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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Explode for Eight against Indy, 8-2

December 9, 2016 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (win, 13-8-1-128) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, defeated the Indy Fuel (loss, 8-11-1-118), 8-2, at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania.

In the front end of a two-game weekend set against the Fuel, the Royals fell behind twice at 1-0 and 2-1 but rang off seven unanswered goals to push the team's win streak to seven-and unbeaten streak to eight (7-0-1-0). Seven different players lit the lamp for the Royals, and defenseman Florian Iberer became the seventh different player to score a game winning goal during the seven game streak. Goaltender Mark Dekanich, who extended his personal win streak to six, came up with several key saves-particularly in the early going, as well as throughout the second period-to allow his teammates to get the offensive train up and running and keep it going, as Reading pushed the team's record to five games over .500 for the first time this year.

Indy struck 2:22 into the game when Alex Wideman got his own rebound off a Reading defender and carried into the left circle where he bulleted a sharp angle shot that beat Dekanich on the short side.

Reading responded to tie the game 8:22 into the opening frame on the team's first power play of the night, when Ryan Penny punched back a rebound from the right side. On that goal, Olivier Labelle picked up his twenty-first point of the season-and 222nd point as a Royal to tie Yannick Tifu as the team's second all-time leading scorer.

The Fuel took their second lead of the game at the 11:00 mark of the first when defenseman Nick Mattson threw a seeing-eye wrister from deep at the left point that buzzed through a maze of traffic and caught the far-right side of the net for his first of the year.

But the Royals answered with three in a span of 1:32 to retake the lead for good. The first came 15:32 into the first when Chris McCarthy ripped a rocket off the top of the right circle that whizzed by goaltender Eric Levine for his ninth of the year. Thirty-five seconds later, Reading got what proved to be the game winner when Iberer answered with a seeing-eye wrister of his own from just inside the offensive blue line for his fourth of the season. And fifty-seven seconds after that, on a delayed penalty and with the sixth attacker on the ice, Steven Swavely slipped a beautiful cross-ice feed to defenseman Derik Johnson who came off the right point for a back-door, weak-side tap in and his second of the season.

Reading held the two goal lead at 4-2 until the final moment-quite literally-of the second period, when Jesper Pettersson fired a shot from the left point that was deftly deflected by newcomer Matt Willows to notch a buzzer beater and push the Royals lead to three. Willows, who was playing in his first game as a Royal, would end up with a goal and an assist on the night.

The Royals tacked on three in the third-the first on a rebound punch back by Tyrell Goulbourne at the 12:11 mark; the second on a point blank snapper by Mike Pereira for his eighth of the year at 15:39; and the third on a bar-down bullet from the mid-slot by Chris McCarthy with less than a minute remaining. But that would prove more than was needed for this one, which served to push Reading's home winning streak to four.

NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2016 v INDY FUEL Santander Arena - Reading, PA (7:00 pm Eastern)

Stuff the Train "Teddy Bear Toss" Night Post-Game Ham Shoot Courtesy of Redner's Markets

ROYALS BROADCAST

AUDIO: iHeartRadio - Rumba 1340 in Reading TELEVISION: Royals' Road Games are televised locally in Berks County, Pennsylvania on BCTV, which Can Found at Comcast Reading Cable Channel 15, Service Electric Cable Channel 19, Comcast Southern Berks Channel 965 Courtesy of Boscov's Travel and Apple Vacations

STREAMING VIDEO: ECHL.TV powered by NeuLion (Pay-Per-View)

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