ECHL Reading Royals

Royals drop three straight at home, hold two-point edge over Titans

Published on March 15, 2004 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


The Reading Royals posted their second straight losing week at home dropping Northern Division decisions to Wheeling, Johnstown and Atlantic City. Tuesday evening in the Sovereign Center, the Royals were blanked for the second straight time at home losing, 3-0, to the Wheeling Nailers. Reading moved on Friday to battle the Johnstown Chiefs. Despite building a two-goal advantage, Johnstown responded with four straight tallies to hang on to win, 4-3. The Royals finished the week Saturday evening in the Sovereign Center against the defending Kelly Cup Champion, Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies. Reading fell to the Bullies for the second straight time, 6-4, extending their winless streak to a season-high eight games.

The Royals will begin the twenty-third week of the season on Tuesday in the Sovereign Center against the Peoria Rivermen. The Royals will be wearing special First Energy Jazz Fest Jerseys, which will be auctioned off after the game. The first 2,000 fans through the gate receive a Reading Eagle Royals team poster. The game marks the end of a season high seven-game homestand. The Royals then take to the road on St. Patrick's Day to tangle with the Toledo Storm for the final time this season in the Sports Arena. Reading finishes off the week with two huge games in Trenton, New Jersey on Friday and Saturday night. Reading and Trenton are battling for the fifth and final playoff spot in the Northern Division.

LAST WEEK

Tuesday, March 9 vs. Wheeling Sovereign Center 7:05PM

GAME NOTES: The league's best team continued to roll, as Wheeling downed Reading, 3-0. The Royals were blanked for the second consecutive game, while the loss also marked a season-high two straight defeats at home. The Nailers scored an even-strength goal in the second period, and iced the game with two, third period power play tallies. Reading mustered 32 shots, falling to 3-5-2 in its last 10 matches.

Friday, March 12 vs. Johnstown Sovereign Center 7:05PM

GAME NOTES: The largest single-game crowd in club history (7,235) left disappointed, as Reading fell to Johnstown, 4-3. The Royals led 2-0 after 20 minutes, only to watch the Chiefs notch four straight tallies, including two in the final stanza. The loss extended Reading's winless streak to seven games.

Saturday, March 13 vs. Atlantic City Sovereign Center 7:05PM

GAME NOTES: After falling behind 2-0 just 5:30 into the match, the Royals mounted a valiant comeback before losing to the Boardwalk Bullies, 6-4. Atlantic City notched three power play tallies and two shorthanded goals, before icing the contest with an empty net goal late in the third period. Forward David Masse recorded three assists, while goaltender Tom Lawson lost his first start in a Reading sweater, stopping 27 shots in the defeat.

THIS WEEK

Tuesday, March 16 vs. Peoria Sovereign Center 7:05PM

GAME NOTES: Peoria pulled off a two-game sweep of the Royals in late February, winning 2-0 and 5-3 at Carver Arena. The Rivermen netted the game 's first goal in both of those contests, evening the season series at 2-2-1. This is the final meeting between these two squads this year.

Wednesday, March 17 @ Toledo Toledo Sports Arena 7:00PM

GAME NOTES: Reading and Toledo have not met this calendar year, with their last meeting dating back to December 14, with the Royals winning, 2-1, in overtime. The season series is 2-0-2 in favor of Reading, with three of the four contests being decided by one goal (one shootout / two overtime).

Friday, March 19 @ Trenton Sovereign Bank Arena 7:30PM

GAME NOTES: With only two weeks remaining in the regular season, these Northern Division foes are battling one another for playoff positioning. The first of these back-to-back matches will go a long way in determining who makes the Kelly Cup playoffs. Reading is 6-1-0 against Trenton this season.

Saturday, March 20 @ Trenton Sovereign Bank Arena 7:00PM

GAME NOTES: The Royals have won three straight in this rivalry, with the most recent encounter, a 3-2 shootout win on February 22 in the Sovereign Center. To date, Reading is 10-16-5 on the road, and 15-9-3 in the second half of back-to-back games.

ECHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE:

#15 Graig Mischler 3GP TEAM RECORD: 0-3-0 STATS: 2-2-4 (+1) - leads team in mult. Pt. games

Mischler registered two more multiple point games lifting his season total to a team leading 17. The Holbrook, New York native tallied a goal and an assist on Friday and Saturday night in losses to Johnstown and Atlantic City. Mischler recorded his first tally in 15 games dating back to February 6.

GRAIG MISCHLER 6'3" 210LBS HOMETOWN: HOLBROOK, NY DOB: 9-15-78 LAST YEAR: CLEVELAND (AHL) AMATEUR CLUB: NORTHEASTERN (HE) DRAFT STATUS: VANCOUVER – 1998 – 8TH ROUND, 204TH OVERALL

ECHL GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE:

#30 Cody Rudkowsky 1GP RECORD: 0-1-0 GAA: 4.10 SPCT: .862% TEAM RECORD: 0-3-0

The Willingdon, Alberta native appeared in just one game this week. Rudkowsky stopped 25 shots in a 4-3 loss to the Johnstown Chiefs. With the win, the Chiefs claimed the Keystone Cup, improving their record to 6-3-0 against Reading with one game remaining in the season series.

