ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Fall To Jackals on \'Kids Day', 3-2

January 19, 2009 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (13-26-2= 28; 7th North Division) of the ECHL scored early but were unable to hold off the Elmira Jackals, who beat Reading, 3-2, in a matinee game on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. A second period short-handed goal by the Jackals proved to be the difference, as Elmira snapped the Royals' three game win streak. Michael Ouzas (loss, 13-10-1; 26/29) took the loss in his first game against Elmira this year; while Mitch O'Keefe (win, 13-9-1; 24/26) beat the Royals for the fourth time in six starts agaianst Reading. The Royals second goal of the game came while the team was playing with the man advantage (1-5). All three of the Jackals' goals were tied tot the special teams-the first coming directly at the conclusion of a power play, the second coming while Elmira was playing with the man advantage (1-4); and the third coming while Elmira was a man short.

Reading struck 1:49 into the game, when the puck bounced over the stick of Elmira defenseman Nathan Lutz at the left point, allowing Kirk MacDonald to make a break for the offensive end. MacDonald carried deep on the right wing side and then dropped a cross-ice pass into the mid-slot, where Chris Stevens settled and fired behind O'Keefe for his eighth of the year. Elmira tied the game at the 16:21 mark of the first just two seconds after the Jackals first power play chance of the night expired. Brandon Roach ripped one off the right point that hit a pack of bodies in front of the Royals' net. Moises Gutierrez found the loose puck, and before the Royals' defenseman could knock him off; Gutierrez banged the rebound in for his seventh of the year.

Elmira took their first lead of the day 8:32 into the second while playing with the man advantage. The Royals had a golden opportunity of their own on a short-handed break by Kirk MacDonald, but O'Keefe rejected that chance with sprawling stop; and the Jackals broke in the other direction. Derek Couture carried into the left circle and took a low, hard shot that slid under Ouzas and into the net for his second of the year. Reading bounced back to tie (2-2) at the 14:11 into the second period with a power play goal. Chris Stevens pressed hard in and around the Jackals' net, getting two tight shots that O'Keefe stopped; but MacDonald got the third whack at it, and his back-hand flew high over top of O'Keefe and into the net for his team leading fourteenth goal of the season.

The Jackals got what proved to the game winning goal 17:27 into the second period. Back-to-back penalties against Elmira gave the Royals 56 seconds worth of five-on-three power play. Reading pressed hard and created several good scoring chances, including a shot by Tim Branham from the top of the left circle that clanked straight off the short-side pipe. However, just as the front end of the five-on-three expired and Chris Korchinski stepped out of the penalty box; Elmira's Steve Yetman gained possession and threw a beautiful pass to the center circle where Korchinski was wide open and all alone. Korchinski settled, broke in all alone, and beat Ouzas to the stick side for his fifteenth of the year. Although Reading battled to the bitter end, the team was only able to muster four shots in the third-and the Royals best scoring chance came when David Nimmo hit another post from point-blank range with just over seven minutes left in the game. However, the Royals were unable to bag the equalizer and dropped the team's tenth one-goal regulation loss of the year (6-10-2).

The Royals return to action after the All-Star break on Saturday (January 24 @ 7:05 am et) when the Wheeling Niailers return to the Sovereign Center. Monday'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 January 19, 2009


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