ECHL Reading Royals

Reading Royals Weekly

March 5, 2015 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


NOTES OF THE WEEK

1.Last week, the Royals played three games at Santander Arena and claimed at least in point in all three, starBng with a shootout loss to the Greenville Road Warriors last Friday (6-5), which the team promptly followed with a pair of victories over the Elmira Jackals on Sunday (3-1) and Monday (5-1).

2. Reading has compiled a record of 16-1-1-1 in the last nineteen games; 20-4-1- 1 in the last twenty-six; and 28-6-1-1 in the team's last thirty-six (which trans- lates into a .806 win percentage).

3. The Royals record currently stands at a season best twenty-three games over .500 (37-14-2-2=78), which translates into a .709 win percentage-third best in the Eastern Conference and fourth best in the league.

4. The thirty-seven wins recorded by Reading in the team's first fiLy-five games is Bed with the Allen Americans for the league lead.

5. Reading remains in first place in the East Division, a posiBon the team has held since February 7, 2015.

6. All three games this past week were played at Santander Arena in Reading, pushing the team's current unbeaten streak on home ice to nine games (8-0-0-1). (The longest home unbeaten streak in team history stands at twenty five games, 20-0-3, which the team racked up from November 14, 2003 through February 24, 2004.

7. Last Friday's SOL to Greenville was Reading's tenth and final game for the month of February, during which the Roy- als went 7-1-1-1, which Bes the fewest number of losses sustained in the month of February in team history. (In 2007-08, the Royals went 8-1-2 in the month of February.)

8. Friday's SOL to the Road Warriors com- pleted the three-game season series be- tween Reading and Greenville. The Royals compiled a record of 1-1-0-1 against the Road Warriors.

9. The back-to-back wins over Elmira on Sunday and Monday pushed the Royals record against the Jackals to 9-3-1-1 with one more game to be played between the two teams (on Friday, March 13 in Elmira). Reading compiled a record of 5-2-0-1 against Elmira in the eight games played against the Jackals at Santander Arena this season.

10. Sunday's win over Elmira actually served to clinch the DeMet's Candy Challenge Cup, which was proffered prior to the start of the season by DeMet's Candy (who has company faciliBes in both the Reading and Elmira areas) for the winner of the fiLeen game season series between the two teams.

11. All three games last week were played against teams from the East Division. Reading has compiled a record of 16-5-1-2 through twenty-four games within the Division. Reading has five more games to be played against teams from the East.

12. Both games to be played this week will be against the Toledo Walleye, who play in the North Division. Reading has compiled a 20-8-1-0 against teams from the North with nine more games to played against team's from the North.

13. The back-to-back games against the Walleye this weekend will complete the four game season series between Reading and Toledo. So far, the Royals have compiled a 1-1-0-0 record against the Walleye, winning (4-3) in a shootout at HunBngton Center on November 16 and then falling (6-4) at Santander Arena on December 4.

14. The Royals scored the game's first goal in two of the three games played last week: (i) the 6-5 SOL on Friday against Greenville; and (ii) the 5-1 winover Elmira on Monday. The team has scored first thirty Bmes this year and has compiled a record of 24-4-0-2 in those games (which translates into a .833 win percentage). Reading is 13-1-0-2 on home ice when scoring first.

15. Last Friday, the Royals trailed the Road Warriors 5-1 5:43 into the second period before mounBng a four-goal comeback to earn a Be (and a point) in the shootout loss. Although that was not a come-back win, that game marked the first Bme this season that Reading had comeback from four goals down to earn at least a point in the standings. (In the fourteen year history of the team, the Royals have never come back from a four goal deficit to win.)

16. Maxim Lamarche scored the game-tying goal on Friday against Green- ville with just 2:46 leL in regulaBon Bme. That goal qualifies as a 'Late Game Goal For' (a third period / OT goal that either serves to break a Be and win the game or Bes the game in which Reading gains a point in an OTL or SOL.) That was the twelLh 'Late Goal For' scored by the Royals this season.

17. Reading did come from behind to win Sunday's game against the Jack- als, who scored first (and led 1-0 14:02 into the first period), marking the seventeenth come-from-behind win of the year.

18. In Sunday's win, the Royals and Jackals were Bed (at one) going into the third period. The Royals have compiled a record of 9-2-2-0 when entering the third period Bed with the opposiBon.

19. Reading scored a total of thirteen goals in the three games played last week, twice striking for five goals (on Friday and Monday).

Reading has scored five or more goals nineteen Bmes this year, compiling a record of 16-2-0-1 in those games.

20. Overall, Reading has scored 201 goals in fiLy-five games this season, which translates into a 3.65 goals per game (Bed for third best in the league).

21. Friday's game marked the sixth Bme this season that Reading has given up six or more goals-and that game marked the first Bme that the Royals have earned a point in the standings when giving up six or more (0-5-0-1).

