with 16 points.

Brian Ward was returned Dec. 5 after spending time with Utica (AHL). He has 11 points (5g) in 17 games with the Thunder.

Between the pipes, Nick Riopel (14 GP) has played the majority of games compared to Drew Fielding (5 GP). Riopel is 7-6-1-0 with a 3.57 goals against average and .857 save percentage. Against teams other than the Royals, Adirondack boasts an 11-4-0-1 record.

Santa Sacks Holiday Gift

Stuff the stocking with Santa Sacks! Get an autographed Royals puck and come out to three of our biggest games for just $30.

- Sat., Jan. 20 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Brampton (Slapshot Star Wars bobblehead giveaway, THON Night, Star Wars jerseys)

- Fri., Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Brampton (Pink in the Rink, knit scarf giveaway)

- Sat., Mar. 17 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Brampton (Yannick Tifu number retired, Meet WWE Million Dollar Man)

- Sat., Mar. 24 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Worcester (Kelly Cup Tribute puck giveaway, Autism Awareness jerseys)

- Sat., Apr. 7 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Norfolk (FANdemonium, fan appreciation, fan's choice giveaway)

- Call 610-898-PUCK and tickets are available here.

More $5 Tickets

The Royals are pleased to announce $5 tickets in the Green Zone to two more upcoming games in December!

- Sun., Dec. 17 at 4:00 p.m. vs. Adirondack (dollar dogs and player photo) | Thurs., Dec. 28 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Worcester (special Flyers jerseys, aPHILLYation night)

- Call 610-898-PUCK (7825) and tickets are available here.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

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