ECHL Reading Royals

Reading Royals Weekly

Published on January 10, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


One of the knocks you always hear on Alex Rodri- guez-and I have no idea on whether it's true or not-is that he piles up big chunks of his offensive production against lesser teams and lesser pitchers after the game is basically out of hand. And I sup- pose there are guys out there in the pro hockey world who do pretty much the same thing. Chris Blight is not one of those guys. Not that he doesn't pile up the points-he has 16 of them in twelve games for Reading this season-but he seems to get them in the hard, clutch moments when the team needs them most. Such was certainly the case this week, when he scored the goal that re-tied the game on Friday night in Toledo with just 2:51 left in regulation (with hope beginning to wane); and then again on Saturday night, when he scored a huge goal in the Royals' three goal third period comeback against the Wheeling Nailers; and, well, then again on Sunday when he set up a third period four-on-three power play goal that gave Reading some breathing space against the Elmira Jackals. Now, I don't know if Blighter's quite ready to take A-Rod's spot in the batting order; but I'm pretty sure he wouldn't mind getting on that Yankee payroll.....

TOP NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals went 2-0-1-0 last week, extending the team's current unbeaten streak to a season high games (6-0-2-0). Reading has gone 9-1-2-0 in the last twelve games and 11-2-2 in the last fifteen. Reading has compiled a record of 21-5-2 in the team's last twenty-eight games.

2. Reading currently has the top win percentage in the ECHL (.697).

3. The Royals have the best road record in the Eastern Conference of the ECHL at 13-4-1-0, which translates into a .711 win percentage. The only team in the ECHL with a better road win percentage than the Royals are the Utah Grizzlies (15-4-1-1) at .762.

4. On Friday, the Royals dropped their second overtime loss in their last three games (4-3 in Toledo). Sal Peralta scored the OT GWG for the Walleye against the Royals. He is the twenty-fifth player in the ten year history of the Royals to score an OT game winner against Reading.

5. The Royals trailed 3-0 entering the third period in Saturday's 4-3 shootout win in Wheeling. That marked the team's first three goal come-back of the season and was the eleventh come-from-behind win of the year. The Royals have compiled a record of 4-7-0-0 when they have entered the third period trailing the opposition.

6. Goaltender Michael Hutchinson and his Reading teammates blanked the Elmira Jackals on Sunday, 2-0. That marked Hutchinson's first shutout as a pro; the third shut- out of the year for the Royals; and the 28th shutout in Royals team history. Reading already has more shutouts this year than they did in the last two seasons combined. Reading currently has a 2.82 team goals against average, which is sixth best in the league.

7. After losing the first three match-ups of the year with the Elmira Jackals, the Royals have now won five consecutively against Elmira. The last two wins for Reading over the Jackals were by shutouts. Elmira has not scored on the Royals in 136:45 of game time over a span of three games.

8. Ben Gordon, who scored the dramatic game tying goal for the Royals on Saturday in Wheeling with just 23 seconds left in regulation, is currently riding a six game point streak (4g-3a). Gordon currently leads the Royals with 31 points after 33 games played. He is tied for the league lead in plus-minus at plus-18 (+18). Saturday's game in Wheeling was Gordon's 100th all-time regular season game for the Royals. He now has 118 points for Reading (43g-75a), which is 5 behind Graig Mischler for 3rd all-time.

9. Chris Blight scored the game tying goal in Toledo on Friday night with 2:51 left in regulation. He also assisted on the Royals first goal in that game, as he registered his second consecutive multi-point game (and fourth overall). Blight, who has picked up at least one point in ten of the twelve games that he's played for Reading this year, is riding a four game point streak (2g-4a=6pts).

10. Alain Goulet scored the Royals first goal of the week (6:20 into the second period of Friday's game against Toledo) and the team's last goal of the week (to give Reading a 2-0 lead 8:38 into the third period in Sunday's 2-0 win in Elmira). In between, Goulet picked up assist on Chris Blight's goal on Saturday in Wheeling. Goulet is riding a three game point streak (2g-1a).

11. Tyler Murovich registered his first point as a Royals when he assisted on Yannick Riendeau's goal to give the Royals a 2-1 lead 5:54 into the third period on Friday in Toledo. His first goal with the team, which came mid-way into the second period on Sunday against Elmira, proved to be the game winner. Murovich is the twelfth different player to score a game winning goal for the Royals this season.

12. Although the Royals power play was held off the board on Friday in Toledo (for the 16th time this season), Reading did score a power play goal on Saturday in Wheeling and Sunday in Elmira. The Royals' PP has scored 20 PPG in 139 chances-a 14.4% scoring ratio (16th).

13. Reading's penalty killers did not allow a power play goal against this past week, killing seventeen consecutive power play chances for the opposition. Reading's PK has allowed 30 PPGA in 172 opportunities with the man advantage for the opposition this season, which is an 82.6% kill ratio (thirteenth in the league).

CLOSING NOTES

1. With the Royals 4-3 shootout win in Wheeling on Saturday, Reading ran the team's record to 6-0-0-0 on Saturday nights out on the road this year. The Royals play on the road again this Saturday night against the Elmira Jackals.

3. Reading shooters went a perfect four-for-four in Saturday's shootout in Wheel- ing, as Yannick Riendeau, Ben Gordon, Chris Blight and Eric Castonguay all bagged their shootout attempts on Wheeling goaltender Patrick Killeen. In the last two shootouts for Reading, the team has scored on eight of nine attempts; and Cas- tonguay has notched what proved to be the winner in each of those two games.

4. Goaltender Zane Kalemba became the fourth goaltender to win a game for the Royals this year, when he stopped 36 of 39 in the 65 minutes of hockey and two of four in the shootout in Reading's 4-3 win in Wheeling on Saturday.

5. Yannick Riendeau scored a goal in each of the first two games of the week for Reading, and he currently riding a six game point streak (3g-3a=6pts). Riendeau has registered ten points (4g-6a) in his last nine games with Reading.

6. Cody Wild registered an assist in each of the three games played this week by the Royals-and each of those assists was critical to the team's success, as he picked up helpers on Chris Blight's late third period game-tying goal on Friday, Ben Gordon's really late game-tying goal on Saturday, and Tyler Murovich's game winner against Elmira on Sunday.

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