ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Early Surge Sinks Trenton, 6-3

Published on February 24, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (1st Atlantic Division, 35-13-2-375), affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, defeated the Trenton Devils (3rd Atlantic Division, 21-29-1-346), 5-2, at Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. For the second straight game, the Royals chased the opposing goaltender with three early goals, which propelled Reading to the team's fifth straight win. The Royals, who are twenty-two games over .500 for the first time this season, ran the team's record to 23-2-3 when scoring the game's first goal.

Reading's Bobby Jarosz (win, 1-0-0-0, 32/35) was solid as he held on for the win in his first start for the Royals. Shane Connelly (no decision, 3/6 in 8:55) started and allowed the first three Reading goals. Jeff Lerg (loss, 7-8-0-0, 24/27 in 51:05) made several big stops to keep the Devils alive, but he was the hard luck loser because he allowed the goal that proved to be the game winner. For the second straight game (and the third time this season), the Royals power play came through with three goals (3-5). Trenton scored a power play goal early in the third (1-4) to draw within two.

The Royals struck 1:52 into the game when Yannick Riendeau dished a cross-ice pass into the right circle, where Jared Ross stepped in and snapped his sixth of the season by Connelly. Just twelve seconds later, Dale Mitchell, playing in his first goal as a Royal, picked off a d-to-d pass just inside the offensive blue line, broke to the net, and blew a quick shot by Connelly to stake the Royals to a 2-0 lead. 8:55 into the first, Mitchell bagged his second of the game, when Alain Goulet threaded the needle with a long pass through the neutral zone to a waiting Devin Timberlake at the offensive blue line. Timberlake slipped a back-hand saucer to the right circle, where Mitchell settled and fired to make it 3-0, Reading. The Devils got on the board 12:26 into the first, when Kory Nagy carried around the Royals goal and slid a perfect pass to the low slot, where Matt Vokes found an open space below the hash marks for a hard snap shot high stick side on Jarosz.

The Royals regained the momentum with back-to-back power play goals early in the second. The first came after 0:58 of five-on-three had expired, but on the front end of a double-minor assessed against Taylor Vichorek for high sticking. 1:23 into the period, Riendeau slid a perfect cross-ice pass to Mitchell in the left circle, who was poised to bag one on the back-door, but he misfired on a one-timer, sending the puck behind the Devils' net, where Labelle gained possession and carried out to the right side. Labelle slid the puck into the crease, where it hit the glove of a diving Lerg, causing it to deflect into the net for Labelle's eleventh of the year-and what proved to be his second consecutive game winner (and fourth GWG of the season). Matt Caruana scored on the back-end of the double minor twenty-nine seconds later when Andrew Sarauer set him up for a point-blank bullet that went bar-and-in for his sixteenth of the year, making it 5-1, Reading.

The Devils bounced back at that point with back-to-back goals-the first at the 18:08 mark of the second, when Nagy carried down the left wing side and fired off the top of the left circle. The puck deflected off the stick of a Reading defender and ended up beating Jarosz high glove side. Forty-eight seconds into the third, Trenton bagged a power play goal when Trevor Kell ripped one out of the left circle that blew by everyone including Jarosz for his twelfth of the year to draw the Devils within two (5-3).

The Royals took the life out of the charging Devils with five minutes remaining in regulation with the team's third power play goal of the game. Chris Blight took a shot from the slot that was blocked; he recovered possession of the puck and slid it to Sarauer in the left circle. Sarauer then slid a cross ice pass to Caruana, who was set up on the back-door for the one-timer to re-build the Royals' three goal lead that the team would hold to the end of Reading's seventeenth home win of the year (17-6-1-2).

Next up, the Royals travel to Elmira, New York on Saturday (February 26, 2011 @ 7:35) where the team will face the Elmira Jackals at First Arena. The Royals game day broadcast will kick off with the pre-game warm-up show presented by The Works at Wyomissing on the Royals Broadcast Network (WRAW 1340 am in Reading, www.1340wraw.com) at 7:05 pm. You can also catch all of the Royals away games this season on Royals TV exclusively on BCTV courtesy of Boscov's Travel, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Season tickets for the Royals' 2010-11 season are currently available. To become a part of Royals hockey, call 610-898-PUCK or log onto www.royalshockey.com .

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ECHL Stories from February 24, 2011


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