ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Knock Off Nailers, 5-3

Published on February 14, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (25-21-1-354, 2nd 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 Wheeling Nailers (26-23-2-256, t-3rd East Division), 5-3, at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. This win marked the 300th team victory in the nine year history of the Royals and kept the team's perfect record in tact when playing the annual Pink in the Rink game at the Sovereign Center. Goaltender Matt Dalton (win, 16-16-0-2; 36/39) picked up the win, while playing in his nineteenth consecutive game for the Royals. The Nailers Michael-Lee Teslak (11-12-2-1; 26/31) sustained his first loss as a member of the Nailers to Reading. Reading's power play was blanked for the twenty-second time this year (0-4); while the Royals' penalty kill gave up a goal for the eighteenth time in the last twenty-two games played (1-3).

The Royals struck first 9:47 into the game when Ben Gordon racked up his team leading 21st goal of the year by firing a wrister from high on the right side that threaded through the traffic in front of Teslak and into the upper right corner of the net. Forty-one seconds later, Reading took a 2-0 lead when Andrew Sarauer, who ended up with three assists on the night, fed the puck to Yannick Riendeau, who was playing in his first game for the Royals, behind the Nailers' net. Riendeau took the puck out of his skates and slipped a perfect pass to a Charlie Kronschnabel low in the right circle. Kronschnabel ripped a hard one-timer across the body of Teslak just inside the left pipe for his eleventh of the year.

Wheeling broke through with a short-handed goal 15:14 into the first. Reading's power play got caught up ice after the Nailers PK battled at the point to punch the puck into the neutral zone. That launched a two-on-one led by Jordan Fox that ended when Fox slid the puck through the slot to the hard-charging Kyle Bushee, who deflected it up and over Dalton for his fifth of the year. Wheeling tied the game with 1:33 left in the first, when Andrew Lord was allowed to walk completely around the Royals goal, going behind on the left side and coming out on the right where he jammed it in for his eleventh of the year.

Reading took the lead back 8:23 into the second, when Ryan Cruthers made a great move down the right wing side to pass to himself and blow by a Nailer defender, gaining a spot mid-way into the right circle. Cruthers fired a hard short-side blast, but the puck clanged the right pipe. It then kicked to the left wing wall, where Jimmy Fraser dug it out and fed Cruthers, who in turn worked a give-and-go with Ben Gordon out of the left corner. Cruthers then charged to the left side of the net where he slipped the puck through the legs of Teslak for his fourteenth of the year.

In the third, Reading got what proved to be the game winner when Dinos Stamoulis fired a shot from the right point that was deflected by Kronschnael as he floated across the top of the Nailer crease for his second of the night and twelfth of the season. The Royals got a bit of insurance at the 8:31 mark of the third, when Riendeau scored his first pro goal with a hard wrap-and-jam from behind the Nailers' net. The Nailers made a game of it with 5:52 remaining with a power play goal that came when Chris Davis tried to pass a puck across the top of the Reading crease, but it hit the stick of a Royals' defender and deflected into the net. The Nailers tried to turn up the heat down the stretch, but the Royals' defense and fatigue conspired to dampen any hope for a comeback, as the Royals ran the team's home record to 14-10-0-2.

The Royals are off until Friday (February 19, 2010 @ 7:35 pm) when the team travels to First Arena in Elmira, New York to take on the Elmira Jackals. 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 7:05 pm.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

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