Royals Bounce Back To Beat Nailers, 4-3
April 1, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release
Wheeling, WV-The Reading Royals (42-20-7=91) fell behind on the first shot of the game, battled back from two separate one-goal deficits, and held off the Nailers down the stretch to beat Wheeling, 4-3. Playing with a short-line up comprised of just 13 skaters, the Royals bounced back after a difficult loss to the Nailers on Tuesday night, when Wheeling scored the game winning goal with just 1.8 seconds remaining, to maintain possession of first place in the North Division three points ahead of the Nailers.
The Nailers scored on their first shot of the game, shortly after the Royals failed to convert on a defensive miscue by Wheeling. As a Nailer defender was attempting to carry the puck out of the defensive zone, Larry Courville stripped him of the puck and fed Doug Christiansen at the top of the crease. However, Wheeling goaltender Andy Franck rejected Christiansen's back-hander, and the Nailers re-gained possession of the puck. Arpad Mihaly carried the puck into the Reading end and ripped a hard snap shot from the right circle that beat the Royals' goaltender Cody Rudkowsky (24-8-3, 31/34) on the short-side 35 seconds into the game. The Royals responded in short order, however, when defenseman Nick Vukovic took a hard slap shot from the left point that was kicked out by Franck. The rebound fell to the left side of the crease where Chris Bala attempted to put it back home, however Franck stopped that shot as well; but on the third attempt Doug Christiansen forced it through for his thirty-fifth goal of the season, tying the game at one at the 3:52 mark of the first. The Royals took a 2-1 lead 10:57 into the first, when Larry Courville won an offensive zone face-off to the left point, where Eric Werner took control and walked down the slot, taking a hard, low snap shot that Franck kicked out with the right pad. Courville was able to corral the rebound and fire it home for his tenth goal of the season.
In the second, Wheeling came back with a couple of goals to regain the lead. The first came at the 4:15 mark when a long pass out of the defensive zone sprang McLean behind the Royals' defense. As McLean and two Reading defenders converged upon and collided into Rudkowsky, the puck slid into the net to tie things at two. 2:24 later, Wheeling took the lead with a power play goal by Mihaly that was started with a pass from the high slot by Luis Tremblay, who found McLean planted at the left side of the Royals' goal. As Reading's defenders converged on McLean, he fed Mihaly at the top of the crease, and he quickly fired it in for his second of the night. The Royals responded with a power play goal of their own when Doug Christiansen did a good job to keep the puck in the offensive zone on the left wing side. Christiansen then fired a diagonal feed to Larry Courville who was planted in the right circle and completed the tic-tac-toe passing sequence with a quick feed to Malcolm MacMillan who had snuck up on the left side of the Nailers' goal for a back door tap in. In the third, the Royals re-gained the lead with their second power play goal of the game. It was Courville again who battled out in front and took control of the rebound of a Corey LeClair shot from the point that would prove to be the difference at the 8:54 mark of the third. For Courville, that was his eleventh of the season (and his eighth in his last ten games) and his second consecutive two-goal performance against the Nailers. Down the stretch, the Royals got the goaltending they needed from Rudkowsky, which included a miraculous game saving glove stop on a Bo Cheesman breakaway with about three minutes remaining.
The Royals return to action on Saturday in Dayton, Ohio, when they take on the Bombers at the E.J. Nutter Center (7:00 pm). Royals' game day broadcasts can be heard on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Ephrata and on the internet at www.royalshockey.com with pre-game beginning 30 minutes before the opening face-off. Streaming video is also available through the Royals' website on a pay per view basis provided by B2 Networks.
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