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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Drop Game One to K-Wings in OT, 6-5

April 6, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Kalamazoo, MI- The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, were defeated in overtime by the Kalamazoo Wings, 6-5, in Game One of the American Conference Quarter Final Series at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Royals held the lead during three different segments of the game, but the K-Wings kept charging back and ultimately took their first lead early in the third. Although Reading bounced back to re-tie the game in regulation, Kalamazoo got an overtime game winner from Mathieu Curadeau 2:08 into the extra session to take the first salvo in the best-of-five first round series. Goaltender Matt Dalton (0-1; 35/41) made a number of spectacular clutch stops but took the loss in his first pro playoff game. Ryan Nie (1-0; 30/35), who went 4-0-1 against Reading in the regular season, remained unbeaten against the Royals this year. Reading scored a game-tying game in the third period while playing with the man advantage (1-5); while the K-Wings were held off the board on the power play, which included 1:55 worth of two-skater advantage early in the first player.

After the two teams traded a number of quality scoring chances-and equally good stops by both goaltenders-in the early going, Reading broke through at the 16:20 mark of the first, when a strong fore-check caused an offensive zone turnover onto the stick of Scott Langdon above the right circle. Langdon stepped up and fired a shot that deflected off a stick and ended up at the left side of the K-Wings' net, where Ryan Cruthers (who would end up with a goal and three assists on the night) settled and slipped a perfect back-handed pass across the top of the crease to a waiting Yannick Riendeau who slammed it in for his first pro playoff goal.

Things opened up considerably in the second period, as the two teams would score a combined seven goals in the middle twenty minutes, three by the Royals and four by the K-Wings. Riendeau got it started at the 5:05 mark of the second when he made a deft move at the offensive blue line to find a seam down the slot. He then dished to Cruthers, who fired on net. Nie got a chunk of that shot, but the puck slid through his gear and stopped short of the goal line. Riendeau and two Kalamazoo defenders converged on the puck and someone knocked it in to give the Royals a 2-0 lead.

The Wings got on the board 1:31 later when Trent Daavetilla carried into the offensive end and dropped a pass to the trailing Sam Ftorek at the top of the right circle. Ftorek uncorked a rocket that beat Dalton high glove side. Kalamazoo then tied the game at the 8:34 mark of the second on a short-handed goal by Andrew Fournier. The Royals turned the puck over in the center circle, allowing Daavetilla to spring Fournier down the right wing side on a break. Fournier blew by a Reading defender, carried cross crease right to left, and stuffed it in on Dalton for his first of the playoff season.

Reading bounced back 1:07 after that to re-take the lead at 3-2 when Cruthers fired a shot from the high slot that appeared to deflect off someone or something on the way in and ended up low stick side for his first playoff goal as a Royal. But the K-Wings came right back to re-tie the game-this time at three-when Fournier picked off a breakout pass after a face-off in the Royals' defensive zone. Fournier drew a bunch of attention between the hash-marks and then landed a perfect saucer just above the top of the crease, where Daavetilla had slipped in unguarded. Daavetilla placed a perfect back-hand low blocker on Dalton for his first of the playoff season

The Royals re-gained another lead-this time at 4-3, when Stefano Giliati worked a perfect give-and-go with Daniel Steiner off the right half wall. Giliati found himself wide open deep in the right circle and ripped a snap shot high glove side for his first playoff goal at the 14:31 mark of the second. But the Wings bounced back to re-tie the game for the third time with 1:36 left in the second. On this one, Patrick Asselin gained possession behind the Royals' net and slid a perfect pass to the low slot, where an essentially unguarded Rick Cleaver settled and went bar-and-in from in tight for his first of the playoff season.

The K-Wings took their first lead of the night at the 5:29 mark of the third, when Dean Strong fired a pass up the right wing side to a breaking Ben Simon, who stepped to the top of the right circle and ripped one that blew by Dalton for his first of the playoff season. The Royals battled back to tie at five with a power play goal at the 8:22 mark of the third. The K-Wings dumped the puck into Reading's end, and Dalton charged out to take possession and start the rush. The Royals' goaltender fired a pass into the neutral zone, where Steiner took control and slid a pass on the left wing side to the breaking Cruthers, who carried down to the half-wall before slipping a pass to the top of the crease, where a crashing Stiener re-directed the puck through Nie for his first of the playoffs.

The two teams traded chances down the stretch-the best perhaps being a broken play in the Royals' defensive zone that provided Cleaver with a wide-open and all-alone chance at the top of the crease, which Dalton rejected with 4:21 remaining in regulation. In overtime, the K-Wings converted 2:08 into the extra session when they ignited a wild scramble around the Royals' net with shots by Cleaver and Asselin. Dalton made a couple of stops in the sequence, but he was unable to corral the loose puck; and it somehow squirted out from underneath him and sat free in the crease for just long enough for Curadeau to swoop in and punch it home for his second overtime game winner of the season against the Royals-the other coming 2:05 into overtime at Wings Stadium back on October 24.

The Royals and K-Wings go at it in Game Two of the American Conference Quarter-Final Series tomorrow (Wednesday, April 7 @ 7:00 pm) at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Royals game night broadcast on the Royals Radio Network presented by Transmissions by Arbogast will begin at 6:30 pm.

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