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ECHL Reading Royals

Ocean Size....

March 24, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But even if I had such elocution readily at my disposal, I fear that any attempt to capture this moment in words would pale miserably when held in the brilliant glow of playoff hockey. And that's where the Royals find themselves this week, not only with the promise of the playoffs looming on the horizon, but also with the knowledge of the identity of their impending opponent-the Elmira Jackals. Although the Royals still have 7 regular season games to go before they get there, this may be a moment be best left to those quintessential modern minimalist masters of word's and sounds, Jane's Addiction: "I want to be more like the ocean/no talking/all action.../no talking/all action...."

TOP TEN NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals' 2-0 win over the Elmira Jackals on Friday night was Reading's first win in team history at First Arena in Elmira, New York. That road win snapped a six game road winless streak for the Royals (0-4-2) (02/27 - 03/21/08). The Royals are 16-15-3 away from the Sovereign Center this season with two road games remaining in the regular season.

2. The Royals have now clinched at least third place in the North Division and will face the Elmira Jackals in the first round of the playoffs. Although it has not yet been determined which of these two teams will earn the second seed, the first game of the North Division Semi-Finals will be held at First Arena in Elmira, New York on Friday, April 11 (7:35 pm). Over the course of the regular season, the Royals compiled a record of 6-4-1=13 against the Jackals, while. Elmira was 5-4-2=12 against Reading.

3. Reading's 2-0 win last Friday was the first pro game for goaltender, John Murray, who joined the Royals last Monday after completing the season with his junior team, the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League. Murray stopped all 38 shots he faced in last Friday's game.

4. The Royals' 3-1 win over the Trenton Devils at the Sovereign Center on Saturday night marked the fourteenth game this season that Reading has held the opposition to one goal (or less) in the 60 minutes of regulation hockey. (Four of those games have been against the Trenton Devils). THe Royals have compiled a record of 12-0-2 in those games and with different goaltenders in net (Jon Quick: 10 times; John Murray: 2 times; Terry Denike: 1 time; and Danny Taylor: 1 time).

5. Reading's win at the Sovereign Center on Saturday night extended the Royals' home winning streak to 4 games (03/02 - 03/22/08). The Royals have compiled a record of 10-1-1 in the team's last 12 games at the Sovereign Center (02/01-03/22/08). Over the course of the season, Reading has a 21-7-3 record at the Sovereign Center this season, with 5 home games remaining in the regular season. The team record for home wins in a single season is 25, which was established in 2003-04 and 2004-05.

6. Dany Roussin assisted on both goals scored by the Royals last Friday night. That marked Roussin's eleventh multi-point performance of the season. On Saturday, Roussin scored a power play goal, which proved to be his second game winner and team leading ninth power play goal of the year. It was also Roussin's 51st career goal for Reading. He is two shy of the team's all-time career record, which is held by Brad Rooney (53) (2001-03).

7. Kevin Saurette scored the first goal in Elmira in Friday, which was his second 'first goal' of the season. It also proved to be his second game winner of the year. Saurette has now scored eleven goals on the season, which tops the ten goals he scored for the Royals last season. (Saurette also scored two goals last year with the Binghamton Senators in the AHL.)

8. Brock Hooton scored his team leading twenty-third goal of the season last Friday. Hooton has scored six goals in his last nine games with the Royals. Over the last fifteen games, Hooton has picked up fifteen points (8g-7a=15pts). Hooton currently leads the Royals in goals (23), assists (32) and points (55).

9. Both of the goals scored by Reading in Friday's win in Elmira were scored while the Royals were on the power play. That was the fourth consecutive game in which Reading scored more than one power play goal (and the eighth time in the last fourteen games). Reading also scored the game winner on Saturday while playing with the man advantage. In the last five games, the Royals have scored 11 power play goals in the last 33 chances with the man advantage (33.3% scoring ratio). In the last 20 games, Reading has gone 34 for 132 on the PP (25.8% scoring ratio). Over the course of the season, the Royals are 74-385 on the PP (19.2%) (8th in the league).

10. Reading killed all eleven of the power play opportunities for the opposition last week (Elmira: 4-4; and Trenton: 7-7). The Royals PK has blanked the opposition in twentytwo games this season. In the ten games preceding last week's games, the Royals penalty killers had allowed fourteen PPGA in 51 chances with the man advantage for the opposition, which translates into a kill ratio of 72.5%. Over the course of the season, the Royals have killed 305 of 376 PPs against (81.1%) (16th in the league).

CLOSING NOTES

1. Defenseman Dave Pszenyczny picked up an assist on Friday and scored the Royals' third goal (in the third period) in the team's 3-1 win over Trenton on Sunday. That marked Pszenyczny's fourth goal (in fifteen games) with the Royals this year. Pszenyczny is currently riding a three game point streak (1g-2a=3pts) and has registered eight points (3g-5a=8pts) in his last ten games.

2. Vladimir Dravecky assisted on two of the Royals' three goals on Saturday night, including the game winning goal by Dany Roussin. That marked Dravecky's third multi-point game of the season (in 18 played).

3. Malcolm MacMillan scored the Royals' first goal (to tie the game at one) in Reading's 3-1 win over Trenton on Saturday. That marked MacMillan's first goal for the Royals since December 22 (although he has only played six games with the Royals since that date due to call-ups and injures0. MacMillan also assisted on the Royals' third goal in that game to register his fourth multi-point performance of the season for the Royals (in 27 played). MacMillan also registered four penalty minutes on Saturday to reach the 100 PIM plateau for the third consecutive season with the Royals. MacMillan is the all-time career PIM leader for the Royals' organization (535 pims, 2005-08). MacMillan has played 155 career games with the Royals-second only to Reagan Rome (176) (2003-07)-in team history.

4. The Trenton Devils scored the game's first goal Saturday night That marked the thirteenth time this season that Reading has allowed the game's first goal and come back to win (13-18-3).

5. In both games played this past week, the Royals held a lead entering the third period. The Royals are 26-1-3 when entering the third period with a lead.

6. Reading's win on Friday in Elmira followed a 4-3 loss to the Johnstown Chiefs the previous Sunday evening. The Royals are 16-3-2 in games following a regulation loss this season.

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