ECHL Reading Royals

Reading Royals Weekly

Published on December 14, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


This week, Royals' Goaltender Matt Dalton stretched his personal unbeaten streak to four games (3-0- 0-1) in the month of December, as he picked up a point for the team in the shootout loss in Kalamazoo last Wednesday and registered his sixth win of the season on Sunday in Cincinnati. To be sure, there have been moments of trepidation, but there always are in the development of the professional career of a young goaltender. Nevertheless, Matt has consistently exhibited a tenacious- yet calm and collected-focus which has helped him respond at critical moments-whether it be right off the opening face-off or in a late game press coming from an oppo- nent trying to climb back in, as it was on Sunday when he robbed Cincy's Barrett Eghoetz on a late game chance from point blank range.

TOP NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals 4-3 shootout loss to the Kalamazoo Wings on Wednesday extended the team's unbeaten streak to four games (3-0-0-1)-and the team's unbeaten streak on the road to three games (2-0-0-1). That streak was snapped with the 3-2 loss in Cincinnati on Saturday. Those tied the longest unbeaten streaks of the season for Reading, as the team had previously won 4 in a row (11/13 - 11/21/09), which included a 3 game road win streak (11/14 - 11/21). The Royals are 4-1-0-1 in the team's last 6 games.

2. Reading's SOL in Kalamazoo last Wednesday dropped the Royals' record against the K-Wings, who are in their first season in the ECHL, to 0-2-1-1. Kalamazoo is the only ECHL team (against whom the Royals have played) that Reading has not beaten. (The Royals have never played the Alaska Aces, Victoria Salmon Kings, or Ontario Reign). Entering into this season, Reading had never beaten the Florida Everblades in the regular season (0-2-0); but the Royals accomplished that feat with back-to-back wins over the Everblades in Estero, Florida on November 18 and 20, 2009. The Royals play the K-Wings two more times this season (03/04 & 03/07)-both in Reading.

3. Wednesday's shootout loss in Kalamazoo marked the first time this season that the Royals held a lead as the team entered the third period and did not pick up the two points for the win. Reading currently has a record of 9-0-0-1 when entering the third period with a lead.

4. Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Cincinnati Cyclones marked the Royals first regulation loss in a game decided by one-goal this season. The Royals have compiled a record of 9- 1-1-2 in one-goal games this year.

5. Sunday's 4-2 victory over the Cyclones marked the sixth time this season that the Royals have held the opposition to two goals. Reading has compiled a record of 6-0-0-0 in those games. The Royals have not held any opponent to less that two goals in the twenty-six games that the team has played to date. Overall, the Royals, who have allowed 93 goals in those twenty-six games, have compiled a team goals against average of 3.58, which is sixteenth in the league.

6. Reading's Eric Werner scored the game's first goal in the 4-3 shootout loss in Kalamazoo on Wednesday. That marked the tenth time that the Royals had scored the game's first goal-and to that point ten different players had scored those -˜first goals'. On Sunday, Daniel Steiner became the first Royal to register a second first goal when he scored 1:04 into the game against the Cyclones. (That was the fastest this season that the Royals have scored into a game this year.) The Royals have now scored the game's first goal eleven times and have compiled a record of 8-0-1-2 in those games.

7. Ben Gordon extended his personal point streak to a team long eight games (3g-10a=13pts) when he assisted on the Royals' first goal in Kalamazoo on Wednesday. That streak was snapped in Saturday's 3-2 loss in Cincinnati; but Gordon picked up a pair of assists in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Cyclones, marking his team leading twelfth multi-point game of the year. In his last nineteen games, Gordon has registered at least one point in sixteen of those games (9g-18a=27pts). Gordon is currently tied for sixth overall in league scoring with twenty-nine points (11g-18a=29pts).

8. Ryan Cruthers also extended his personal point streak to a team long eight games (3g-7a=10pts) when he picked up an assist on the Royals second goal in Kalamazoo last Wednesday. Cruthers' point streak was also snapped in Cincinnati on Saturday. However, he did pick up an assist on the Royals' first goal on Sunday against the Cy- clones. Cruthers has registered at least one point in fourteen of his last sixteen games with the Royals (6g-16a=22pts).

9. After registering a pair of assists in Wednesday's SOL in Kalamazoo, Daniel Steiner had his streak of four consecutive multi-point games (4g-4a=8pts) snapped on Saturday, as well. Steiner bounced back by scoring the game's first goal in Sunday's win. Steiner, who is currently tied for eighth in the league in scoring with twenty-seven total points, has registered at least one point in fourteen of the nineteen games he's played for the Royals this year. In that time span, he has racked up nine multi-point games.

10. With the SOL in Kalamazoo on Wednesday and win on Sunday, Goaltender Matt Dalton stretched his personal unbeaten streak to four games in the month of Decem- ber (3-0-0-1). In Sunday's win, Dalton held Cincinnati to two goals on 38 shots, marking the third time this year he's held the opposition to just two goals against.

11. The Royals scored at least one power play goal in all three games played this week (4 - 18, 22.2% scoring ratio). In Wednesday's SOL, Reading's first two goals were scored while playing with the man advantage, marking the seventh time this year that the Royals' PP has struck for two (or more) goals in a single game. Overall this sea- son, the Royals power play has scored 25 PP goals in 152 chances with the man advantage (16.4% scoring ratio, 12th in the league). UDATE: Pat Richards Stat of the Week: When Royals score a power play goal, the team is 12-2-1-2; when the team doesn't, the record is: 2-7-0-0.

12. Reading's penalty killers knocked off all fourteen power play chances for the opposition that they faced this week-that included 9:46 of power play time for the Kala- mazoo Wings in the second period of Wednesday's SOL (and within that time span there was also 1:15 of five-on-three for the K-Wings). Over the last seven games, the Royals' PK has killed 27 of the 29 PP opps they have faced (93.1% kill ratio). Overall, Reading's PK is killing at an 80.6% ratio (104-129), which is 18th in the league.

CLOSING NOTES

1. Stefano Giliati scored what proved to be the game winning goal for the Royals in Sunday's win over Cincinnati. That marked Giliati's first GWG as a Royal-and his second as a pro. (He scored what proved to be the game winner in the Toronto Marlies 6-1 over the Philadelphia Phantoms on January 3, 2009). Sunday's goal marked Giliati's third in his last sixteen games with Reading after scoring six in his first seven games with the team

2. Rob LaLonde scored a goal and picked up an assist in Sunday's win in Cincinnati to register his second multi-point game of the year. LaLonde has five points (2g- 3a) and 22 PIMs in the five games that he's played since returning from the 21- Day IR (during which he missed sixteen games) on December 5.

3. The Royals were outshot in all three games the team played this past week. Reading has been outshot in sixteen of the twenty-six games played so far this year and have compiled a record of 8-6-1-1 in those games. Statistically, the Royals have averaged giving up 35.46 shots per game (19th in the league); while averaging 31.96 shots for per game (8th in the league).

4. Olivier Labelle scored the Royals' second goal in Wednesday's 4-3 SOL in Kalamazoo, and the team's first goal (to tie the game at one in the first period) in Saturday's 3-2 loss. This marked the second time this season that Labelle has scored goals in back-to-back games (11/14 & 11/18).

5. On Wednesday, The Royals return to Johnstown's Cambria County War Memorial Arena, where the team is 0-3-0 this season and is winless in the team's last ten games (0-8-2). After that, the Royals play 3 straight (and 5 of the next 7; and 7 of the next 12) against the Elmira Jackals (who they haven't played since 10/17).

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