Preview: Royals vs. Everblades, April 17th - Game 71/72
ECHL Reading Royals

Preview: Royals vs. Everblades, April 17th - Game 71/72

Published on April 15, 2026 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (36-24-8-2, 82 pts), proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, open a two-game road series against the Florida Everblades (47-13-7-3, 104 points) on Friday, April 17th at 7:30 p.m. at Hertz Arena. The series concludes on Saturday, April 18 at 7:00 p.m.

Royals Right Now:

The Royals enter game 71 of the regular season with wins in six of their last 10 games (6-3-1-0) and a point earned in nine of their last 13 games (6-4-3), 19 of their last 28 contests (13-8-4-2) and 28 of their 40 games played to open 2026 (20-13-6-2).

At home, the Royals have won 20 of their last 28 games with a point in 24 of the 28 games (20-4-3-1). On the road, the Royals have won seven of their last 16 contests with a point earned in 10 of the last 16 road games (7-6-2-1).

Forward Carson Golder lead the Royals in goals (17) while Ben Meehan leads the Royals in assists (34) and points (46).

Scouting the Everblades:

Through 70 games played, Florida has posted a Eastern Conference-best and ECHL second-best 47-13-7-3 record for 104 points. The 2022-2024 Kelly Cup Champions enter the series on a 10-game point streak (8-0-1-1) with nine wins over their last 12 games (9-1-1-1).

ECHL affiliates to the St. Louis Blues (NHL) and Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL), Florida is led behind the bench by 16th-year head coach (10th with Florida, 13th in ECHL) Brad Ralph (582-242-97). The 2017-18 ECHL Coach of the Year (John Brophy Award) was named the fifth head coach in ‚¬Ë†Everblades' history on July 12, 2016, and since has led the franchise to three Kelly Cup titles (2022-2024), multiple South Division titles, two Brabham Cups, and qualified for the postseason every year.

Anthony Peters returns to where he was an assistant coach under Ralph each of the last two seasons. With Peters on staff, the Everblades hoisted an 89-38-17 record in 144 regular season games, a 26-12 record in 38 Kelly Cup Playoff games and garnered their third-consecutive Kelly Cup Championship in 2024, as well as their fourth-straight Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 2025.

Prior to beginning his coaching career in 2023-24 with Florida, Peters played eight full seasons of professional hockey as a goaltender with stints in the American Hockey League (AHL), ECHL, as well as overseas in Germany, Sweden, Austria, and Slovakia. He opened his professional career in the ECHL with Florida in 2015 and went on to play 100 regular season games in goal for the Everblades over parts of three seasons through the 2016-17 campaign. The 6'1" netminder compiled a regular season record of 60-31-4 in his time with the team and made 12 Kelly Cup Playoff game appearances for Florida between their postseason runs in 2016 and 2017.

REA vs. FLR: Reading is 15-12-6 all-time in regular-season meetings with Florida with a 10-6 record in Kelly Cup Playoff games against the Everblades - 2004 Northern Conference Finals (FLR 3-2), 2010 American Conference Semifinals (REA 4-0) and 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals (REA 4-3).

Reading's last meeting with the Everblades came at the end of a three-game set at Florida in December, 2015. The Royals took four of a possible six points with a pair of post-regulation losses before a series finale 2-1 victory over the Everblades on December 12, 2015.

-

All games 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

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from April 15, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central