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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Pull Off Dramatic Comeback Overtime Victory Over Johnstown, 5-4

January 19, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - In what can only be described as one of the most dramatic in-game turn-around comebacks in team history, the Reading Royals (22-15-3=47, 3rd North Division) of the ECHL went from one end of the spectrum to the other in a 5-4 overtime victory over the Johnstown Chiefs at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. Down 4-1 after an utterly disastrous second period, the Royals rang off three unanswered goals in the third to get to overtime, where Marc Cavosie's second goal of the game proved to be the game winner. Jon Quick (14-9-2; 32/26) came up huge at several critical moments to pick up his third consecutive win; while Ryan Nie (12-7-1; 23/28) took his second loss in three tries with the Royals.

Johnstown scored first 12:48 into the game on the power play. Quick made a brilliant sprawling stop on a back door play by the Chiefs, but the rebound fell loose at the top of the crease, where Codey Burki swept in to bag his first goal as a member of the Chiefs. Reading tied the game 32 seconds later, when Brett Hemingway carried into the offensive end on a two-on-one with Matt Herneisen. When Hemingway tried to feed Herneisen, a Johnstown defender blocked the pass but the puck deflected right back to the stick of Hemingway, who was able to drill the puck into the top right corner for his tenth goal of the year. The Chiefs bounced right back 1:43 later on a tic-tac-toe passing play started by Joey Olson who carried on the right wing side and threw a cross-ice feed to Ryan Garlock on the left side. Garlock then slipped the puck behind Quick to the right side of the crease, where a diving Randy Rowe was able to bag his tenth goal of the year in dramatic fashion.

There is no way to sugar coat the dismal play of the Royals in the second period. The Chiefs bagged a couple of goals from Jean Desrochers (at 13:18) and Patrick Leveque (at 16:57), but beyond the goals against, the Royals play was about as sloppy and un-inspired as it could get. Down 4-1, the Royals appeared to be energized by a tilt early in the third between Reading's Mike Salekin and Johnstown's Mike Sgroi. Reading began the comeback in earnest at the 6:43 mark of the third when P.J. Atherton, who ended up with four points on the night, drilled a low, hard wrist shot off the top of the left circle that beat Nie to the glove side. For Atherton, that was his tenth goal of the year, which leads all defensemen in the ECHL. Reading clawed to within one at the 12:56 mark of the third, when Larry Courville fed Cavosie from behind the Johnstown goal. Cavosie, who was playing in his first game for the Royals since December 29 due to injury, was planted at the top of the crease and banged the puck in for his seventh of the year. 1:49 later the Royals tied the game, when Rob LaLonde banked one off the side of Nie from the right side of the net for his sixth goal of the year.

Closing out the final 5:16 of regulation with the 4-4 tie proved to be a bit of a struggle, as the Chiefs had two power play opportunities down the stretch. However, a double-minor assessed for high sticking against Johnstown's Mike Knight with four seconds remaining in regulation, when his stick hit Matt Herneisen in the mouth (causing a substantial injury), gave the Royals a chance to play with the man advantage in overtime. The Royals did not waste that chance, as Reading pressured in the offensive end and attacked the Johnstown goal with a sequence of opportunities that concluded when Cavosie forced in his second of the night from the top of the crease for the third overtime victory of the season for the Royals.

The Royals return to action on Monday afternoon (January 21, 1:05 pm) when the Dayton Bombers visit the Sovereign Center. The first 1500 fans twelve years of age or younger will receive a picture frame courtesy of Once Upon A Child. There will also be a post-game on-ice photo session during which young fans will have an opportunity to get a photograph with their favorite Royal. The game day broadcast on Monday will begin at 12:35 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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