Royals Defeat Dayton, 3-1
March 12, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release
Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (36-16-7=79) maintained the team's perfect record in five starts this season at the E.J. Nutter Center in Dayton defeating the Bombers, 3-1. Reading scored first and-for the second consecutive night-Shay Stephenson picked up what proved to be the game winner, while Cody Rudkowsky (20-6-3, 32/33) stepped up to save the team when it was needed most, as the Royals maintained possession of first place in the North Division through 59 games.
Reading scored on the team's first power play of the night when Mike Kompon drilled a shot from the top of the right circle that glanced off a Dayton defender and slipped by the Bombers' goaltender, Mike Brown, on the short side at the 10:35 mark of the first period. That play was established by the strong forecheck of forwards Mike Bala and Doug Christiansen and resulted in Kompon's fifteenth goal of the season. Reading took a 2-0 lead with time ticking down on the first period, when Reagan Rome joined the Royals' rush and went deep into the left wing corner to dig out a loose puck. Rome fed Shay Stephenson on the outer edge of the left circle, who in turn found Malcolm MacMillan planted below the goal line. MacMillan wasted no time in returning the give-and-go to Stephenson, who floated in front of the Dayton goal and slid a backhander through Brown for his sixteen goal of the season-and second consecutive game winner-with just 47 seconds left in the period.
In the second, the Bombers buzzed the Royals' net incessantly and found pay-dirt early in the period, when Scott Cameron slipped behind Reading's defense and had a breakaway chance, cutting wide to the left side on Rudkowsky. The Royals' goaltender came way out to meet Cameron and made a sprawling and spectacular save, and it appeared that Reading would be able to clear the rebound from the zone. However, Alex Johnstone kept left point for the Bombers and quickly fired a puck towards the Royals' goal with Rudkowsky still down, out and recovering from his earlier save. Johnstone's shot deflected off the body of Tim Konsorada and into the Royals' net at the 4:42 mark to cut the Royals' lead to one. The Bombers didn't stop there, as they used a relentless forecheck to pressure the Royals' defense into several harrowing turnovers. However, Rudkowsky continued what has been a season-long habit of saving the team at the most crucial moment of the game and repelled a series of Bomber bids to tie things up. The Royals then picked up some insurance when Grant Jacobsen fed Jason Kostadine into the offensive zone on the right wing side. Kostadine skated deep into the right circle and fired a hard snap shot on Brown, who used the blocker to make the stop but left the rebound high into the slot. Royals' defender Reagan Rome, who was trailing the play, took control of the loose puck and ripped a wrister high to the glove side to make it 3-1, Reading, at the 11:46 mark of the second. Through the rest of the second and third, the Royals' defense was stingy in the neutral zone and sticky in the defensive end and refused to let the Bombers back in the game, as Reading ran the team's record to 9-1-0 against Dayton this year.
Reading next travels to Johnstown for a Sunday afternoon affair (3:00 pm) against the Chiefs. The Royals return home on Friday night to take on the Chiefs again. On that night, the first 1500 fans 21 years of age and older receive a Coors Light pint glass courtesy of All-Star Distributing. Royals' game day broadcasts can be heard on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Ephrata and 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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