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ECHL Reading Royals

Drop and Give Us Sixty

February 12, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


From afar, a winless streak of any length looks pretty bleak. (I get a headache if I get anywhere near a Boston Celtics' box score.) And it's not a whole lot better when you're experiencing it up close and personal as the Royals have been over the last six games. Nevertheless, when you do analyze these games up close and personal, it's not easy to pick the team apart. Actually, for the most part, the Royals have played pretty well throughout the entire season-even during this current rough spot in the road. But hockey simply isn't a 'for the most part' type of sport. In the only game last week for the Royals, a 5-2 loss to the Johnstown Chiefs on Sunday, Reading's newcomer, Brett Smith, scored on his first shot as a member of the team, staking the Royals to a 1-0 lead 52 seconds into the game, which they were able to hold all the way to the early stages of the third period. At that point, the penalties (and power plays) against finally caught up with the team as Johnstown was able to break through and score, which was followed shortly thereafter by another. Even at that, the Royals bounced back with a dramatic short-handed goal to tie it at two; but that's when that old 'for the most part' reared its ugly head. A bad turnover and a couple of quick goals against, and the next thing you know, it's six in a row without a win. It doesn't take much insight to state that, in this game, the only way to rub out the 'for the most part' is complete and utter dedication to the entire sixty minutes (or more) on the game clock. And, fortunately or unfortunately, it seems that we've arrived at that stage of the season where that clock is ticking.....

TOP TEN NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals are currently riding a season high six game winless streak (0 - 5 - 1). The longest winless streak in team history is nine games (March 9 through March 30, 2002).

2. The Royals are currently four games under .500 (19 - 23 - 6 = 44) for the first time this season. The Royals were three games under .500 after 16 games (on November 26), when the team had a record of 5 - 8 - 3 = 13.

3. The Royals scored the game's first goal 52 seconds into the team's only game this week-a 5-2 loss in Johnstown. Reading has scored the FG in four of the last five games, but has gone 0 - 3 - 1 in those games. Over the course of the season, Reading is now 11 - 5 - 4 when scoring first.

4. Reading held a 1-0 lead entering the third period of Sunday's game, marking only the second time this season that the Royals have held a third period lead and lost in regulation. (The other game that falls into this category came on November 10 when Reading led over the Toledo Storm 4-3 entering the third, but were defeated 5-4.) The Royals are 13 - 2 - 3 when entering the third period with a lead.

5. In three games played this season against the Johnstown Chiefs, the Royals have held a lead entering the third period but have failed to win: (i) the 5-2 loss on Sunday; (ii) the 3-2 overtime loss on Friday, February 2 at the Sovereign Center (Royals led 2-1 entering the third); and (iii) the 3-2 shootout loss on December 2 in Johnstown (the Royals led 2-1 entering the third). (The Royals also gave up a 2-1 lead to Johnstown in the third period on December 9; but Reading won that game 3-2 in overtime.) The Chiefs have outscored the Royals in the third period this season 12 - 6, and Reading has compiled a record of 1 - 4 - 2 in the seven games played so far between the two teams.

6. Greg Hogeboom scored a goal and picked up an assist in Sunday's 5-2 loss in Johnstown extending his personal point streak to a team season high eleven games (7g - 8a = 15pts). Hogeboom also held the previous high water mark for the team in this category, picking up at least one point in ten consecutive games from December 2 through December 22 (5g - 12a = 17pts).

7. Greg Hogeboom's goal on Sunday was scored while the Royals were playing a man short, marking his seventh short-handed goal of the season, which extends his team record in this category. (Earlier this season, Hogeboom surpassed the Royals record for SHGs set last season by Chris Bala at five.) Hogeboom is currently tied with the Long Beach Ice Dogs' Wes Goldie for the league lead in this category.

8. Sunday's two-point performance marked the seventeenth multi-point game of the year for Greg Hogeboom, who has racked up at least one point in 38 of the 46 games he's played for Reading this season. Over the last two seasons, Hogeboom has had a point in 53 of the 65 games he's played for Reading (36g - 53a = 89pts).

9. Brett Smith scored on his first shot as a member of the Royals (after being acquired from the Phoenix RoadRunners last Tuesday) 52 seconds into Sunday's game. Smith also assisted on the Royals' other goal in that game, registering his first multi-point game with Reading and his sixth multi-point game of the year (including his 38 games for Phoenix this season).

10. The Royals power play was kept off the board in the two chances that the team had with the man advantage on Sunday, marking the sixteenth time over the last twenty-eight games that the team's PP has been blanked. In those 28 games, the Royals have gone 10 - 118 on the power play (an 8.5% scoring ratio.

CLOSING NOTES

1. The Royals' penalty kill has allowed at least one power play goal against in the last five games. In Sunday's game, Johnstown went 1 - 8 with the man advantage. That game marked the seventeenth time this season that Reading has given up eight or more power plays to the opponent. Over the course of the season, the Royals have allowed 51 power play goals against in 295 chances for the opponents, which is an 82.7% scoring ratio (tied for fourteenth in the league).

2. Former Royal goaltender Barry Brust made all 34 stops he was required to make in the Manchester Monarchs 3-0 win over the Worcester Sharks last Saturday night. That marked the first shutout of the season for Brust (and the third in his career with the Monarchs).

3. In the Monarchs' 3-0 win over Worcester on Saturday, former Royal Shay Stephenson scored two goals including the game winner. Stephenson has six goals with Manchester this season.

4. Manchester currently holds the longest win streak in the AHL this season, having won their last 12 consecutive games.

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