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Reading Royals

Royals and Body Zone Enter New Chapter of Long History

May 7, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, and the Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex (3103 Paper Mill Road, Wyomissing, PA 19610; 610-376-2100) today announced a new partnership to form the Jr. Royals youth travel ice hockey clubs. The Jr. Royals will take the place of the Berks Bruins who previously played and practiced at Body Zone as an official developmental hockey program of the Royals.

Under this new partnership, the Jr. Royals will play their home games, just like the ECHL's Royals, at the Sovereign Center on Penn Street in downtown Reading. Teams will still utilize Body Zone's two-rink facility and state-of-the-art training center in Spring Township as their practice and workout facility, also like the ECHL's Royals do.

The Jr. Royals will offer travel ice hockey teams at the mite-midget levels, typically comprised of 5-to-18 year olds, and hope to gain acceptance into the renowned Delaware Valley Hockey League.

"To not only share the Royals identity which is so positively recognized by hockey fans and players in this region but to also play on the same ice is a tremendous step in the right direction for our program," said Ryan Cruthers, the Royals all-time leading scorer who is now Body Zone's Director of Ice Hockey and Head Coach of the Jr. Royals. "To be able to welcome DVHL teams into the Sovereign Center so kids from all over the northeast and mid-Atlantic areas can share in this experience would be great for the game."

Body Zone, with an assist from the Royals, will immediately begin the process of transitioning its youth hockey identity from the Berks Bruins to the Jr. Royals. This includes new uniforms, signage, online presence and more.

"Since we first dropped the puck the Reading Royals have been committed to growing the game at the youth level so kids can benefit from all of the important life lessons sports and hockey teach," said Zane Collings, SMG Regional G.M. and Governor of the Royals. "Taking our partnership with Body Zone to a new level lets us improve and promote organized hockey so the love of the game can be passed on from generation to generation."

Body Zone has been the official workout and practice facility of the Reading Royals since opening in 2002. Twenty-three former Royals to date, including defending Stanley Cup champion Jonathan Quick, have utilized Body Zone's ice and training facility on their way to the NHL.

The Jr. Royals will be an official USA Hockey program. The Jr. Royals and Reading Royals will also collaborate on community service and fundraising projects.

The Royals take on the Cincinnati Cyclones in Game Three of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday (May 8 @ 7:35 pm) at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio. Wednesday's game night broadcast on CBS Sports Radio 1240 am and 98.5 fm will kick off with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Steve Moyer Subaru at 7:05 pm. As with all Royals road games this season, Wednesday's game will be televised locally in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on BCTV courtesy of Boscov's Travel and Apple Vacations. Ticket information for the ECHL's Eastern Conference Finals matchup between the Reading Royals and the Cincinnati Cyclones can be obtained by calling the Royals office (610-898-PUCK) or by logging onto the Royals website: www.royalshockey.com. Don't forget to "Like" us on Facebook at Reading Royals and "Follow" us on Twitter @RRoyalshockey for the latest team information.

EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMI-FINALS

(1) Reading Royals v (2) Cincinnati Cyclones

READING LEADS SERIES TWO GAMES TO NONE

Game One: Reading 5 - Cincinnati 4 Double-OT (Sovereign Center, Reading, PA)

Game Two: Reading 3 - Cincinnati 2 OT (Sovereign Center, Reading, PA)

Game Three: Wednesday, May 8 (7:35 pm) at U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH

Game Four: Friday, May 10 (7:35 pm) at U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH

Game Five (IF NECESSARY): Saturday, May 11 (7:35 pm) at U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, OH

Game Six (IF NECESSARY): Monday, May 13 (7:05 pm) at Sovereign Center, Reading, PA

Game Seven (IF NECESSARY): Tuesday, May 14 (7:05 pm) at Sovereign Center, Reading, PA

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

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