ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Defeat Nailers For First Time This Season, 5-2

December 17, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - Despite playing on the road with a short bench against a team they had not yet beaten this year, the Reading Royals (15-5-1=31) picked up the game's first three goals and built a four goal lead on their way to a 5-2 win over the Wheeling Nailers. The Royals got two goals from both Grant Jacobsen and T.J. Kemp and one from Dany Roussin-and solid goaltending from Barry Brust-to win the team's third road game in a row and beat the Nailers for the first time in three tries this year.

Reading got the game's first goal for the first time in the team's last four games, when Grant Jacobsen fired a high snap shot from the left circle behind Wheeling's goaltender, Andy Chiodo, 8:21 into the first period. That goal resulted from some deft puck control by Malcolm MacMillan behind the Nailers' net while the delayed penalty was on and the sixth attacker was on the ice. 3:27 later, Jacobsen scored his second of the night while the Royals were on the power play (and, again, the delayed penalty was on) when Doug Christiansen dumped the puck behind the Wheeling goal, and it took a crazy bounce leaving Chiodo out of the net and vulnerable. Jacobsen was able to control the loose puck, power his way to the front of the net and shoot it into what was essentially an empty net with Chiodo out of the play. 45 seconds later, while the Royals were on the power play again, T.J. Kemp finished on a two-on-one with Mike Kompon immediately after Brust had made an aggressive poke-check save on a Luis Tremblay break. 33 seconds after that, Wheeling made it a 3-1 game, while they were on the power play, when Sean Collins threw one out of the right wing corner that went off a Royals' defenseman and into the net.

In the second, the Royals scored the team's third power play goal (on four tries to that point) to go up 4-1 when Dany Roussin, who was planted at the top of the crease, took a Kompon feed out of the right wing corner and fired it over Chiodo who was prone on the ice. Roussin's goal, which came at the 10:48 mark of the second, was his fourth goal in five games for the Royals-as he extended his personal point streak to all five games he's played with Reading. T.J. Kemp added a second goal (once again, with the delayed penalty on) on a brilliant give-and-go-and-give with Grant Jacobsen at the eighteen minute mark of the second period to make it 5-1.

The Nailers' Kurtis McLean scored his league leading nineteenth goal of the season with just two seconds left in the game. But, unlike their first trip to Wheeling back on October 28, when the Nailers were able to mount a two goal third period comeback, the Royals were able to protect this lead for their fifteenth win of the season.

The Royals host another "Rock The House Weekend" with Y102 Saturday night (7:00 pm) and Sunday afternoon (1:00 pm) when the Fresno Falcons are in Reading for the first time in history. Any patron who purchases a full price ticket to Saturday's game can get the same seat to Sunday's game for only $5.00. On Saturday, the first fifteen hundred fans 21 and older will receive Yuengling Hats, courtesy of All Star Distributing. Sunday's game is sponsored by Advance Auto Parts, and the first twenty five hundred fans in attendance will receive a Royals Poster, courtesy of the Reading Eagle, and the first two thousand fans will receive Comcast Thundersticks. Tickets are still available at the Sovereign Center Box Office, or by phone at 610-898-PUCK.

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ECHL Stories from December 17, 2005


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