ECHL Reading Royals

Home Is Where The Hole Has Been

Published on November 5, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Sometimes, you got to wonder about this whole 'home ice advantage' thing. Now, don't get me wrong, everyone associated with the Royals flat out loves 'R-Town'. Clearly, Reading is one of the premier markets in the ECHL, and the fans here are as knowledgeable and supportive as any in all of pro hockey. That's certainly not the issue. But the fact is, over the past two-plus seasons, a significant number of the Royals' most dramatic wins have come out on the road (for instance, the 3-2 victory in Las Vegas on January 3, 2006 against a Wrangler team that, to that point, had not lost on home ice) while some of our most raw disappointments have come at home (look no farther than Game 72 of last year's regular season). The numbers kind of bear this out as well. From 2003-05, the Royals went 50-15-7 at home (.743 win %); while during the last two seasons, the team has gone 39-16-7 (.590 win%) at the Sovereign Center. And the past week was kind of a microcosm of this experience. Last Tuesday in Gwinnett, Georgia, the Royals fought off a skilled and energized Gladiators' team and grinded out a dramatic nail-biting 2-1 victory over a the team that has only been beaten once all year-by the Royals. That victory locked down a winning record for Reading in the team's season opening seven game road trip at 4-3-0-a trip that included a come from behind third period win in Johnstown and a victory in the first pro hockey game in the Mississippi Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina. Coming home on Saturday night, the cards appeared to be stacked in the Royals' favor, as we arrived to the Sovereign Center well rested from a couple of days in our own beds and presumably buoyed by the energy of a capacity crowd at the Sovereign Center. Although the Royals were unable to solve the Cincinnati Cyclones and their goaltender, Cedrick Desjardins, in the early going, Reading continued to press hard through the first two periods. But despite entering the third period only trailing 1-0, the air seemed to seep out of the Royals' balloon in the final twenty minutes. To be sure, the extraordinary play of Desjardins and his Cyclone teammates added to the wilt factor; but the sour taste of that 3-0 loss wasn't what the home fans expected or wanted or maybe even felt like they deserved after waiting some seven months since their last live hockey game. Which is why Sunday's 5-3 win at the Sovereign Center over Elmira may have been so satisfying-if not out-right critical. In that one, after scoring first, the Royals fell behind 2-1 midway into the game and could have very easily folded the tent and packed it up for our next road trip; but the team rang off three goals in the span of 8:39 in what was left of the second period to take a lead they would not relinquish. And, after a shutdown third period to get the season's first home win, one was left to wonder whether the team had found where the heart is.....

TOP TEN NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals completed the team's season opening seven game road trip with a 2-1 in Gwinnett last Tuesday. The team registered a 4-3-0 record out on the road to start the season. Over the course of the seven year team history, the Royals have compiled a 95-107-21 record on the road (.473 win percentage).

2. The final five games of the season opening road trip were against South Division opponents. In the seven year history of the team, Reading has compiled a record of 23-13-3 against the teams currently in the South and 31-14-5 against the teams currently playing in divisions other than the North. Reading has three more regular season games this year against teams outside of the North Division (Wednesday, Nov. 7 v. Bakersfield; Saturday, Feb. 16 v. Texas; and Sunday, Feb. 17 v. Gwinnett.).

3. The Royals scored the game's first goal in last Tuesday's win in Gwinnett and Sunday's home victory over Elmira. Reading has scored the 'first goal' in three of the nine games that the team has played so far as has a record of 3-0-0 in those games. In the team's history, Reading has a 148-43-21 record when scoring first, which translates into a .748 win percentage.

4. The first goal in Tuesday's 2-1 win in Gwinnett was scored by Rob LaLonde, marking his first 'first goal' as a pro. LaLonde also scored the goal that proved to be the game winner against Elmira on Sunday, which was the first GWG of his pro career.

5. Brock Hooton scored the game winning goal for the Royals in the 2-1 win in Gwinnett. That was the second goal of the season for Hooton, and both of his goals this year have proven to be game winners. Last year, one of Hooton's seventeen goals (in fifty-nine games) for the Phoenix Roadrunners was a game winner.

6. The 3-0 loss for the Royals in the team's home opener against the Cincinnati Cyclones marked the first time in team history that Reading has been blanked in the first game at home and only the second time (in the seven year history of the team) that the Royals lost in regulation in the home opener. The Royals have compiled a record of 3-2-2 in home openers.

7. Saturday's game marked the twenty-fifth time in team history that the Royals have been shutout. Ten of those goal-less games have been played at the Sovereign Center. It marked the second time that Cincinnati goaltender Cedrick Desjardins, who stopped all 29 shots he faced, has blanked Reading. Last season, Desjardins stopped all 23 shots he faced against the Royals in Cincinnati on January 5 to lead the Cyclones to a 1-0 victory. Desjardins is the fourth goaltender to register two shutouts against Reading in the history of the team. The others who blanked the Royals twice are Dany Sabourin, Scott Fankhouser, and Joe Exter. In two seasons, Desjardins has a record of 6-2-0 against Reading with a 2.00 goals against average and a .936 save percentage.

8. The Royals won the first game in team history against the Elmira Jackals, 5-3 on Sunday. For the second time this season, the Royals got goals from five different players in Sunday's game. Reading is currently tied for twentieth in the league in 'goals for', averaging 2.67 goals per game. For the first time this season, on Sunday, Reading scored twice on the power play (2-5)-the first goal of the game by Chris Blight and the team's fourth goal by Rob LaLonde. The Royals are currently 5 for 53 on the power play, a 9.4% scoring ratio, which is twenty-third in the league.

9. Joe Zappala scored his first goal for the Royals this season in Sunday's win over Elmira. Zappala scored the Royals second goal, tying the game at two in the second period 1:28 after the Jackals had taken their only lead (at 2-1) on Sunday. Zappala also picked up an assist on the Royals first goal on Sunday, thus registering his first multi-point of the season. Last season, Zappala was the second leading scorer for the Royals with 23 goals in 66 games. Zappala had fourteen multi-point games last season.

10. Ned Lukacevic scored his third goal of the season to give the Royals a 3-2 lead on Sunday, 1:43 after Reading had tied the game at two in the second period. Lukacevic is currently tied with Malcolm MacMillan and P.J. Atherton for the team lead in goals scored. Last season, Lukacevic scored seven goals in fifty three games.

CLOSING NOTES

1. Matt Herneisen assisted on three of the Royals' five goals in Sunday's 5-3 win over Elmira. That marked the second game this season in which Herneisen has registered three assists in one game. (He also picked up three assists against Mississippi on October 27.) Last season with the Dayton Bombers, Herneisen had ten multipoint games but did not have a three point game during the year.

2. In Sunday's game, Patrick Jarrett picked up a pair of assists for the Royals. That was the fourth time this season that Jarrett, who currently leads the Royals with nine points, has had a two-assist game for Reading.

3. Kevin Saurette scored his second goal of the season with seven seconds remaining on Sunday into an empty net. Both of Saurette's goals this year have been empty netters.

4. Reading held the Cincinnati Cyclones to a season best 19 shots in Saturday's loss. The Royals are currently second in the league in shots against per game (26.56/game). Cincinnati is the top team in the league in that stat averaging giving up just 26.29 shots per game.

5. Reading is currently the third most penalized team in the league averaging 28.0 pims against/game. The Royals have had 53 power plays in the first nine games and have given the opposition 65 (-12 on the season). Reading's 14 major penalties are second only to Utah, who have racked up 18 in 8 games.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

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