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Forward Casey Haines Returns to Reading

July 26, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL) - Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Casey Haines ("HAYNZ"). Last season, Haines (5'10/191) (24), scored eighteen goals, assisted on sixteen others (thirty-four points) and picked up thirty penalty minutes in sixty-four regular season games with the Royals. Haines, who hails from Indiana, Pennsylvania, also earned a one game call-up to the Lake Erie Monsters of the AHL. In eight post-season games with the Royals, Haines, who was selected as the team's Rookie of the Year, scored a goal and picked up three assists (four points). Haines is the sixth player announced as signed by the Royals for the 2011-12 season, joining forwards Phil Aucoin, Ryan Cruthers, Olivier Labelle, John Scrymgeour, and defenseman Denny Urban.

It didn't take long for Haines to get into the scoring act for Reading. In his first game as a pro, he joined fifty-eight other players in the history of the Royals' organization when he registered an assist in his first game with the team, Reading's 6-5 win over the Trenton Devils in the season opener. The next night, Haines bagged his first goal as a pro in a 6-4 loss to the Devils. Haines, whose sixty-four games with the Royals led the team, hit full stride in mid-January when he racked up his second multi-point performance as a pro (1g-1a) in the Royals' 8-2 win over the Toledo Walleye on January 14, 2011. The night after that, Haines assisted on all three goals scored by Reading in the team's 6-3 loss to the Elmira Jackals. Those games initiated a stretched in which Haines racked up eleven points-and seven goals-over a span of eleven games. That scoring spree triggered Haines' first opportunity in the AHL, as he joined the Lake Erie Monsters for a 5-4 shootout loss to the San Antonio Rampage on February 5. Haines returned to the Royals and picked up his first multi-goal game as a pro in Reading's 7-1 win over the Gwinnett Gladiators on March 26. In the second to last game of the regular season, Haines scored the Royals' final regular season game winner (and his first GWG as a pro) in Reading's 6-3 win over Trenton. Haines also recorded his first pro post-season goal last year when he scored in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Kalamazoo Wings.

Prior to turning pro, Haines had a stellar four-year collegiate career at Ferris State University. In his senior season, Haines was second on the team in scoring (12g-19a31pts) and led the Bulldogs with five GWGs. Haines was also a primary component of Ferris State's penalty killing unit, which led the NCAA in 2009-10 with an 88.4% kill ratio. Haines capped his college experience on a high note when he received FSU's Willie Bouyer Leadership Award, the athletic department's most prestigious honor which is bestowed upon an athlete who exhibits strong inspirational leadership and dedication to fellow student-athletes. Haines, who also received the team's Most Improved Player Award as a junior at FSU, registered sixty points (25g-35a) in 142 total collegiate games with the Bulldogs.

Season Tickets for the 2011-12 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com . Is your club, group, or organization looking for fun and entertaining speakers for an upcoming event' Contact the Royals' Speakers Bureau to book a team representative for your next outing. More information on the Royals Speakers Bureau is available by contacting Mark Thompson at 484-400-3565 or mthompson@royalshockey.com.


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