Chiefs Trumped By Royals

Published on March 6, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Johnstown Chiefs News Release


READING, Pa. - The Johnstown Chiefs offense produced another four-goal effort on Saturday night, but it wasn't enough as the Reading Royals picked up a 6-4 win on Saturday night at the Sovereign Center.

It was a near deja vu situation for the Chiefs in Reading as the Royals, just like last Sunday, were able to jump out to the 1-0 lead in the first two minutes of play. Andrew Sarauer's 17th of the season put the home team up at 1:42. The power play score was set up by Stefano Giliati and Dinos Stamoulis. Not wanting to lose any more ground, the Chiefs jumped right back at the Royals with Matt Kang feeding a shot through the legs of Andrew Engelage at 2:49. The lone assist was credited to Chanse Fitzpatrick. Reading picked up the next two goals and stretched the lead to 3-1. Olivier Labelle picked up number 19 on the season at 5:31 while Kyle Laughlin's first as a pro came at 17:20. Johnstown kept its collective nose to the grindstone and the effort paid off with Sean Berkstresser pulling the Chiefs within one goal at the 19:18 mark. Jeff Martens earned his eighth point of the season with the assist.

Berkstresser's goal late in the first period gave the black and gold plenty of momentum for the start of the second. Perhaps not so coincidentally Berkstresser potted the first goal of the second to even the score at three. Working on the right wing, Jim McKenzie twisted a wrist shot that Engelage padded away. Berkstresser was right there to pounce on the rebound and sent a shot that bounced off of the Royals' goalie and into the cage at 2:51 of the period. Labelle had the answer for Reading, though, as he cashed in a rebound of his own, beating Kris Mayotte at 5:05 to give Reading a 4-3 advantage.

The third period took a quick turn for the worse as Giliati had a slap shot from the high slot glance off of Berkstresser and past Mayotte's catching glove just 22 seconds into the period. It was Giliati's 14th of the season. Johnstown, as it had all night, answered back with Martens tipping in a shot off of an offensive zone faceoff win. The goal was Martens' fourth of the season and drew Johnstown within one goal at the 1:43 mark of the period. With plenty of time left to try to pull off the comeback, the Chiefs launched 11 more shots on Engelage, but could not find a way to force a puck across the line. Giliati added an empty net goal with 14 seconds left to play to seal the win. Mayotte sustained the loss as he turned in a 27-save effort. The Chiefs ended the night 0-for-5 on the power play and 2-for-3 on the penalty kill.

Mark your calendars! The Chiefs return to home ice on Sunday, March 7 against the Elmira Jackals at 2:05. Grab your non-perishable food items and bring them with you as the Chiefs and the Johnstown Rotary Club are teaming up for their second-annual Face Off Against Hunger. Those who contribute to the food drive will be eligible for a $12 adult walk up ticket. Also, don't forget to bring your skates for the post-game skate with the Chiefs. Good seats still remain and for individual tickets, go to ticketmaster.com or call 1-800-745-3000.

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ECHL Stories from March 6, 2010


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