ECHL Reading Royals

Reading Royals Weekly

Published on November 1, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


I guess it should come as no surprise to those of us who watched the Royals playoff run last Spring that, when the team really needed a win, goaltender Matt Dalton would serve as a rallying point in the right direction. In those playoffs, Dalton was a primary factor in the first round upset of the Kalama- zoo Wings and the ensuing eight game win streak that got the team within a game of it's first trip to the Kelly Cup Finals-not just because of the saves he made, but also because of a phenomena that seems easier to observe than explain (and is probably pretty common in champion- ship hockey teams): the team 'circled the wagons' around the goal- tender. So this past Friday, when the Royals were mired in a four game losing streak and apparently struggling with the concept of a commitment to team defense, it was heartening to see the team rally around their goaltender again-and preserve a shutout per- formance that couldn't have come at a better moment......

TOP NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals 3-2 loss to the Wheeling Nailers last Thursday morning extended the team's losing streak to four games. During those four losses, the Royals did not hold a lead at any time and actually trailed the opposition for 183:45 of the total 240 minutes of game time.

2. Olivier Labelle scored both goals for Reading in the 3-2 loss to the Wheeling Nailers on Thursday. That marked Labelle's second multi-goal game of the year. His first goal on Thursday was scored while the team was playing with the man advantage, marking his team leading third power play goal of the year. Labelle is currently tied for the team lead with five goals. During the past week, Labelle picked up four minor penalties (and 8 PIMs). He currently leads the league with 11 total minors and 42 PIMs.

3. The Royals snapped the team's four game losing streak with a 3-0 victory in Wheeling on Friday. That game also ended a streak of four consecutive games in which the opponent scored the game's first goal. Reading also registered the game's first goal in Saturday's 3-2 shootout win over the Toledo Walleye. The Royals are 3-0-0-0 when scoring the game's first goal this season.

4. Matt Caruana scored the game's first goal in Friday's win over the Nailers. He also scored first on Saturday in Toledo. Caruana's goal in Friday's game proved to be his first game winner as a Royal-and his fourth game winner in the ECHL. (He had two in 18 games with the Gwinnett Gladiators in 2008-09; and one last season in 32 games with the Gwinnett Gladiators. He also scored two GWGs in 36 games with Portland in the AHL last year.) Caruana has registered at least one point in five of the seven games he's played for Reading.

5. Ben Gordon assisted on the game winner by Matt Caruana in Friday's 3-0 win in Wheeling. He also assisted on both of the goals scored by Olivier Labelle in Thursday's 3 -2 loss to the Nailers. Gordon's three game assist streak was snapped in Saturday's 3-2 shootout win in Toledo. Gordon currently leads the Royals with seven assists, which places him tied for second in the league in that category. He now has 94 career points as a Royal (30g-64a) in 75 total regular season games with the team, placing him one point behind Brian McCullough as the sixth all-time leading scorer for the Royals. His 64 career assists is fifth all time.

6. Matt Dalton stopped all twenty-five shots he faced in Friday's win in Wheeling to register his first win of the season-and his second shutout as a pro. (He shutout the Johnstown Chiefs, 4-0, at the Sovereign Center in Reading on March 20, 2010.) That was the twenty-sixth regular season shutout by a Royals' goaltender in the ten year history of the team.

7. Casey Haines scored his second goal of the year for the Royals at the 5:18 mark of the third period (with assists to Rob Slaney and Richard Greenop) on Friday to give the Royals a 2-0 lead in Wheeling. Haines currently leads all first year pros on the Royals with three points (2g-1a).

8. Ryan Cruthers scored a short-handed empty netter with 1:18 remaining in regulation in Friday's 3-0 win in Wheeling. For Cruthers, that was his fifth goal of the year (tied for the team lead) and his second short-handed goal, which ties him for the league lead in that category. Cruthers also scored on his first shootout attempt of the season in Toledo on Saturday. Last year, Cruthers went 1-6 in the shootout for the Royals. (His lone shootout goal last season proved to be the decisive goal in the team's 5-4 shootout win over the Toledo Walleye at the Sovereign Center on March 13, 2010.) 9. Saturday's game marked the first time this season that the Royals have had to go beyond regulation time to resolve the game. The 3-2 shootout win brings the Royals all-time record to 61-65 in the 126 ties that the team has had over the last ten years. Historically, Reading is 35-42 in shootouts. Last season, the Royals were 9-6 in ties and 6-5 in the shootout.

10. Saturday's shootout marked the ninth time in team history that the Royals have had a shootout go seven or more rounds. (The longest in team history was the twelve round shootout against the Trenton then-Titans on March 26, 2006, which the Royals won.) Reading is now 3-6 when the shootout goes seven or more rounds.

11. The shootout in Toledo on Saturday marked the first pro experience in the shootout for goaltender Ben Scrivens, who stopped five of the seven shots he faced- including the decisive seven round effort by Toledo's Mike Hedden. Scrivens stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced in Toledo on Saturday to register his second win of the year. In his other game for Reading this past week, the 3-2 loss on Thursday, Scrivens faced a season high 41 shots against and made a season-high 38 saves.

12. John Scrymgeour, in his first attempt in a pro shootout, scored in the seventh round, which proved to be the decisive shot. Scrymgeour also registered his first pro point that evening when he assisted on the goal by defenseman, Alain Goulet.

13. Alain Goulet scored Reading's second goal 2:24 into the first period on Saturday, sixteen seconds after Matt Caruana had scored the first goal of the games. For Goulet that marked his first goal as a Royal. Goulet also assisted on the power play goal scored by Olivier Labelle in Thursday's 3-2 loss in Wheeling. Goulet currently leads Read- ing defenders with five points (1g-4a), which places him tied for 3rd amongst defensemen in scoring. (His 4 assists ties him for second amongst D-men in that category.)

14. After going 1-2 on the power play in Friday's loss, the Royals power play has been held off the board for the team's last twelve consecutive power play chances (0-8 on Friday; and 0-4 on Saturday). Reading is currently scoring power play goals at a 19.4% clip (7-36), which is eighth out of the nineteen teams in the league.

15. After giving up an early power play goal to the Nailers in Thursday morning's game, the Royals PK has killed sixteen consecutive power play opportunities for the oppo- sition. Friday's game marked the first time this season the Royals PK held the opponent off the board on the PP (6-6). (Overall: 82.0% kill ratio, 11th in the league).

CLOSING NOTES

1. Todd Perry picked up his first point for the Royals this year when he made a great play to set up Olivier Labelle for the team's second goal on Thursday. Perry then started the rush (on another solid move from the defensive zone) that resulted in the game winner for the Royals on Friday in Wheeling.

2. Reading gave up the team's first short-handed goal against this year, when Zach Torquarto was sprung on a long breakaway in the second period of Saturday night's game.

3. Andrew Sarauer, who was 2-4 on shootouts last year (and 3 for 3 on penalty shots), scored on his shootout attempt on Saturday in Toledo. His first penalty shot goal last year for the Royals was scored in Toledo's Huntington Center.

4. The Royals continue the team's season long six game road trip with back-to- back games at First Arena in Elmira, New York on Friday and Saturday.

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