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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Fall In Johnstown, 5-2

February 14, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Johnstown, PA - The Reading Royals (15-30-4= 34; 7th North Division) of the ECHL effort to snap an eleven game winless streak against the Johnstown Chiefs got off to a great start in every way except the scoreboard, where the Chiefs held sway for a 5-2 win over the Royals at the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The loss extended Reading's winless streak against Johnstown to twelve games (0-10-2), dating to February 1, 2008. Goaltender Michael Ouzas (15-13-1; 25/30) sustained the loss; Johnstown's Ian Keserich (9-9-0; 36/38) beat the Royals for the fourth time this season. Reading' power play was blanked in three chances with the man advantage (0-3). The Chiefs scored two of their goals while playing with the man advantage (2-3).

Despite outshooting the Chiefs 15-6 in the first, Johnstown took a 1-0 lead to the locker-room after one. 16:54 into the first, a failed defensive zone clear by the Royals resulted in a clean lane for Petr Pohl to carry through the left circle. Ouzas rejected Pohl's first bid, but he put back the rebound for his twentieth of the year. 2:58 into the second, the Chiefs extended their lead to two (2-0) when another failed clear from the defensive end, provided Mike Bartlett with control of the puck deep on the left wing side. Bartlett fired a shot from an extremely sharp angle that slipped under Ouzas into the net for his ninth of the year.

The Royals bounced back fifty-three seconds later, when Mac Faulkner sprang Tyler Doig for a clear break down the right wing deep into Chiefs' territory. Keserich rejected Doig's shot, but the rebound fell to the left side of the crease where Dan Rudisuela punched it back in for his eleventh of the year. Johnstown responded with a power play goal 7:03 into the second. Blair Yaworski carried into the offensive zone on the left side. He was able to get a shot off from the wide side on the left circle, which Ouzas stopped; but the rebound went right back on Yaworski's stick. He shot again, and this time Ouzas was forced to make a more difficult stop with the left pad. The rebound fell to the top of the crease, where Todd Griffith crashed, controlled and buried it for his third of the year.

Reading made it a one-goal game again (3-2) 1:15 into the third on a goal scored off the rush. Doig sprang David Nimmo with a pass in the neutral zone that was in Nimmo's skates, but which he was able to take in full stride. Nimmo carried into the offensive end, where he beat Keserich with a low hard wrister for his eighth of the year. The Chiefs bounced back, however, 39 seconds later. This time Griffith slipped in another rebound from the top of the crease after defenseman Ryan Card fired a shot from the left point that Ouzas kicked out with the left skate. Johnstown extended their lead to three (5-2) with a power play goal by Trevor Hendrikx at the 12:05 mark of the third. Hendrikx was able to walk around his coverage deep in the right circle and then fire across the body of Ouzas for his fourth of the year. From that point forward, the Royals couldn't bury the chances they got-and there were several good ones-to get another goal, and the team dropped to 0-18-2 when scoring two goals or less.

The Royals complete a season-long seven game road trip tomorrow (Saturday, February 14 @ 7:35 pm et) when the team travels to First Arena in Elmira, New York to take on the Elmira Jackals. Saturday'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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