ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Impeached by Elmira in Presidents' Day Shootout, 4-3

February 20, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (24-22-3-455, 3rd Atlantic Division), 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 Elmira Jackals (30-19-2-265, 1st Atlantic Division), 4-3, in a shootout at Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. In a scenario that has played out far too frequently for the Royals, the team built a two-goal lead that evaporated down the stretch, taking with it the two points that appeared ready for the taking. This is the eighteenth game this year in which Reading held a lead, but failed to register the victory-and the sixth time this year that the Royals blew a two-goal lead. Seven of the eighteen games in which Reading has blown a lead have come against the Jackals.

Goaltender Jussi Rynnas (sol, 7-4-0-1, 36/39 in 65:00, 7/8 in the shootout) made a number of critical stops and seemed to deserve a better fate, despite giving up the game-tying goal with 53 seconds remaining in regulation that came on a bouncing wrister from seventy-five feet out. Timo Pielmeier (win, 11-8-1-2, 28/31 in 65:00, 8/8 in the shootout) made the saves necessary to give his team the chance to mount the late game comeback and then was perfect in the shootout. Reading took a 2-0 lead with a power play goal early in the second period (1-4), but was unable to break through on the team's final three chances with the man advantage. The Royals penalty killers were perfect for the twenty-third time this year (0-2), which included forty-eight seconds of five-on-three early in the game.

For the sixth straight game, the Royals scored the game's first goal 10:38 into the first period. Denny Urban took possession at the right point, carried deep down the wing and fired a perfect cross-crease pass to Kenny Ryan, who was waiting on the back-door for an easy tap in. For Ryan that was his eighth of the season-and his sixth goal in his last ten games.

The Royals stretched the lead to two (2-0) 1:06 into the first period on the team's first power play chance of the game. Matt Caruana fed Mikael Bedard on the goal line, and Bedard make a quick power move towards the net, spinning 360 degrees as he entered the crease and dishing across the blue paint to Olivier Labelle, who punched it in for his twenty-second goal of the year-and his league leading twelfth power play goal of the season.

Elmira broke through 1:29 into the third period, when Mario Larocque stole in the neutral zone and fed Artem Demkov, who in turn dished to Corey Cowick, who drove hard down the left wing side, carried deep into the left circle and ripped a bullet short-side high for his third of the season.

Reading re-built the two goal lead 7:43 into the third, when Yannick Tifu sprang Casey Haines into the offensive zone. Haines shot from the high slot, and it appeared to deflect off the stick of an Elmira defender, fluttered in on net, and knuckled under the catching glove of Pielmeier for Haines' tenth of the season.

Elmira pressed late in the third, and the effort paid dividends with 4:27 left in regulation when a failed clear by the Royals came back to haunt the team. After an extended scramble around Reading's net, Dustin Gazely ultimately gained possession in the mid-slot and slipped one through a maze of bodies in front of Rynnas for his eighteenth of the year to make it 3-2, Reading.

Elmira got the game-tying goal with time ticking down and the goaltender pulled and the sixth attacker on the ice. Jordan Pietrus gained possession on the left side of the neutral zone and chipped a bouncing puck towards the net. Rynnas came out to meet the puck, but it took a strange hop and bounced through on the short-side with fifty-three seconds left to make it 3-3.

After a scoreless overtime, it went to the shootout which took eight rounds to resolve-essentially because no one could score. For the Royals, who had been held completely off the board in three of the five shootouts the team had been into prior this one, were blanked again-as all eight shooters failed to find pay-dirt (Tifu, Labelle, Caruana, Bedard, Dale Mitchell, Urban, Ryan and Haines). For Elmira, they broke through for their ninth win in the shootout (in eleven tries) when Kyle Reeds (shooting eighth) slipped it through Rynnas for the win.

The Royals hit the road again on Wednesday (February 22, 2012 @ 7:00 pm) when the team will travel to Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, New Jersey to face the Trenton Titans. The game night broadcast on Wednesday will start at 6:30 pm with the Red Robin Gourmet Burger Pre-Game Warm-up Show on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Reading. Streaming audio is available free of charge courtesy of America One through the Royals' website, www.royalshockey.com. As with all Royals' road games this season, Wednesday's game will be televised locally in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on BCTV courtesy of Boscov's Travel and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.

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