ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Defeat Cyclones, 5-2

Published on March 6, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (20-35-4= 44; 7th North Division) of the ECHL built a four goal lead and then held on during a third period onslaught to beat the Cincinnati Cyclones, 5-2, at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. With this victory, the Royals won back-to-back games for the first time since they won three in a row at home eighteen games ago. James Reimer (win, 10-6-3; 31/33) made a number of spectacular stops at critical moments to preserve the victory for his teammates; while Cincinnati's Loic Lacasse (loss, 6-5-1; 23/27; 1 eng) sustained the loss after shutting the Royals out in his last start against Reading (on February 25). Each team scored a power play goal in five chances with the man advantage.

Reading struck 2:49 into the first period when Dan Rudisuela worked a give-and-go with Levi Nelson into the offensive zone, allowing Rudisuela to work free low into the right slot. Rudisuela ripped a low snap shot to the stick side for his sixteenth of the year. Reading took a two goal lead with 3:39 left in the first on a short-handed goal by David Nimmo, who stole the puck at the offensive blue line, walked in and ripped a snap shot behind Lacasse for his tenth of the year.

Reading built a 3-0 lead with 48.1 seconds left in the second when Chris Stevens led the Royals' forecheck by pressing hard on the end wall and, with the help of Rudisuela, created a turnover. Rudisuela then took control and carried straight off the wall towards the left side of the Cyclones' goal and fed the puck into the slot where a hard-charging Nelson fired it behind Lacasse for his second as a Royal-and what proved to be the game winner. The Royals added to their lead (4-0) 50 seconds into the third, while playing with the man advantage, when Rudisuela worked another give-and-go-this one with Chris Stevens-which freed Rudisuela low in the right circle. This time Rudisuela ripped a snap shot high to the short side for his second of the night and seventeenth of the year.

Cincinnati began their comeback effort 5:31 into the third when a turnover in the neutral zone led to a two-on-one break for the Cyclones on which Dustin Sproat fed Chris Ferrazoli, who finished for his first of the season. The Cyclones cut the Royals' lead to two (4-2) 8:47 into the third, while on the power play. A failed clear by the Royals resulted in a wide open, point blank shot from the slot for Barret Ehgoetz, who fired a snap shot high and hard behind Reimer. The Cyclones continued to press, but the Royals held strong-thanks in large part to a series of spectacular stops by Reimer, who won for the second straight time against the first place Cyclones. Dinos Stamoulis added a 180 foot empty netter with 48.1 seconds left to ice it for Reading.

The Royals and Cyclones go at it again tomorrow (Saturday, March 7 @ 7:05 pm) at the Sovereign Center. Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the Royals Radio Network Presented by Transmissions by Arbogast (True Oldies WRAW 1340 am in Reading; and The Ticket WLAN 1390 am in Lancaster), as well as on the internet via webcast hosted by Sportsjuice.com, which can be accessed through the Royals website. 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 6, 2009


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