ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Release Full Schedule

Published on May 13, 2003 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA – The East Coast Hockey League released its' full schedule, as well as, Conference and Divisional realignment for the 2003-04 season today. The upcoming season marks the addition of eight new members into the ECHL. Six new members from the now defunct West Coast Hockey League and two expansion clubs have led to the realignment. Joining the ECHL from the WCHL are: Anchorage Aces, Bakersfield Condors, Fresno Falcons, Idaho Steelheads, Long Beach Ice Dogs and San Diego Gulls. The new expansion clubs are the Texas Wildcatters (Beaumont, TX) and the Gwinnett County Gladiators (Atlanta, GA). Four ECHL members have requested leave of absences from the league, they include: Jackson Bandits, Baton Rouge Kingfish, Richmond Renegades and the Lexington Men-O-War.

The ECHL decided to realign based on the geographical proximity of the new members. The league will be split into the Eastern and Western Conferences. In the Eastern Conference there will be a North and South Division. In the Northern Division there will be nine teams, including: Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, Cincinnati Cyclones, Dayton Bombers, Johnstown Chiefs, Peoria Rivermen, Reading Royals, Toledo Storm, Trenton Titans and Wheeling Nailers. The Southern Division is the largest division in the realigned league consisting of ten teams. Augusta, Charlotte, Columbia, Florence (formerly Pee Dee), Florida, Greensboro, Greenville, Gwinnett County, Roanoke and South Carolina make up the Southern Division of the Eastern Conference.

The Western Conference is made up of six teams in the Eastern Division and seven teams in the Western Division. Arkansas, Columbus, Louisiana, Mississippi, Pensacola and expansion Texas will be in the Eastern Division while the Western Division consists of Anchorage, Bakersfield, Fresno, Idaho, expansion Las Vegas, Long Beach and San Diego. Overall, the East Coast Hockey League will field 29 teams for the 2003-04 season.

Royals 2003-04 Schedule Released

The East Coast Hockey League approved and released the schedule for 2003-04. For the third straight season the Reading Royals will open up on the road against the Trenton Titans. Reading's home opener will be against the expansion Texas Wildcatters. Several changes have taken place to this season's schedule as opposed to last year. First, the Royals open the season a week later than a year ago. The first game is slated for October 17 in Trenton, New Jersey. Starting the season a week later allows for final tryouts to be concluded in the American Hockey League. Players who are sent down to ECHL organizations will be able to participate in training camp with their respective teams. Second, the Royals schedule is reversed from last season. Reading's sophomore season started with 13 of their first 25 games at home in the Sovereign Center. In 2003-04, the Royals will play just six of their first 20 games at home. Conversely, Reading finishes the season with 17 of their final 24 games in the Sovereign Center, while in their sophomore season 12 of their final 25 games were on home ice.

Royals' general manager, Ray Delia said there were three major factors that determined the 2003-04 schedule, "First, the scheduling of Skate America limited the availability of the Sovereign Center; second, we thought it would be important to be at home during a crucial point in the season and finally, based on feedback we received from our fans they would prefer more games in the second half of the season."

Similar to last season, the Royals will face Conference foes the majority of the season. Just four games will be against Western Conference opponents. Reading will play expansion Texas in their home opener on October 18. Las Vegas visits for back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, November 21 and 22. Finally, Bakersfield will invade "The Jungle" on Saturday, February 21. All four Western Conference battles will be in the Sovereign Center.

Reading will play 68 of their games against conference opponents. The Royals will battle Northern Divisional foes 57 times, while tangling with Southern Division combatants 11 times. The Royals will take on 2002-03 Kelly Cup Finalist Atlantic City (5-home/5-away) and Keystone Cup combatant and in-state rival the Johnstown Chiefs (6-home/ 4-away) ten times. The Royals will also battle Trenton and Wheeling nine times in interdivision play.

Highlights of the 2003-04 Schedule:

· 10/18/03...Home opener vs. expansion Texas Wildcatters

· 3/3/04-3/16/04...7 games, Longest Royals home stand

· 11/1-11/11, 11/26/03-12/2/03...5 games, Longest Royals road trip

· Reading will play opponents in back-to-back games ten times this season (Atlantic City (2), Peoria (2), Las Vegas, Augusta, Roanoke, Johnstown, Toledo and Trenton.)

