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ECHL Reading Royals

Preview: Royals Meet Admirals for Back-To-Back Games in Norfolk

April 7, 2023 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Norfolk, VA - The Reading Royals (38-23-5-1) proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, open a three-game series against the Norfolk Admirals (19-43-2-3) on Friday, April 7 at 7:05 p.m. at Norfolk Scope Arena.

The Royals play game two of the series in Norfolk on Saturday, April 8, at 6:05 p.m. before returning home on Wednesday, April 12 to host the Admirals at 7:00 p.m. at Santander Arena. The home game features a Wild Wednesdays promotional game with ticket discounts on Green Zone tickets ($6.10) and $5 Buy One, Get One tickets for college students with a valid .edu e-mail address! College students ONLY pay service fees for ticket.

Swing on over to Cheers American Bistro in the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading for a Post-Game party featuring a post-game show hosted by Erik Jesberger.

Food and drink deals at the game include $1 beer at select locations around the concourse. Tickets to the game and a list of the full promotional game schedule is available at royalshockey.com/promotions.

Royals Right Now:

Reading hoists a 38-23-5-1 record after falling to Trois-Rivières in a shootout in their previous game on Sunday, April 2, 3-2, at Santander Arena. Solag Bakich scored his first goal of his professional career while Matt Vernon (0-1-0-1) suffered the loss in his second professional career start with saves on 28 of 30 shots in regulation, six shots in overtime, and one of three shootout attempts by the Lions.

The Royals boast an all-time record of 34-10-3-1 against Norfolk and have taken five of the last eight meetings between the clubs this season. Reading fell to Norfolk on the road for the third time this season in their previous meeting on Wednesday, February 15, 4-3. Prior to the midweek face-off, the Royals fell to the Admirals on Wednesday, February 8, 4-3, after they swept the Admirals in a two-game series on Friday, January 20, 5-3, and Saturday, January 21, 5-1. This was Reading's second series sweep over Norfolk this season after they previously did so in the opening season series on December 2nd, 6-3, and December 3rd, 4-1.

Reading has outscored the Admirals 32-19 this season and leads the season series with a record of 5-3 against Norfolk. The Royals have won nine of their last 14 face-offs with the Admirals dating back to November 12, 2021.

Reading (82 pts) became the second team in the Eastern Conference and sixth team in the ECHL to secure a Kelly Cup Playoff berth this season on Friday, March 31. The Royals hold second place in the North Division with a one-point lead over the Maine Mariners (81 pts) in the standings. Newfoundland leads the North Division and Eastern Conference standings with a 45-20-2-0 record and became the first team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff berth on Saturday, March 18. Maine holds third place with a 37-25-2-1 record and wins in four of their last fives games. Worcester ranks fourth in the standings with a 33-32-4-0 record while Adirondack (29-26-9-2) holds five place. Trois-Rivières (27-37-3-0) sits in sixth place in the division while Norfolk comes in at the bottom of the North Division and Eastern Conference with 19 wins in 67 games (19-43-2-3).

Norfolk enters the series coming off of their fourth shutout suffered this season at the hands of the Newfoundland Growlers on Saturday, April 1, 3-0. The Admirals have split their last 10 games (5-4-1) and have earned a point in three of their last five games at home (2-2-1). Forward Danny Katic leads the Admirals in assists (17) while forward Ryan Foss leads the club in assists (26) and points (42).

A few Royals captured milestones and achieved distinguished rankings in the league in their series finale against Trois-Rivières:

Milestones:

Forward Solag Bakich scored his first goal of his professional career

Player Rankings:

Forward Charlie Gerard is tied for 9th in the league in points (71)

Gerard is third in the league in shots on goal (279)

Forward Max Newton is tied for 17th in the league in points

Among rookies, Newton is third in goals (30) and is fourth in points (65)

Newton is third among rookies in shots on goal (208)

Defenseman Colin Felix is third among rookies in major penalties (9) and is fourth in penalty minutes (133)

Captain Garrett McFadden is tied for 10th among defensemen in points (40)

Defenseman Mason Millman is tied for 7th among defensemen in points (44)

Millman is tied for second among defenseman in game-winning goals (2)

Goalie Pat Nagle is fourth in the league in goals-against average (2.47 GAA)

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The game will be streamed live on the Royals Broadcast Network available on the following platforms:

FloSports: flosports.link/3yarTg4

Mixlr: mixlr.com/readingroyals

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

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ECHL Stories from April 7, 2023


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