ECHL Reading Royals

Reading Royals Weekly

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


TOP NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals are currently riding a three game win streak, which ties the longest win streak that the team had in all of 2008-09. All three wins for the Royals this past week were at the Sovereign Center in Reading. The team did not win three consecutive games at home last season. The last time Reading won three (or more) consecu- tive home games dates back to March 2 - March 28, 2008 when the team won five in a row at home. The team record for consecutive wins at home for Reading is 9, which was set from January 2, 2004 - February 15, 2004.

2. Reading is currently riding a four game unbeaten streak at the Sovereign Center (3-0-0-1). The team's home unbeaten streak record stands at twenty-three games (20-0 -3), which was set from November 14, 2003 through February 24, 2004.

3. The Royals won for the first time this season in the shootout last Thursday night, as the final four shooters for Reading (Stefano Giliati, Ben Gordon, Danick Bouchard and Olivier Labelle) scored on their respective shootout attempts; while goaltender Beau Erickson stopped two of the four Toledo shooters he faced. That marked the firs t shootout win of Erickson's pro career. (In his first pro game, he lost in a shootout in Wheeling on March 21, 2009, which is his only other pro experience in the shootout.) Overall, in the eight-plus year history of the team, Reading has a record of 29-38 in the shootout.

4. All three of Reading's wins this past week were decided by one goal. Five of the eight games played by the Royals this year have been decided by one goal, and Reading has compiled a record of 3-0-1-1 in those games. Last year, the Royals went 9-10-6 in one-goal games.

5. Stefano Giliati extended his goal scoring (and point) streak to six games (6g-8a=14pts) by bagging a goal (and a total of four assists) in the first two games played this past week. Those streaks were halted in Sunday's 3-2 win over Johnstown. Giliati's fourteen points is currently tied for the league lead in that category. Giliati currently leads the Royals with four multi-point games in the eight played.

6. Danick Bouchard is currently riding a three game goal scoring streak for the Royals. All three of those goals were scored while the Royals were on the power play. Last season, while playing principally for the Florida Everblades, nine of Bouchard's nineteen goals were scored while the team was on the power play.

7. Ben McLeod scored what proved to be the game winning goal in the third period of Saturday's 4-3 win over Johnstown. That marked McLeod's first GWG as a member of the Royals. Last season, with the Cincinnati Cyclones-before he joined the Royals for the final 12 games of the season-McLeod had a pair of game winners. McLeod has now played a total of twenty games for the Royals (12 last year and 8 this season), and he has registered a total of 21 points (9g-12a).

8. Olivier Labelle scored his first goal as a member of the Royals on Sunday when he broke a 2-2 third period tie with the Johnstown Chiefs. That goal proved to be the game winner. Last year, 5 of the 16 goals Labelle scored for the Victoria Salmon Kings were game winners. In his first game with the Royals last Thursday night, Labelle's shootout effort proved to be the deciding goal in the shootout for the Royals. Shooting fifth for Reading, Labelle's goal clinched the win for the team. Last year, Labelle went four for seven for Victoria in the shootout.

9. Beau Erickson won his first two starts for the Royals this past week. On Thursday, he stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced in 65 minutes of hockey and 2 of 4 in the shootout to pick up his first win of the year. That was also the first shootout win in Erickson's pro career-he lost his first bid as a pro in the shootout last season on March 21, 2009 in Wheeling in his first pro game. Erickson also faced the first penalty shot in his pro career that night, as Toledo's Mike Hedden scored on that effort. Erickson followed that win with a 4-3 win over Johnstown on Saturday night, stopping 26 of 29 shots that night to register back-to-back wins for the first time in his pro career.

10. Reading scored at least one power play goal in each of the three games played this past week, going 4 for 15 (26.7%) on the week with the man advantage. Overall, the Royals have scored eight power play goals this season in forty-seven chances with the man advantage, which translates into a 17.0% scoring ratio (9th in the league).

11. The Royals' PK allowed a pair of PPGs to Toledo on Thursday, marking the second time this year that the team has allowed more than one PPGA; however, on Sunday, the Royals' PK kept Johnstown's PP off the board (0-3)-the second time they've done that this year. Overall, the Royals are 30-37 on the kill (81.1% kill ratio, 15th).

CLOSING NOTES

1. Kevin Regan became the first Reading goaltender to hold the opposition to less than three goals this season with his thirty-four save 3-2 win over Johnstown on Sunday. That was the first win in Reading for Regan, who made several spectacular and timely stops on Sunday and now has a record of 2-2-1-1 with the Royals.

2. Joey Ryan scored his first goal as a Royal on Thursday night to give the Royals their first lead of the game (2-1) mid-way into the second period. That was the second ECHL goal of Ryan's career. He scored on November 14, 2008 for the Cincinnati Cyclones in a 7-6 loss to Elmira. Ryan also scored 3 goals in 36 games with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL last season.

3. Scott Fletcher scored his first goal as a pro in Saturday's 4-3 win over Johns- town-14 seconds after Stefano Giliati had scored to give the Royals a 1-0 lead. In 236 OHL games prior to turning pro, Fletcher scored two goals.

4. EricWerner scored his first goal of the season on Sunday to give the Royals a 2- 1 lead 6:10 into the second period. Werner was also involved in his first fight (and the eighth of the season for the Royals) on Saturday when he and Sean Berk- stresser of Johnstown got into it. That wasWerner's first fight as a member of the Royals during the parts of three seasons that he's played with the team. Werner did engage in a fight as a member of the Manchester Monarchs on November 15, 2006, when they were playing the Toronto Marlies.

5. The Royals face the defending Kelly Cup Champion South Carolina Stingrays in a pair of games at the Sovereign Center this weekend. Reading and South Caro- lina have played each other nine times in the respective history of the teams, and the Royals have compiled a record of 4-4-1 against the Stingrays. Last season, South Carolina worked the Royals over pretty good in Reading (4-1) on February 22, 2009. The Stingrays are actually riding a three game win streak against the Royals. The last time Reading beat South Carolina was back on November 19, 2005 when Shay Stephenson scored four goals in Reading's 6-1 win at the Sover- eign Center.

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