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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Knock Off Everblades, 7-3

January 10, 2010 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (20-13-1-243, 1st East Division), affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, defeated the Florida Everblades, 7-3, at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The win, which snapped a three game home losing streak for the Royals, gave Reading twenty wins at the half-way point of the season (i.e., the 36th game of the regular season). Ryan Cruthers scored three power play goals to rack up his first hattrick as a Royal, and Ben Gordon, who was returned to Reading from the Toronto Marlies today, registered his team leading seventeenth multi-point game of the year with a four-assist evening. Goaltender Matt Dalton (Loss, 11-8-0-1; 35/38) made a number of spectacular stops in beating Florida for the second time in three tries this season. Florida's Mike Morrison (9-10-2-1; 19/26; 56:44) started and sustained the loss in his first career start against Reading. Chris Beckford-Tseu came on in substitution of Morrison for the final 3:16 of the first period after the Royals built a 3-0 lead-but Morrison came back in at the start of the second period for the final forty minutes. The Royals scored three power play goals in their first five chances with the man advantage (3-9); and the Everblades broke through for a power play goal in the third period (1-7).

Reading struck on their first power play chance of the night, when Ryan Cruthers fired a shot from the high slot that slipped through low, stick side on Morrison 6:08 into the first period. The Royals took a 2-0 lead 9:27 into the first when a shot by Eric Werner from the right point was partially blocked into the left circle where Jimmy Fraser was able to get off a quick shot for his second goal of the year. Reading extended the lead to 3-0 at the 16:44 mark of the first, when Dinos Stamoulis found Olivier Labelle wide open and all alone in the low slot. Labelle ripped it between Morrison's legs for his eleventh of the year, after which Florida changed goaltender's brining on Beckford-Tseu.

The Royals took 4-0 lead with Morrison back in net 1:37 into the second period when Cruthers picked up his second goal of the game while the Royals were on the power play. A Florida defender tried to fire a clearing pass from behind the Everblades' net straight up the middle of the ice. The Royals picked that pass off, and after a wild scramble around the net, Cruthers was able to settle and fire it in for his tenth of the year. Florida got on the board 1:12 later when Elgin Reid put back his own rebound as Dalton was taken out of the play by contact with Florida's Ernie Hartlieb. Reading bounced back to regain the four goal lead (5-1) at the 6:47 mark of the second when Cruthers forced his hattrick goal through after another wild multi-shot scramble around the Florida net while the Royals were on the power play.

The Royals opened up a five goal lead (6-1) 4:18 into the third when Marc Cavosie carried deep on the left wing side and dropped to Nick St. Pierre in the mid-slot. St. Pierre patiently carried through the low slot as he cut right to left and finally shot, slipping it through for his sixth of the year. Despite trailing by five goals, Florida kept pounding the pressure on Dalton and the Royals and broke through with a power play goal 12:17 into the third, when Brad Zanon fired a shot from the high slot that slipped through a number of players out front and Dalton for his first goal of the year. Reading bounced back to regain the five goal lead (7-2) 39 seconds later when Joey Ryan and Gordon sprang Jimmy Fraser on a break into the Everblades' end. Fraser fired a perfectly timed snap shot between Morrison's legs for his second of the game and third of the season. Florida added a third goal after a tussle in front of the Reading net ended with Ryan Lang punching one through with 2:48 left. But that proved to be too little too late, as the Royals ran the team's home record to 9-6-0-1.

The Royals and Everblades go at it for the fifth and final time of the regular season on Wednesday night (January 13, 2009) at the Sovereign Center. The Royals game night broadcast on the Royals Radio Network presented by Transmissions by Arbogast will kick off with the pre-game warm-up show at 6:35 pm.

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