22.The Royals held the Jackals to just one goal on both Sunday and Monday. Reading has held the opposiBon to one goal or less six- teen Bmes this season (16-0-0-0).

23. Overall, Reading has allowed 156 goals against, which translates into a 2.84 goals against average (seventh in the league).

24. Reading's has a plus-45 (+45) goal differenBal, which is third best in the league behind the Toledo Walleye (+75) and Allen Ameri- cans (+69).

25. Reading scored at least one power play goal in two of the three games played last week, collecBvely going three for eight with the man advantage. Reading has scored a PPG in sixteen of the team's last twenty-five games. Over the last ten games, the power play has gone eleven for forty, which is a 27.5% scoring raBo

26. Overall the Royals are scoring power play goals at 19.9% raBo (47 for 236), which is sixth best in the league. (On home ice, Read- ing is scoring PPGs at a 20.0% clip, which is sixth best in the ECHL as well.)

27. Reading's penalty killers have given up at least one goal against in six of the last nine games, allowing seven PPGAs in 38 chances with the man advantage for the opposiBon in those games, which translates into a 81.6 % kill raBo during that span.

28. Overall, Reading's PK is killing at an 83.7% raBo (32 PPGAs in 196), which is thirteenth in the ECHL.

29. Sean Wiles bagged a short-handed goal (late in the second period to make the score 3-1, Reading) in Monday's 5-1 win over Elmira. That was the tenth short-handed goal of the year for the Royals which is Bed for third most in the league.

30. The Royals are the second least penalized team in the league, averaging just 11:49 PIMs against per game. (Only the Toledo Walleye have been pe- nalized less than Reading, averaging just 11:39 PIMs against per game).

31. Pat Mullane, who recorded an assist on the first goal of the game in Monday's 5-1 win over Elmira (a power play goal by Ryan Cruthers), leads the Royals with fiLy-three points (20g-33a) in fiLy-five games, which is Bed for sixteenth in the ECHL race. Mullane's assist on Cruthers' PPG was his fourteenth power play point of the year (6g-8a).

32. Cam Reid is currently riding a six game point (and assist) streak (4g-7a=11pts). Reid scored his team-leading twenty-second goal of the year on a penalty shot 14:45 into the second period (to Be the game at one) in the team's 3-1 win over Elmira on Sunday. That night, he racked up his fiLeenth mulB-point game of the year (1g-1a). Reid, who had his four game goal scoring streak snapped on Monday against Elmira (02/13 - 03/01/15) has fourteen points (5g-9a) in his last ten games-and twenty-four (10g-14a) in his last seventeen and thirty-three points (15g-18a) in his last thirty. His fiLy-two points (in fiLy- three games) is Bed with Olivier Labelle and Adam Hughesman for second on the team. (All three of those guys are Bed for nineteenth in the league scoring race.)

33. Reid's penalty shot in Sunday's 3-1 win over Elmira was the third PS of the season for Reading, and he's the second player to score on his aOempt. (MaO Hatch scored a short-handed PS against the Wheeling Nail- ers on January 9; and Adam Hughesman's PS aOempt the next day- against the Brampton Beast-was rejected.) Historically, the Royals have aOempted thirty-one penalty shots, and Reid's PS goal marked the thir- teenth Bme that Reading has scored on a PS.

34. Olivier Labelle is riding a four game point streak (3g-5a=8pts). Labelle, who scored the first goal of the game in last Friday's 6-5 shootout loss to Greenville, recorded his twelLh mulB-point game of the year (and fiLh three-point performance that night) (1g-2a). In that game Last Friday, Labelle became the second career all-Bme leading scorer for the Royals (passing Yannick Tifu) when he picked up his third point of the game and 180th point with the team (in his 209th game with the team). He currently has 182 points (92g-90) in 211 games with the Royals. Labelle, who has twenty-five points (10g-15a) in his last nineteen games-and thirty-seven points (15g-22a) in his last thirty-two games-is playing to a plus-17 (+17) through fiLy-five games, which leads all forwards on the team.

35. Adam Hughesman is riding a four game point streak (2g-6a=8pts). Hughesman, who recorded his third three-point game in a span of four played in Friday's 6-5 SOL against Greenville (1g-2a), has had thirteen mulB-point games this year, and in seven of those games he's had three or more points. Hughesman, who leads the Royals with 143 shots on goal, has twenty-seven points (10g=17a) in his last twenty-three games.

36. David Marshall played in his 100th game as a Royal (37g-55=92pts) in Sunday's 3-1 win over Elmira.

37. On Monday, Ryan Cruthers returned to acBon aLer missing four games due to an emergency appendectomy and promptly scored a pair of power play goals, including the first goal of the game in the 5-1 win over the Jackals. Cruthers leads the Royals with eighteen power play points (4g-14a). (His fourteen power play assists places him fourth in the league in that category.) Cruthers, who has nineteen points (5g-14a) in his last twenty games, is the team's all-Bme leading scorer with 262 points (83g-179a) in 261 career games with the Royals.

