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ECHL Reading Royals

Reading Royals Weekly

April 13, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


TOP NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals playoff series win over the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL's best-of-five Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals (3 games to 1) marked the eighth playoff series' win for Reading in the ten year history of the Royals. This marks the sixth time in team history that the Royals have qualified for the ECHL's post-season. Reading is 8-5 in the thirteen playoff series in which the team has played. Reading is 5-3 in the best-of-five series in which the team has played; and 2-2 in best-of-sevens.

2. Saturday's series clinching win over Cincinnati was the sixtieth playoff game in Royals history. Reading has compiled a 34-22-4 playoff record (16-10-2 @ home) (18-12- 2 on road). That was the 18th playoff game in team history against Cincinnati. Reading has a 9-9-0 playoff record against the Cyclones (3-5-0 @ home) (6-4-0 on road).

3. Reading lost Game One of the Eastern Conference Quart-Finals against Cincinnati. (Historically, Reading is 4-1 in playoff series in which the team lost the series opening game.) That opening game loss to Cincinnati loss extended the Royals' playoff losing streak to five consecutive games against the Cyclones, dating back to four straight losses in last season's American Conference Finals. This marked the first playoff series victory for the Royals in team history in three tries against the Cyclones. Cincinnati beat the Royals in seven games in the North Division Finals in 2008 (3-4) and in seven games in last season's American Conference Finals (3-4).

4. The Royals first round series had two games that went beyond regulation time, both of which were resolved in double-overtime. Reading has played in a total of eleven playoff games that have gone beyond regulation time, and the team has compiled a record of 7-4 in those games (4-2 @ home) (3-2 on road). The Royals have gone to double-overtime three times in team history, and Reading is 3-0 in those games. Two of those double-overtime games came in series clinching wins for Reading.

5. Wednesday's 5-4 double-overtime win at Sovereign Center in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals was resolved 8:15 into the second overtime, making it the second longest game in team history (88:15). Reading won the 2008 North Division Semi-Finals (first round) in a decisive Game Six against the Elmira Jackals on a double-overtime GWG scored by Kevin Saurette 12:09 into the second overtime, marking the longest game in team history (92:09). Saturday's series clinching 2-1 double overtime win against the Cyclones is the longest road game in team history (80:57).

6. Friday's 3-0 win in Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals was the sixth playoff shutout for the Royals in team history. It was the first pro playoff shutout for goaltender Matt Dalton, who made all 28 saves he was called upon to make. Only goaltender Barry Brust, who registered back-to-back shutouts against the Toledo Storm in the 2005 North Division Finals, has more than one playoff shutout as a Royal. The other goaltenders with playoff shutouts for Reading are: Cody Rudkowsky, Steve Belanger, and Danny Taylor, who (as with Dalton) also shutout the Cyclones (1-0) at US Bank Arena in Game Five of the 2008 North Division Finals.

7. Saturday's 2-1 series clinching double-overtime victory for Reading over Cincinnati at US Bank Arena in Cincinnati snapped a streak of six consecutive losses in 'elimination games' against the Cyclones (i.e. games in which the Royals had a chance to win the playoff series and eliminate the Cincinnati Cyclones). Going into Satur- day's game, the Royals were 0-3 in elimination games against the Cyclones at US Bank Arena. Historically, the Royals are 7-9 in playoff games where Reading has had an opportunity to eliminate the opposition; and 11-11 in playoff games where either the Royals or the opposition (or both) faced elimination.

8. Saturday's win in Cincinnati marked the fourth time in team history that Reading has won a playoff series on the road. Historically, Reading clinched: (i) the 2004 North- ern Division Semi-Finals (round 2) against the Wheeling Nailers in Wheeling, West Virginia; (i) the 2005 North Division Semi-Finals (round 1) against the Toledo Storm in Toledo, Ohio; and (iii) the 2010 American Conference Semi-Finals against the Florida Everblades in Estero, Florida.

9. Reading was out-shot 134-110 in the four games of the first round series against the Cyclones. Reading averaged 27.50 shots on goal per game (12th of the 14 teams who played first round playoff series), while giving up an average of 33.50 shots per game (13th).

10. The Royals got at least one goal from seven different players in the first round series against Cincinnati. Fourteen of the twenty-two players (including goaltender Matt Dalton) who participated in the first round playoffs for the Royals registered at least one point.

11. Olivier Labelle leads the Royals with five playoff points (2g-3a). Labelle, who registered a team high ten shots in Game Two, is currently riding a three game point streak. Labelle is the leading playoff goal scorer in Royals' team history (13g in 20 playoff games) and is second in total playoff points in team history (13g-7a=20pts). Labelle has a total of 68 career playoff shots on goal for Reading, which is second only to David Masse who had 69 playoff shots in 21 games for Reading in 2004 and 2005. In forty-four career playoff games in the ECHL, Labelle has thirty-eight points (21g-17a) and 109 penalty minutes.

12. Ryan Cruthers scored the double-overtime game winner to extend his current playoff goal scoring streak to three games. That was Cruthers' second playoff GWG for Reading. (He also scored the game winner in Game Three of the 2010 American Conference Semi-Finals against the Florida Everblades.) Cruthers is the all-time playoff scoring leading for the Royals (11g-17a=28pts in 20 playoff games). In thirty-five career playoff games, Cruthers has thirty-two points (12g-21a).

13. Matt Caruana scored the first goal of the playoff series against the Cyclones in his first career ECHL playoff game. (Caruana played in 13 playoff games for the Portland Pirates in the AHL in 2008 without registering any points). In fact, Caruana scored the first goal in three of the four games in the series against the Cyclones, which included the game winner in Reading's 3-0 win over Cincinnati in Game Three.

14. Yannick Riendeau is currently riding a three game playoff point streak. Riendeau, who assisted on the double-overtime series clinching game winner by Ryan Cruthers on Saturday night, has eight points (4g-4a) in nine career playoff games for the Royals.

15. Chris Blight, who led the Royals with 51 playoff shots in thirteen games in the 2008 ECHL playoffs, is third all-time for playoff shots on goal for the Royals with 59.

16. Ben Gordon scored the double-overtime game winner for the Royals in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals against the Cyclones. That was his first playoff overtime game winner; but Gordon has scored another overtime game winner-in the regular season-as a member of the Cyclones in a 3-2 OT win over the Royals on February 3, 2009-shortly before being traded to Reading. (That goal was assisted by former Royal Mike Salekin and Brian O'Hanley).

17. Goaltender Matt Dalton played all four games for the Royals in the first round series against Cincinnati. In his first appearance in U.S. Bank Arena since a 1-0 Game Seven loss to the Cyclones on May 12, 2010, Dalton registered his first pro playoff shutout. Dalton has a 1.85 goals against average (5th best) and a .932 save percentage through the first four games of the playoffs. Dalton is the all-time playoff leader for wins by a Royals goaltender with thirteen (13-5-2) in twenty post-season games.

CLOSING NOTES

1. Todd Perry leads the Royals in playoff plus-minus, playing to a plus-five (+5) through the first four playoff games for the team.

2. Reading went 1-21 on the power play in the first round series against the Cyclones, which translates into a 4.8% scoring ratio (13th out of 14 playoff teams).

3. The Royals' penalty killers allowed 2 power play goals against in the fifteen chances for the Cyclones in the first round (86.7% kill ratio) (8th best).

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