CODY RUDKOWSKY 6'1" 215LBS HOMETOWN: WILLINGDON, AB DOB: 7-21-78 LAST YEAR: TRENTON (ECHL)/ WORCESTER (AHL)/ ST. LOUIS (NHL) AMATEUR CLUB: SEATTLE (WHL)

TEAM STREAKS:

· Reading is winless in a season high eight straight games (0-7-1) dating back to February 24
· The Royals have lost four straight games at home in regulation and are 0-5-1 in their last six outings
· Royals rank 5th on the power play (20.6%) and 8th on the penalty kill (85.4%) in the ECHL
· Reading ranks 6th in GAA in the ECHL (2.61)
· Royals are 24-0-3 when leading after two periods
· Reading set a new club record for single game attendance on March 12 welcoming 7,235 fans to the Sovereign Center
· The Royals surrendered two shorthanded goals in a game for the first time this year (3/13 vs. ATC, 6-4L)

PLAYER STREAKS:

· #7 Forward Leon Hayward registered his first multiple-goal game on Friday, 3/12 vs. JHN 4-3L (2g)
· #9 Forward Judd Medak has a three-game assist and scoring streak going 2/13-2/24 (1g, 4a - 5pts)
· #15 Center Graig Mischler added two more multiple-point games this week raising his team-leading total to (17). Mischler registered his first goal in 15 games (dating back to 2/6) on Friday vs. JHN, 4-3L
· #30 Goaltender Cody Rudkowsky has lost 4 straight games in regulation for the first time this season. (2/27-present)

IN THE COMMUNITY: The Royals face off at Casa Grande each week during the season with Royals Weekly and Royals Roundtable. Royals Weekly can be heard live on ESPN Radio, 1240AM from Casa Grande from 6-7 p.m. This week's guests include: Forward #11 Dave Stewart and goaltender #30 Cody Rudkowsky. Your calls are welcome at the show by dialing 866-ROY-ALS3!. FREE PRIZES ARE GIVEN AWAY TO THOSE WHO ATTEND FROM THE CINEMA CENTER OF READING, SCREPESI'S DELI, SUPERCUTS, HOLLYWOOD VIDEO, BOWL-O-RAMA, SENOR TACO, LABATT BLUE AND MORE!

Wednesday 3/24/04 5 PM - 7 PM
@ Applebees
CELEBRITY BARTENDERS
#17 Ian Turner & #16 Peter Hay

Tuesday 3/30/04 5:30 PM
@ The Sheraton of Reading
END OF THE YEAR LUAU BANQUET - 30/PERSON
RSVP - 610-898-7213
Full Team

Wednesday 3/31/04 12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
@ CTCE Federal Credit Union Centre Ave.
OPEN HOUSE
#11 Dave Stewart & #4 Reagan Rome

TRANSACTIONS:

3/9/04 Add DAVID MASSE (F) assigned from Hershey (AHL)
3/9/04 Add DEAN ARSENE (D) assigned from Hershey (AHL)
3/10/04 Add MIKE SOUZA (F) acquired from Fresno
3/11/04 Add CODY RUDKOWSKY (G) assigned from Worcester (AHL)
3/11/04 Delete PETER HAMERLIK (G) recalled to Providence (AHL)
3/11/04 Delete PETER HAY (RW) loaned to Hartford (AHL)
3/11/04 Delete TOMAS SLOVAK (D) recalled to Hershey (AHL)
3/11/04 Add LEON HAYWARD (RW) assigned from Hershey (AHL)
3/11/04 Add TOM LAWSON (G) loaned from Hershey (AHL)
3/12/04 Delete LEON HAYWARD (G) recalled to Manchester (AHL)
3/15/04 Add JUDD MEDAK (F) returned from Syracuse (AHL)
3/15/04 Delete TERRY DENIKE (G) recalled to Manchester (AHL)

TICKETS AND INFORMATION: The Reading Royals Box Office is open from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. at the Sovereign Center. Individual tickets can be purchased at the Sovereign Center Box Office or at any TicketMaster location. To order tickets by phone, call 215-336-2000. To book a group to a Royals home game call 610-898-7825.

ROYALS ON THE AIRWAVES: All Reading Royals games, home and away, are broadcast on ESPN Radio, 1240AM and on the Royals website at www.royalshockey.com via Sportsjuice. Join the voice of the Royals, John Curtis for all the play-by-play action. The pre-game show comes your way approximately 25 minutes before the drop of the puck.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

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ECHL Stories from March 15, 2004


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