ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Fall In Shootout to Greenville, 4-3

Published on January 28, 2011 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (1st Atlantic Division, 24-11-2-3=53), affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, were defeated by the Greenville Road Warriors (2nd South Division, 25-18-0-2=52), 4-3, in a shootout at Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Royals fell behind early but were able to come back from two separate one-goal deficits in the third period to earn a point in the first game ever between the Royals and Road Warriors. The SOL for Reading marks the team's third consecutive loss in the skill competition; and drops the Royals to 1-5 in the last six games that have gone beyond regulation time.

Goaltender Michael Hutchinson (sol 4-2-1-3, 30/35 in 65:00; 2/5 in shootout) was integral in the Royals efforts to pick up the point, particularly during a withering third period attack from the Road Warriors; but sustained his third loss in the shootout (0-3). Greenville's Nick Riopel (win, 10-7-1-0; 22/25 in 64:56; 3/5 in shootout) made his best stops in the second and ended up leading his team to the shootout victory in his first career start against the Royals. Reading got on the board with a five-on-three power play goal late in the first (1-3) with Greenville leading, 2-0. The Royals' penalty killers kept the Road Warriors' power play off the board (0-3), marking the eighteenth time this season that Reading's PK has blanked the opponent's power play.

Greenville struck 3:50 into the game, when Conner Shields found a seam on the left side of the slot and ripped a snap shot high glove-side on Hutchinson for his fourteenth of the year. The Road Warriors stretched the lead to 2-0 12:26 into the first, when Shields carried around the Royals' net on the right side and came out on the left, slipping a pass to Shane Harper who snuck in to chip the puck over Hutchinson for his seventh of the year. Reading broke through 15:31 into the first while playing with a two-skater advantage. Rob Kwiet set up Jared Ross for a hard slap shot from the mid-slot that beat Riopel stick-side for his third of the year.

After a scoreless second, Reading earned the team's first tie 1:59 into the third, when Andrew Sarauer fired a perfect pass from deep in the right corner to Casey Haines who slipped up on the back-door and drilled it home for his ninth of the year. Greenville re-gained the lead with 3:26 left in the game, when a shot by Marc-Olivier Vallerand from the mid-slot deflected off a body and landed on the stick of Chris Chappell, who was wide open at the right side of the low slot for a quick snap shot that made it 3-2 for the hard-charging Road Warriors. Eighteen seconds later, Reading bounced back to earn the team's second tie of the third period, when Tyler Murovich shot from a sharp angle on the right wing side. Riopel made the stop but the rebound kicked to the top of the crease where a waiting Chris Blight punched it back for his sixth of the year.

The Royals held off the relentless attack of the Road Warriors, who outshot the Royals 15-3 in the third period, to get to overtime, during which neither team was able to break through. In the shootout, the Royals shot first and were only able to find pay-dirt twice (Eric Castonguay and Chris Blight scored; while Andrew Sarauer, John Scrymgeour and Tyler Murovich were all stopped), while the Road Warriors scored on three of their five shots, including the game winner by Shane Harper shooting last.

The Royals and Road Warriors go at it again tomorrow (Saturday, January 29, 2011 @ 7:05 pm) at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Royals will celebrate Penn State University and the Berks County PSU Alumni Association in Support of THON. Reading will wear special PSU-themed jerseys, which will be auctioned after the game with the net proceeds going to support THON. 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 6:35 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.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from January 28, 2011


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