ECHL Reading Royals

Reading Royals Weekly

Published on March 2, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


TOP NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals split the four games played last week, winning two and losing two. Reading now has 35 regulation losses, which ties the team record for second most regula- tion losses in a single season (32-35-5=69) (2002-03). The team record for regulation losses in a single season was established in the team's inaugural year, 2001-02, at 36 (27-36-9=63).

2. The Royals 6-2 win over Dayton on Sunday snapped a three game home losing streak for the Royals. Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Bombers at the Sovereign Center marked the team's seventeenth regulation loss at home this season (9-17-0), establishing a new team record in that regard. The prior record for home losses for the Royals was established in 2002-03 (17-16-3).

3. In the two games won by the Royals this past week, Reading held the opposition to two goals or less (3-1 @ Cincinnati on Tuesday; 6-2 over Dayton on Sunday). Reading has held the opposition to two goals or less sixteen times this season and has compiled a record of 14-2-0 in those games.

4. In the two games lost by the Royals this past week, Reading allowed five goals to the opposition (5-0 @ Cincinnati on Wednesday; 5-3 to Dayton on Saturday). Reading has allowed five goals or more to the opposition twenty times this season and has compiled a record of 2-18-0 in those games. (The Royals' overall team goals against average is 3.76, twenty-second in the league).

5. The Royals' offense was held off the board by the Cyclones on Wednesday, marking the third time this season that Reading has been shutout. Over the course of the team's eight year history, Reading has been shutout twenty-six times during the regular season. In three separate seasons (2001-02; 2003-04; and 2004-05), the team was blanked five times, which is the season high; in 2002-03, Reading was shutout only once, which is the team low.

6. Reading rang off six consecutive goals for the first time this season in Sunday's 6-2 win over Dayton. That marked the fifth time this year that the Royals have scored six goals in a single game this season, and the team has compiled a 4-1-0 record in those games. Overall this season, the Royals have averaged 2.95 goals per game, which is sixteenth in the league.

7. Dan Rudisuela scored a goal in three of the four games played by the Royals this week. On Tuesday, he scored the game's first goal while the Royals were on the power play. (That was his second 'first goal' of the year; and fifth power play goal.). Rudisuela also scored the Royals' third goal in Saturday's 5-3 loss to Dayton; and the team's sixth goal in the 6-2 win over the Bombers. Rudisuela also picked up an assist in that game, marking his eighth multi-point game of the year. In his last fourteen games, Rudisuela has racked up eight goals and picked up eight assists (sixteen points) and played to a plus-two (+2)

8. Chris Stevens registered his fourth multi-goal game of the year, scoring a pair of power play goals, including the game winner in Sunday's 6-2 win over Dayton. Stevens, who had a two assist game on Saturday night, also picked up an assist in Sunday's game to register his third three-point game of the year-and his eleventh multi-point performance of the season.

9. The Royals snapped a string of twenty-two consecutive power play chances without scoring, when the team bagged a pair of PPGs in a seven minute power play awarded in the opening moments of Tuesday's game in Cincinnati. However, the PP was kept off the board for the next seventeen consecutive power play opportunities-and had been blanked in 6 of the prior 9 games-until seven seconds into the team's first PP chance on Sunday. Reading scored a pair of PPGs on Sunday, marking the 17th time this year the Royals have scored more than one PPG in a single game. Overall, the Royals are 52-316 on the PP (16.5%) (thirteenth in the league).

10. Reading's PK allowed at least one power play goal against in 3 of the 4 games played this week. (The PK blanked Cincinnati's PP on Tuesday-the twelfth time that Reading blanked the opponent's PP.) Overall, the Royals have allowed 71 PPGA in 330 chances (78.5% kill ratio) (22nd in the league).

CLOSING NOTES

1. Brock Hooton, who leads the Royals with 47 points (18g-29a), registered his twelfth multi-point game of the year on Sunday (1g-1a). In his last twenty-five games with the Royals, Hooton has racked up thirty-four points (12g-22a).

2. Mac Faulkner scored his 17th goal of the year (tying his goal output for each of the past 2 seasons) and his third short-handed goal of the season on Sunday. He also picked up an assist in that game to register his ninth multi-point game of the season. Faulkner currently leads the Royals with 202 shots on goal.

3. Tim Branham, who leads Reading defenders with 25 points (2g-23a), picked up 2 assists in Sunday's win-including one on the game winner by Chris Stevens. That marked Branham's fourth multi-assist performance of the season.

4. Ryan Toomey, who was acquired by the Royals in a trade with the South Caro- lina Stingrays on Friday, scored in his first game with the Royals on Saturday.

5. Levi Nelson, who was loaned to the Royals from Providence last Tuesday, scored his 1st goal as a Royal-in his 4th game with the team-on Sunday.

6. Chris Stevens was awarded the team's fifth penalty shot of the season-and the third this year against the Dayton Bombers (and second against Dayton goaltender, David Shantz, on whom Brock Hooton scored his short-handed pen- alty shot on November 9, 2008). (In the first seven years of the Royals history, the team was only awarded a total of six penalty shots). Stevens was stopped by Shantz in his penalty shot attempt at the 6:41 mark of the first period.

7. The Royals racked up a record of 4-7-2 in the month of February to mark the fifth consecutive month in which the team has had a losing record. This is only the second time in team history that the Royals have had a losing record in February. (In 2001-02, the team went 2-8-2). With respect to March, in the prior 7 seasons of Royals hockey, the team has compiled a record of 37-54-10 in this month, which is the only month in which the team has an overall losing record.

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