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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Fall Again To Johnstown, 5-3

January 31, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (14-28-2= 30; 7th North Division) of the ECHL fell to the Johnstown Chiefs, 5-3, at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown Chiefs. With this loss, the Royals dropped to 0-6-1 against the Chiefs this year-and are winless in eleven straight against the Chiefs dating back to February of 2008. Michael Ouzas (14-10-1; 27/32) sustained his second loss of the year to Johnstown; while Kris Mayotte (18-9-1; 36/39) made a number of big stops during a virtual parade of breakaway opportunities that the Royals had during the game. Reading struck on a late game power play goal (1-5) to make a game of it. The Royals penalty kill blanked the Chiefs in seven chances with the man advantage, including 1:49 worth of five-on-three in the second period.

Reading started the game with a couple of breakaway chances that were turned away by Mayotte; and then the team got an uncontested ‘breakaway' opportunity when Brock Hooton was awarded the Royals' third short-handed penalty shot chance of the season at the 14:02 mark of the first. Unlike the two earlier this season (one by Hooton and one by Mac Faulkner), Hooton's shot was rejected by Mayotte this time, keeping the game in a scoreless tie. That changed with 1:27 remaining in the first when Johnstown's Marty Mjellei benefited on a failed clear by the Royals, when turned and wheeled on a loose puck out in front of the Royals net, rocketing it bar-and-in for his first goal as a pro. Thirty-six seconds later, Greg Gallagher found himself unchecked as he carried deep into the left circle, where he fired a hard snap shot that beat Ouzas under the right arm for his third of the year.

Thirty-three seconds into the second, Johnstown made it a 3-0 game when Ryan Card sprang Jarrett Konkle on a clear break. Konkle ripped a shot off the back glass that ricocheted out in front of the Royals' net where Ryan Del Monte punched it in for his eleventh of the year. The Royals got on the board three minutes later on a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play off the rush between Chris Stevens, Brock Hooton, and Dan Rudisuela, who finished it with a back-door tap in to break a nineteen game goal scoring drought. Reading ended the second with another breakaway opportunity-this one by Peder Skinner-but as with the ones that preceded it, Mayotte made the big stop to preserve the two goal lead.

Johnstown stretched their lead to three (4-1) thirteen seconds into the third, when a quick rush by the Chiefs created a mad-scramble around the Royals' goal that ended when Toby LaFrance slipped the puck in the net for his fourth of the year. The Chiefs made it 5-1 5:37 into the third with a back-door tap in by Todd Griffith who slipped up to the left pipe to re-direct a perfect pass from Blair Yaworski off the right half-wall.

Reading re-grouped and made a game of it with a couple of goals down the stretch. The first came 7:20 into the third, when Hooton gained possession ar the right point and landed a perfect saucer to Chris Stevens who had slipped behind the Johnstown defense out in front of the net. Stevens flipped a quick shot past the glove hand of Mayotte for his eleventh of the year and to extend his personal goal scoring streak to four games. Then Reading bagged a power play goal with 7:31 remaining in regulation when Rudisuela fired a one-timer off the top of the left circle that went through a maze of bodies and into the net for his second of the night and ninth of the year. Reading continued to press down the stretch, but were unable to solve Mayotte again, who won for the third time this season against Reading.

The Royals return to action on Tuesday (February 3 @ 7:30 pm et) when the team travels to U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, to take on the Cincinnati Cyclones. Tuesday'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.

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