· 10/17/03-1/11/04...First half of season – 22 games on road/ 14 at home

· 1/16/04-4/3/04...Second half of season – 14 games on road/ 22 at home

· 2/1/04-End of season...19 of final 29 games at home

· The Royals play three in three nights ten times

· 3/16/04 vs. Peoria...ANNUAL JAZZ FEST JERSEY NIGHT

READING ROYALS 2003-04 SCHEDULE

Day Date Opponent Eastern Time

October

FRI 10/17/03 @ Trenton Titans TBA

SAT 10/18/03 TEXAS WILDCATTERS 7:05PM

FRI 10/24/03 @ Toledo Storm TBA

SAT 10/25/03 @ Toledo Storm TBA

FRI 10/31/03 WHEELING NAILERS 7:05PM

November

SAT 11/1/03 @ Johnstown Chiefs TBA

SUN 11/2/03 @ Wheeling Nailers TBA

FRI 11/7/03 @ Peoria Rivermen TBA

SAT 11/8/03 @ Peoria Rivermen TBA

TUE 11/11/03 @ Trenton Titans TBA

FRI 11/14/03 TOLEDO STORM 7:05PM

SAT 11/15/03 @ Wheeling Nailers TBA

SUN 11/16/03 TOLEDO STORM 5:05PM

FRI 11/21/03 LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS 7:05PM

SAT 11/22/03 LAS VEGAS WRANGLERS 7:05PM

WED 11/26/03 @ Greensboro Generals TBA

FRI 11/28/03 @ Florence Pride TBA

SAT 11/29/03 @ Augusta Lynx TBA

SUN 11/30/03 @ Augusta Lynx TBA

December

TUE 12/2/03 @ South Carolina Stingrays TBA

FRI 12/5/03 ROANOKE EXPRESS 7:05PM

SAT 12/6/03 ROANOKE EXPRESS 7:05PM

FRI 12/12/03 @ Dayton Bombers TBA

SAT 12/13/03 TRENTON TITANS 7:05PM SUN 12/14/03 GREENSBORO GENERALS 5:05PM FRI 12/19/03 CINCINNATI CYCLONES 7:05PM

SAT 12/20/03 @ Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies TBA

SUN 12/21/03 PEORIA RIVERMEN 5:05PM

FRI 12/26/03 @ Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies TBA

SAT 12/27/03 @ Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies TBA

January

FRI 1/2/04 JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS 7:05PM

SAT 1/3/04 JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS 7:05PM

SUN 1/4/04 @ Trenton Titans TBA

FRI 1/9/03 @ Wheeling Nailers TBA

SAT 1/10/04 @ Johnstown Chiefs TBA

SUN 1/11/04 @ Wheeling Nailers TBA

FRI 1/16/04 CHARLOTTE CHECKERS 7:05PM

SAT 1/17/04 TRENTON TITANS 7:05PM

SAT 1/24/04 @ Johnstown Chiefs TBA

SUN 1/25/04 @ Roanoke Express TBA

WED 1/28/04 @ Cincinnati Cyclones TBA

FRI 1/30/04 AUGUSTA LYNX 7:05PM

SAT 1/31/04 @ Johnstown Chiefs TBA

February

SUN 2/1/04 DAYTON BOMBERS 5:05PM

FRI 2/6/04 @ Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies TBA

SAT 2/7/04 @ Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies TBA

WED 2/11/04 TRENTON TITANS 7:05PM

FRI 2/13/04 @ Dayton Bombers TBA

SAT 2/14/04 JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS 7:05PM

SUN 2/15/04 CINCINNATI CYCLONES 5:05PM

FRI 2/20/04 ATLANTIC CITY BOARDWALK BULLIES 7:05PM

SAT 2/21/04 BAKERSFIELD CONDORS 7:05PM

SUN 2/22/04 TRENTON TITANS 5:05PM

TUE 2/24/04 ATLANTIC CITY BOARDWALK BULLIES 7:05PM

FRI 2/27/04 @ Peoria Rivermen TBA

SAT 2/28/04 @ Peoria Rivermen TBA

March

WED 3/3/04 JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS 7:05PM

SAT 3/6/04 WHEELING NAILERS 7:05PM

SUN 3/7/04 ATLANTIC CITY BOARDWALK BULLIES 1:05PM

TUE 3/9/04 WHEELING NAILERS 7:05PM

FRI 3/12/04 JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS 7:05PM

SAT 3/13/04 ATLANTIC CITY BOARDWALK BULLIES 7:05PM

TUE 3/16/04 PEORIA RIVERMEN 7:05PM

WED 3/17/04 @ Toledo Storm TBA

FRI 3/19/04 @ Trenton Titans TBA

SAT 3/20/04 @ Trenton Titans TBA

TUE 3/23/04 WHEELING NAILERS 7:05PM

FRI 3/26/04 @ Cincinnati Cyclones TBA

SAT 3/27/04 @ Wheeling Nailers TBA

SUN 3/28/04 ATLANTIC CITY BOARDWALK BULLIES 5:05PM

April

FRI 4/2/04 JOHNSTOWN CHIEFS 7:05PM

SAT 4/3/04 TOLEDO STORM 7:05PM

- All 72 regular season broadcasts can be heard on ESPN Radio, 1240AM, 1370AM WPAZ Pottstown and on Sportsjuice via the Royals website www.royalshockey.com

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

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