ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Lulled Into Shootout Loss Against Johnstown, 5-4

Published on February 7, 2006 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (27-11-4=58) built and early two goal advantage-and held the lead two other times at 3-2 and 4-3-but couldn't muster the energy needed to close out the Chiefs, losing in shootout, 5-4. On the positive side, the Royals got a two-goal performance from Dany Roussin, who extended a personal point streak to six games, a three-assist game from Doug Christiansen, and picked up a point in the standings to jump into a tie for first place in the North Division with the Wheeling Nailers.

The Royals struck first at the 2:53 mark of the first period when defenseman Jeff State ripped a one-time slap shot from deep on the right wing point that beat Johnstown goaltender, Brian Eklund, high to the stick side. For State that was his third goal of the season and his second in as many games. 1::37 later, Reading took a two goal lead when Dany Roussin finished on a two-on-one with linemate Mike Kompon, who broke in on the right wing side, went deep into the offensive zone and threw a brilliant cross-crease saucer to the hard-charging Roussin. With that assist Kompon extended his personal point streak to a league high 24 games. Despite going down by two early, the Chiefs wouldn't quit and picked up a goal at the 13:25 mark of the first when an attempted clear by Royals' forward Chris Barr hit a bad joint in the boards behind the Royals net, causing the puck to ricochet out in front of Reading's net. The Chiefs' Justin Kelly picked up the puck there and was able to slip it behind Royals' goaltender, Cody Rudkowsky, who was caught out of position because of the surprise bounce. 1:16 later the Chiefs tied it at two when Jean Desrochers finished a nice two-on-one with teammate Dmitri Tarabrin.

The Royals went back up by a goal early in the second, when Dany Roussin scored his second of the night and his sixteenth of the season while Reading was on the power play. Reagan Rome, playing in his first game for the Royals since being re-assigned by the Manchester Monarchs today, took a hard shot from high in the slot that hit Doug Christiansen, who had set a screen in front of the Johnstown net. The puck deflected off Christiansen and directly to Roussin who was planted at the right side of the Chiefs' goal. Roussin buried it at 3:13 of the second to make it 3-2, Reading. The Chiefs tied it up, again, however, when Adam Henrich broke into the offensive zone and slid the puck through the legs of Royals' defenseman Eric Werner, who concentrated his efforts on the body of Henrich. The puck however slid towards Reading's net and created a scramble which resulted in the Chiefs' Randy Rowe somehow knocking the puck in the net at the 6:49 mark of the second. The Royals went back up by a goal late in the second when Mike Kompon scored his thirteenth of the season off the third assist of the night from Christiansen, who walked out from behind the Johnstown net on the left wing side and found Kompon, who had slipped on the back door. Kompon quickly ripped it home to make it 4-3, Reading, with 2:41 remaining in the second.

In the third, the Royals held the advantage in opportunities outshooting Johnstown, 17-4, but Eklund rejected every chance for Reading; and the Chiefs picked up all they needed to tie it at the 2:32 mark of the third when Justin Kelly roofed a nice backhand under the bar from out in front of the Royals' net, while Rudkowsky was prone on the ice. The Royals again had the better of the chances in the overtime, but were unable to solve Eklund, thus necessitating a shootout to resolve it. In the shootout, the Royals' four shooters were blanked (Kompon, Roussin, Grant Jacobsen and Doug Christiansen), while two Chiefs scored (Kelly and Desrochers), giving Johnstown their third shootout win in twelve tries this year. Despite the shootout loss, the Royals extended the team's unbeaten streak to six games (4-0-2).

Next up for the Royals are the Greenville Grrrowl at the Bi-Lo Center in Greenville, South Carolina, on Friday night (7:00 pm). Reading returns home on Saturday (7:00 pm) and Sunday (1:00 pm) for a two-game series against the Toledo Storm. On Saturday night, the first 1500 fans 21 years of age or older receive a Samuel Adams Pint Glass courtesy of All-Star Distributing. On Sunday, the first 1000 fans 12 years of age or younger receive a CTCE Puck Bank and the first 2000 fans get Comcast Thundersticks. Royals' game day broadcasts can be heard on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Ephrata and www.royalshockey.com with pre-game beginning 30 minutes before the opening face-off. Streaming video is also available through the Royals' website on a pay per view basis provided by B2 Networks.

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