ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Clinch Division with Shutout Win in Elmira, 2-0

Published on March 20, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Elmira, NY - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (1st Atlantic Division, 40-20-2-385), 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 Elmira Jackals (2nd Atlantic Division, 31-26-6-371), 2-0, at First Arena in Elmira, New York. With the win, the Royals clinched the Atlantic Division regular season title and, with that, one of the top three seeds in the impending Eastern Conference playoffs. Daren Machesney stopped all forty-five shots he faced to become the third separate goaltender to register a shutout for the Royals against the Jackals. Defenseman Denny Urban, playing in his seventh game of the year for Reading, scored his third goal for the team, two of which have been game winners, including the one in today's game.

Machesney (win, 4-13-0-0, 45/45) was nothing short of spectacular in registering his first shutout in the ECHL this year in his third start with Reading (2-1-0-0). Elmira's Marco Cousineau (loss, 20-14-4-1, 27/28, 1 eng) was equally good, but sustained his second consecutive loss to Reading. The Royals game winner came while playing with the man advantage (1-5). The Royals penalty killers were perfect, including a late game kill when the Jackals opened it up and created several flurries around Reading's net.

Late in the first, the Royals found themselves working on a four-on-three power play after taking a penalty while playing with a two-skater advantage. Andrew Sarauer and Chris Blight set up Urban for a buttery-bullet from the high slot that slipped through for his third of the season 16:34 into the first. From that point forward, the goaltender showdown was on with Machesney and Cousineau trading sequences of saves at either end of the ice. Elmira created numerous flurries throughout the game, particularly in an aggressive second period when they outshot the Royals 16-6 and down the stretch in the waning moments of the third. Machesney and his teammates withstood the attack and bagged an empty netter when Blight picked off a puck at the offensive blue line and carried down the middle for a wide-open tap in and his eighteenth of the year to ice the team's fortieth win of the year.

The Royals continue a five game road trip on Wednesday (March 23 @ 7:05 pm) against the Gwinnett Gladiators at The Arena at Gwinnett Center. The Royals game day broadcast will kick off with the pre-game warm-up show presented by The Works at Wyomissing on the Royals Broadcast Network (WRAW 1340 am in Reading, www.1340wraw.com) at 6:35 pm. You can also catch all of the Royals away games this season on Royals TV exclusively on BCTV courtesy of Boscov's Travel, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Season tickets for the Royals' 2010-11 season are currently available. To become a part of Royals hockey, call 610-898-PUCK or log onto www.royalshockey.com .

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ECHL Stories from March 20, 2011


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