ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Power by Elmira, 5-2

February 20, 2011 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (1st Atlantic Division, 34-13-2-373), 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 Elmira Jackals (2nd Atlantic Division, 22-23-6-151), 5-2, at Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Royals scored on three consecutive power play goals to build an early lead, which they held to their conclusion of the team's fourth consecutive win. The victory marked the twenty-third time this season that Reading has held the opposition to two goals or less. The Royals have compiled a record of 22-0-1 in those games.

Reading's Matt Dalton (win, 14-6-1-0, 37/39) held off a strong push by the Jackals in the second period, during which they outshot Reading 18-6, to extend his personal unbeaten streak with the Royals to seven games (6-0-1-0). Elmira's starting goaltender, Grant Zemlak (no decision, 3/5 in 5:01), was pulled after allowing a pair of power play goals early in the game. Marco Cousineau (loss, 13-11-4-0, 21/23 in 54:54, 1 eng) made a number of big stops, particularly in the third period, to keep his team alive but proved the hard-luck loser. Reading's power play unit struck on the team's first three chances with the man advantage (3-7). The Royals' PK held the Jackals power play off the board (0-3), marking the twenty-sixth time this season that Reading has blanked the opposition's PP.

Reading struck on the team's first power play chance 3:20 into the game when Ryan Cruthers fed Ben Gordon for a big blast out of the left circle that blew by Zemlak high on the glove side for Gordon's team leading twenty-second goal of the year. 1:41 after that-on Reading's second power play chance of the night-it was Cruthers' turn to bag the PPG, after he controlled low on the left side and found an opening short-side high for his eighteenth of the year. Reading hit the trifecta 13:15 into the first, when Olivier Labelle scored his team leading sixth power play goal (and tenth goal of the year), when Rob Kwiet sprang him behind an aggressive Jackal penalty killing unit who was intent on capitalizing on a short-handed chance. Instead, the Royals went the other way, and Labelle fired a quick snap shot from the mid-slot that blew by Cousineau for what would prove to be Labelle's third game winner of the year.

Despite a strong push from the Jackals in the second, Reading extended the team's lead to 4-0 6:59 into the period, immediately after Matt Dalton made a brilliant upper body stop on a point blank opportunity for the Jackals' Andrew Sweetland. Reading broke in the other direction, and Casey Haines uncorked a bomb from the high slot that blitz by Cousineau, slamming straight into the cross-bar. The rebound fell low into the right slot, where Chris Blight stepped in to punch it by the diving Cousineau for Blight's twelfth of the season.

Elmira bounced back with a pair to make a game of it. The first came 8:37 into the second period, when a shot from the high slot went wide left, but ricocheted off the end wall and came out towards the left side of the Royals' goal, where Yannick Tifu was able to put a stick on the puck, sending it tumbling over Dalton for his fifteenth of the year. Tifu then cut the Royals' lead to 4-2 when he deftly took an A.J. Perry pass on the fly after jumping over a sliding Royals' defender. Tifu got in tight on Dalton who rejected the original bid with a brilliant save with an out-stretched left pad. But Tifu, whose stick appeared to be tied up, was able to use his skate to kick it through for his second of the night. Although the Royals' protested the apparent kick-in, it fell on deaf ears.

Reading re-grouped in the third and played a much more cogent defensive style to slow the Elmira attack; and the Royals iced it with an empty netter with just 1:28 remaining from Andrew Sarauer, as Reading won for the seventh time in their last eight games against the Jackals.

The Royals take on the Trenton Devils on Wednesday (February 23, 2011 @ 7:05) at the Sovereign Center, when the team will host the "Royals Wings Fest," which will feature an intermission wings eating contest. The Royals game day broadcast will kick off with the pre-game warm-up show presented by The Works at Wyomissing on the Royals Broadcast Network (WRAW 1340 am in Reading, www.1340wraw.com) at 6:35 pm. You can also catch all of the Royals away games this season on Royals TV exclusively on BCTV courtesy of Boscov's Travel, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. Season tickets for the Royals' 2010-11 season are currently available. To become a part of Royals hockey, call 610-898-PUCK or log onto www.royalshockey.com .

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ECHL Stories from February 20, 2011


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