Sports stats



ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Earn a Point in SOL in Trenton, 5-4

December 20, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Trenton, NJ - The Reading Royals (8-20-2= 18; 7th North Division) of the ECHL scored two third period goals, including a game-tying goal with just 1:24 remaining, to earn a tie and get to the shootout where the Trenton Devils took the two points, 5-4. Chris Stevens scored the late game goal with the goaltender pulled and the sixth attacker on the ice in the waning moments. Goaltender James Reimer (SOL, 5-3-1; 43/47; 0/3 in shootout) made a number of spectacular stops, but sustained his first shootout loss as a pro; while Jason Smith (win, 2-7-1, 29/34; 3/4 in the shootout) beat the Royals for the first time this season-and for the second time in his career. The Royals failed to score in three chances on the power play and are now 0 for 27 on the season (in five games) against the Devils with the man advantage; Trenton scored their first goal of the game on a five-on-three power play and went 1 for 5 with the man advantage.

Reading got on the board first 13:35 into the game, when a strong fore-check by Chris Stevens and Kirk MacDonald created a turnover in the offensive end for the Royals. The puck popped to the slot just above the hash-marks where David Nimmo blasted a low slapper that slipped under Smith for his fourth of the year. A minute and a second later, the Royals took a 2-0 lead, when Peder Skinner ripped one from just inside the blue line that Smith fought off; however, the rebound kicked to the right side of the crease and, with Smith down and out, Hooton swept in and buried the put-back for his seventh of the year. The Devils got on the board at the 16:46 mark of first with a five-on-three power play goal. The Devils created a sequence of sustained pressure, which ended when Eric Castonguay stepped up in the right circle and fired a shot that went off Reimer's left shoulder, hit the bottom of the cross bar, and bounced down and in for his seventh of the year.

Trenton took over in the second period, scoring three goals to build a 4-2 lead after two. The Devils' comeback started at the 8:50 mark when Brad Snetsinger finished on a multi-rebound opportunity in tight on the Royals' net to tie the game at two. The Devils took their first lead of the game at the 14:36 mark of the second when Jim Henkel and Matt Radoslovich worked a perfect give and go off an odd-man rush which ended with an easy tap-in for Henkel. Trenton extended the lead to 4-2 at the 16:48 mark of the second when Trevor Kell fired a snap shot out of the right circle that beat Reimer high to the glove side.

The Royals began their own battle back in at the 1:11 mark of the third, when Hooton won an offensive zone face-off to Tyler Doig, who quickly fired from just above the hash-marks, beating Smith low to the stick side for his fifth of the year After a hard-fought third period, the Royals finally tied things again (at 4-4) with just 1:24 left and the goaltender pulled and the sixth attacker on the ice. Mac Faulkner won an offensive zone face-off, and Stevens took control behind the Devil goal. Stevens made a quick, hard wrap move at the right pipe from below the goal line, jamming the dramatic game-tying goal in for his fourth of the season. After a scoreless overtime, the Devils scored on all three of their shootout attempts (Castonguay, Snetsinger, and Tyler Butler); while the Royals only scored once (Peder Skinner) in four attempts (Nimmo, Shawn Snider and Brock Hooton); as the Royals dropped their second shootout of the year in five tries.

Reading is off until Friday (December 26, 2008 @ 7:35 pm) when the team travels to Wheeling, West Virginia to take on the Wheeling Nailers at WesBanco Arena. Friday's game will be broadcast live on the Royals Radio Network Presented by Transmissions by Arbogast (True Oldies WRAW 1340 am in Reading; and The Ticket WLAN 1390 am in Lancaster), as well as on the internet via webcast hosted by Sportsjuice.com, which can be accessed through the Royals website. To become a part of Royals hockey, call 610-898-PUCK or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics



ECHL Stories from December 20, 2008


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central