38. Sean Wiles scored the game winning goal in both wins over Elmira (on Sunday and Monday) and now has five games winners this season, placing him third on the team (behind David Marshall and Cam Reid, each of whom has six) in that category. His GWG in Sunday's 3-1 win was a 'true' game winner-a third period Be-breaker (1:24 into the final frame). In Monday's win, Wiles bagged a pair of goals, which included his third short-handed goal of the season, which gave Reading a 3-1 lead late in the second peri- od. That goal was his twenBeth of the year, making him the fourth different player to reach the twenty-goal plateau for the Royals this year. (Cam Reid, Olivier Labelle, and Pat Mullane are the others). That game was Wiles eighth mulB-point game of the sea- son, and his first three point game (2g-1a) of the season. Wiles now has seventy points (39g-41a) in 109 career games with the Royals. His 39 goals places him Bed twelLh all Bme (with Greg Hogeboom and Brian McCullough) and his 70 points puts him twenty- sixth all-Bme that category.

39. Defenseman Mike Marcou scored his fiLh goal of the season 2:36 into the third period (to cut Greenville's lead to 5-3) in Friday's 6-5 SOL to the Road Warriors. Marcou also picked up an assist on Ryan Cruthers' power play goal 11:52 into Monday's win over Elmi- ra. That was Marcou's 26th assist of the season-fourteen of which have come on the power play, which Bes him (with Allen's Aaron Gens) for the league lead amongst defensemen in the league. Marcou's thirty- one points (in fiLy-three games) places him Bed for twelLh in defensemen scor- ing.

40. Defenseman Maxim Lamarche recorded his sixth mulB-point game of the year (1g-1a) on Friday against Greenville, which included scoring the game-tying goal with just 2:46 remaining in regulaBon Bme. In that game, Lamarche record- ed a personal season-best five shots on goal. His goal in that game was his sev- enth of the season, tying him with Jordan Heywood for the team lead amongst defensemen. Lamarche leads the Royals in plus-minus, playing to a plus-22 (+22) through forty-nine games with the team.

41. Defensman Jordan Heywood scored his seventh goal of the season (Bed with Lamarche for the team lead amongst defensemen) 11:44 into the third period (to make the score 5-4, Greenville) while the Royals were playing with the man advantage in Friday's 6-5 SOL. That was Hey- wood's second power play goal (and eighth power play point) of the season.

42. Andrew Johnston assisted on both of the game winners (both of which were scored by Sean Wiles) in the back-to-back wins over the Jackals. Johnston has played to a plus-13 (+13) in his last nineteen games.

43. Bryant Molle played in his 176th game as a Royal in Monday's 5- 1 win over Elmira. That places him Bed with Reagan Rome for fourth most games played in team history behind Ryan Cruthers (261), Oliv- ier Labelle (211), and Yannick Tifu (184).

44. Kevin Walrod recorded an assist on the game winner by Sean Wiles with 46.1 seconds remaining in the first period of Monday's 5- 1 win over the Jackals.

45. Defenseman BreO Flemming is riding a three game assist streak (0g-3a). His assist in Sunday's 3-1 win over Elmira came on the game winner by Sean Wiles.

46. Goaltender Connor Knapp came on in subsBtuBon of Kenny Reiter (who started last Friday's game against Greenville) 15:06 into the first period with the Royals trailing 4-1. Knapp made 24 saves on 25 shots-many in spectacular fashion to give the Royals the opportunity to mount the comeback. That game marked Knapp's third trip to the shootout for the Royals this season-and the first Bme he's been defeated in the skills compeBBon as the Road Warriors scored on three of their four shootout aOempts. (Overall, Knapp has stopped nine of the thirteen shots he's faced in the shootout, which is a .692 save percentage in the skills compeBBon.) Knapp then picked up back-to-back wins against the Jackals, making thirty- four saves in Sunday's 3-1 win and twenty-one saves in Monday's 5-1 victo- ry. Knapp has held the opposiBon to one goal or less in seven of the games he's started this season. Knapp, who is 10-1-1-1 in his last thirteen decisions with the Royals, has compiled a record of 19-8-1-1 with a 2.55 goals against average (thirteenth best in the league), and a .916 save percentage with one shutout.

47. Goaltender Kenny Reiter started and played 15:06 of Friday's 6-5 SOL to Greenville, making four saves on eight shots. However, Reiter was not the goaltender of record in that game and sBll has a record of 3-0-0-0 for the Royals with a 3.38 goals against average and a .897 save percentage.

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