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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Pull Away For Win In Wheeling, 6-3

February 24, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Wheeling, WV - The Reading Royals (31-17-4=66, 3rd North Division) of the ECHL extended the team's unbeaten streak to seven games (6-0-1) with a 6-3 win over the Wheeling Nailers at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Royals struck first but found themselves tied at two mid-way into the second before pulling away with four consecutive goals. Reading's power play struck twice (2-11)-both while skating with a five-on-three advantage-while the Royals penalty kill held the Nailers power play off the board until late in the third, when they finally broke through (1-5). Jon Quick (23-11-3; 21/24) notched his twenty-third win of the year, which is tied for the league lead in that category; while David Brown (6-6-0; 33/39) suffered his second loss of the year to the Royals.

Reading struck first 13:00 into the game, when Dany Roussin fed Shawn Collymore at the left side of the Nailers' goal. Collymore carried across the top of the crease, and when Brown committed to the ice, Collymore fired a shot under the bar for his second goal in his second game with the Royals this year. The Royals extended their lead to 2-0 35 seconds into the second period, when Joe Zappala finished for the first of what would be two five-on-three power play goals for Reading on the night. For Zappala, it proved to be his tenth goal of the year-and his sixth goal in his last seven games with the Royals.

Wheeling bounced back with a pair to tie the game at two. The first came 3:30 into the second when Kevin Croxton slipped one through from the high slot for his eighteenth goal of the year; and the second at the 7:31 mark of the second when Joe Guenther bagged a backhander from in tight at the left side of the Royals' goal. Reading responded to re-take the lead 1:35 later when Shawn Collymore carried deep into the Nailers' zone on the left side, cut deep below the goal line, and slid a pass through to right side of the crease, where Scott Parse banged it in for his second goal of the year. With 52 seconds remaining in the second, Reading picked up the team's second five-on-three power play goal of the game when Brock Hooton put back a rebound of a Marc Cavosie shot from the slot for Hooton's sixteenth goal of the year.

In the third, Reading extended the team's lead to 5-2 1:52 into the period when Dany Roussin walked off the right wall towards the slot where he drilled a snap shot that hit the underside of the cross-bar and went in for his seventeenth of the season. 9:06 into the period, Marc Cavosie extended the lead to four (6-2) when he walked deep into the slot, out-waited Brown, and after the goaltender committed to the ice, fired a snap shot into the net for his twelfth goal of the year. Wheeling picked up a power play goal with 1:39 remaining on a back-door pass by Matt Johnson, who found Seamus Young sneaking in for his seventh goal of the season; but it would prove to be too little too late, as Reading ran the team's record to 4-2-0 against the Nailers this year.

The Royals and Nailers go at again tomorrow afternoon (Sunday, February 24; 6:05 pm) at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling. The game night broadcast that night will begin at 3:05 pm with the pre-game warm-up show on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Ephrata, as well as on the internet through the Royals' website, www.royalshockey.com. Streaming video is available on a pay per view basis through the B2 Networks.

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