ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Home Unbeaten Streak Snapped By Cyclones, 3-1

Published on December 28, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (17-10-2=36, 3rd North Division) of the ECHL lost in regulation time for only the second time at the Sovereign Center this season-both to the Cincinnati Cyclones-this time by a score of 3-1. Cincinnati defeated the Royals 3-0 in Reading's home opener on November 3, and in between those two games, the Royals went 9-0-1 at home. In this one, the Cyclones built a 3-0 lead and, unlike Wednesday when Reading was able to come back from a three goal deficit to defeat the Elmira Jackals in overtime, the Royals couldn't muster the offense to get back into the game. Goaltender Jon Quick (9-6-1; 32/35) had his personal five game unbeaten streak snapped; while Cincinnati's Dov Grumet-Morris (12-2-1; 25/26) extended his personal unbeaten streak to ten games.

The Cyclones struck first 13:49 into the game, twenty-seven seconds after a lopsided tilt between the Royals' Matt Herneisen and Avery Wilson, in which Herneisen had the decided advantage. Cincinnati responded with a goal, however, as Thomas Beauregard was permitted to carry deep below the right dot in the offensive zone and drilled a bullet under the bar glove side on Quick for his twelfth goal of the year. After the Royals took a hooking penalty 33 seconds into the second period, the Cyclones struck on the power play to take a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Conrad Martin ripped a hard slap shot from the left point that Quick stopped, but Travis Fuller was able to slip the puck under and behind Quick in the Royals' crease. David Deshairnais stepped into the crease and tapped the loose puck into the net for his eleventh goal of the year. Five seconds after that goal, the Royals took another penalty, and Cincinnati responded with back-to-back power play goals. On this one, Fuller fed Jean-Michel Daoust from behind the Reading net. Daoust took a snap shot from a sharp angle at the right side of the Royals' net that slipped through Quick to make it 3-0 Cyclones.

Reading gave the home fans some hope at the 9:31 mark of the second, after the team turned up the attack a bit with an aggressive forecheck. The strategy worked as Cincinnati coughed a puck towards the right point, where Patrik Hersley stepped up, took control and found Brock Hooton at the top of the crease. Hooton was able to cut across the front of the net and backhand the puck behind Grumet-Morris to get the Royals on the board with his ninth goal of the season. However, that would be all the Royals would be able to muster, as Cincinnati played smart, simple and sound defense through the last half of the game to take their second win out of the Sovereign Center in two tries this year.

The Royals return to the Sovereign Center tomorrow night (Saturday, December 29) (7:05) when the organization will 'turn back the clock' to 1988. The Royals will wear Los Angeles Kings throwback sweaters to the 'Gretzky-era' Kings and the first 1500 fans receive an 'R-Team/R-Town' slinky courtesy of Commerce Bank. The game night broadcast on Friday will begin at 6:35 pm with the pre-game warm-up show on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Ephrata, as well as on the internet through the Royals' website, www.royalshockey.com. Streaming video is available on a pay per view basis through the B2 Networks.

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