ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Pull Out Win In Wheeling, 5-4

Published on March 23, 2009 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Wheeling, WV - The Reading Royals (22-39-5= 49; 7th North Division) of the ECHL scored with forty-five remaining in regulation to pull out a 5-4 win over the Wheeling Nailers at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia. The win, the Royals first in Wheeling this season (1-3-1), gave the Royals the season series against the Nailers (5-4-1). Michael Ouzas (win, 19-20-1, 38/42) ran his personal record to 4-1-0 against Wheeling; while Curtis Darling (loss, 20-19-6; 24/29) dropped to 3-5-0 against Reading this year. The Royals power play did not connect in four chances with the man advantage. Three of the four Nailers' goals were scored on the power play (3-5).

For the second straight night, the Royals struck first-and early-when Tyler Doig and Ben Gordon, worked a couple of gives-and-goes into the offensive end. Doig finally fed Gordon for the one-timer in the mid slot. Darling got a piece of the puck, but not enough as it slipped between his pads and into the net for Gordon's seventeenth of the season 3:55 into the game. The Nailers tied the game with a power play goal 6:36 into the second. Andrew Lord came deep down the slot and took a feed from the right wing side by Bryan Ewing. Lord settled and walked around Ouzas to jam in his fifteenth of the year. The Royals regained the lead 1:19 later when Dan Rudisuela slipped one towards the crease that created a scramble that ended when Vince Rocco swept in his second of the season in three games played with the Royals.

The Nailers tied the game at two at 13:52 of the second with another power play goal by Andrew Lord. On this one, Mitch Ganzack threaded a perfect pass off the left wing wall to the right side of the Royals' net, where a charging Lord angled the puck in for his seventeenth of the year. Wheeling took their first lead of the game (3-2) with thirty-five seconds left in the second, when a Royal defender started a d-zone breakout only to turn the puck over in front of the Royals' goal to Wheeling's Billy Ryan Powering his way to the front of the net, Ryan created a wild scramble, which ended when Ewing slipped in his forty-second goal of the year.

Reading re-tied the game at three 1:28 into the third when Ben Gordon slipped one through on the short-side for his tenth of the year. But, once again, the Nailers re-took the lead (4-3) with yet another power play goal-this one by Tommy Goebel at the 7:37 mark of the third. Jordon Morrison slipped the puck to Goebel below the goal line. Goebel attacked the net and fluttered a back-hand over Ouzas for his twelfth of the year. But, once again-again-the Royals re-tied the game at four 11:33 into the third. Rudisuela carried down the right wing side and fired a beautiful pass to the top of the crease, where a hard-charging Dinos Stamoulis stepped up and directed it over Darling for his fifth goal of the year.

The Nailers appeared to have taken the lead again with 2:11 left in the game when Chris Margott fired a shot from the right circle that Ouzas stopped, but the puck somehow ended up into the net. After conferring with the linesmen, the referee waived the goal off, ruling that it was thrown in by the Nailers. After dodging that bullet, the Royals got a gift when a defensive zone turnover with 45 seconds remaining gave Doig a free and clear break on Darling. Doig buried the shot for his sixteenth of the year-and what proved to be the dramatic game winner.

The Royals face the Elmira Jackals on Wednesday (March 25 @ 7:05 pm) at the Sovereign Center in Reading. Wednesday's game will be broadcast live on the Royals Radio Network Presented by Transmissions by Arbogast (True Oldies WRAW 1340 am in Reading; and The Ticket WLAN 1390 am in Lancaster), as well as on the internet via webcast hosted by Sportsjuice.com, which can be accessed through the Royals website. To become a part of Royals hockey, call 610-898-PUCK or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

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ECHL Stories from March 23, 2009


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