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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Bag Seventeenth on the Seventeenth in Trenton, 4-2

February 17, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Trenton, NJ - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (23-22-3-352, 3rd Atlantic Division), affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, defeated the Trenton Titans (16-26-3-540, 4th Atlantic Division), 4-2, at Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, NJ. Reading built a 3-0 lead and held on during a fifty-shot Trenton onslaught to record the team's league leading seventeenth road win of the year (17-9-2-1).

Jussi Rynnas (win, 6-4-0-0, 48/50) used a little bit of everything-including his head a couple of times-to make a career high 48 saves to preserve the win for Reading. Brad Phillips (loss, 5-9-0-1, 21/25) sustained his third loss to Reading. Neither the Royals (0-3) nor the Titans (0-3) were able to break through on the power play.

Reading scored 7:21 into the game when a blocked shot turned into a breakaway opportunity for Dennis McCauley, who made a forehand-backhand move that was rejected by Phillips. But the rebound slid to the top of the crease, where the trailing John Scrymgeour chipped it up and over Phillips for his sixth of the season.

The Royals took a 2-0 lead 3:22 into the second after a wild sequence of back-and-forth ended when Olivier Labelle settled and fired from eight feet above the left hash-mark. Phillips got a chunk of the puck, but it slipped under and through his right arm-pit for Labelle's team leading twenty-first of the year.

15:31 into the second, the Royals got what proved to be the game winner, when Labelle took a feed from Yannick Tifu behind the Trenton net. It appeared that Labelle was poised to carry out on the right side of the goal, but instead he quickly spun 360 degrees and passed out on the left side to a waiting Mikael Bedard, who fired it into what was essentially an open side of the net for his fourth as a Royal-and fourteenth of the season.

Trenton clawed back into the game with a pair in the third. The first came 4:32 into the period, when Eric Baier shot off the rush from the right circle. Rynnas made the right pad save, but the rebound fell to the left side of the crease, where a charging Chris Poli punched it in for his first of the year. The Titans made it a one-goal game (3-2) 12:06 into the third, when Andy Bombach battled to gain possession in the left half-wall. He fired a perfect cross-crease pass to a waiting Ray DiLauro, who was set up on the back-door for the quick one-timer and his fourth of the year.

Reading took the air out of the comeback effort, however, 16:44 into the third when Yannick Tifu gained possession deep in the right circle. His shot went off a Trenton shin-pad and then hit the goaltender Phillips after which it fell directly to the stick of McCauley who was planted at the top of the crease. McCauley slipped it home for his tenth of the year. That pretty much did it in this one, despite a late game charge by the Titans who refused to go quietly into the night. However, the win for Reading evened up the team's record against the Titans (3-3-1-0) with six more to be played between the geographic rivals down the stretch.

The Royals head home for tomorrow's (Saturday, February 18, 2012 @ 7:05 pm) Pink in the Rink festivities when the team will face the Wheeling Nailers at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The First 1000 ladies twelve years of age and older will receive a pink tote bag courtesy of Sweet Street Desserts. The Royals will also where special pink jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game with the net proceeds going to Breast Cancer Support Services of Berks County. The game night broadcast on Saturday will start at 6:35 pm with the Red Robin Gourmet Burger Pre-Game Warm-up Show on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Reading. Streaming audio is available free of charge courtesy of America One through the Royals' website, www.royalshockey.com.

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