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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals roar into first place

March 7, 2005 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading beat Johnstown twice to claim the Keystone Cup Series, the battle of Pennsylvania, plus topped the Wheeling Nailers to claim first place in the North Division. The only blemish on the Royals ledger this week was a 4-3 loss at the hands of the Dayton Bombers on Friday night. The Royals began and ended the week with wins over Johnstown. Reading beat Johnstown on Tuesday in the Sovereign Center in Reading, 5-1. The two clubs met again in Johnstown on Sunday afternoon to end the week. For the first time in two seasons, the Royals beat the Chiefs in Johnstown in the regular season. The 4-1 win ended a six-game winless streak dating back to last season in the Cambria County War Memorial. Reading blanked Wheeling 2-0 on Saturday in front of a sold out crowd of 7,215. It was Reading's sixth win over Wheeling and third by way of shutout this season.

The Royals will play just two games this week on Friday and Saturday night in the Sovereign Center. Dayton returns to Reading on Friday and the first 2,000 fans, 21-and-over, into the Sovereign Center receive a Coors Light bottle cap opener. Atlantic City faces Reading on Saturday and the first 2,500 fans through the gate receive the third set of Rieck's Printing Royals trading cards. Both contests face off at 7:05 p.m. ET.

LAST WEEK

Tuesday, March 1 vs. Johnstown Sovereign Center 7:05PM ET

GAME NOTES: Reading took a three to two edge in the Keystone Cup Series with their 5-1 victory over the Chiefs. The Royals got goals from five different goal scorers, while goaltender Barry Brust picked up his second straight win and 18th of the season.

Friday, March 4 vs. Dayton Sovereign Center 7:05PM ET

GAME NOTES: Dayton beat Reading for the first time in nearly two seasons, 4-3. The Bombers equaled their goal total in four games versus Reading in the second period and added their fourth goal just seven minutes into the final stanza. The Bombers and Royals meet three more times in March, all in the Sovereign Center.

Saturday, March 5 vs. Wheeling Sovereign Center 7:05PM ET

GAME NOTES: Coming into the contest the Royals trailed Wheeling for first place by just one point in the standings in the North. Reading rebounded from their loss to Dayton on Friday with a 2-0 shutout win. Barry Brust stopped 25 shots to post his second shutout in three starts and third overall this season. Reading improved to 6-3-0 with the victory over Wheeling.

Sunday, March 6 @ Johnstown War Memorial 3:00PM ET

GAME NOTES: Reading moved into first place by their lonesome led by Dan Welch's two tallies and Jon Francisco's goal and assist. The Royals claimed the Keystone Cup with their third victory in a row in less than two weeks against the Chiefs. Barry Brust recorded his 19th win as Reading limited Johnstown to just 19 shots in the contest.

THIS WEEK Friday, March 11 vs. Dayton Sovereign Center 7:05PM ET

GAME NOTES: Reading and Dayton meet in the Sovereign Center for the second of four meetings in the month of March. The Royals dropped their first decision to the Bombers a week ago, but still hold a 4-1-0 record this season. Reading and Dayton meet a total of nine times this season with their last outing coming on April 1 in Dayton.

Saturday, March 12 vs. Atlantic City Sovereign Center 7:05PM ET

GAME NOTES: The Royals and Bullies face each other for the first time in nearly a month. Reading dropped a heartbreaker to Atlantic City in their last outing blowing a 3-1 lead with just six minutes remaining. The Bullies beat the Royals in overtime 4-3. Reading sports an identical record at home and on the road against AC at 1-1-1.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Quick Stats Leading Scorers Leading Goaltenders Overall Record: 33-17-5 Graig Mischler 7-40-47 Barry Brust 2.02 GAA, 20-8-3

Home Record: 16-6-2 Eric Fortier 19-24-43 Matt Yeats 2.38 GAA, 8-2-2

Road Record: 17-11-3 Cody Rudkowsky 2.02 GAA, 5-7-0

Overtime Record: 1-1

Shootout Record: 4-4

Penalty Kill: 201/242 83.1% (T14) Plus/Minus Leaders

Power Play: 53/301 17.6% (T10) Reagan Rome +19

Jeff Miles +16

Most goals: Eric Fortier (18) (several players) +11

Most assists: Graig Mischler (40)

Most Points: Graig Mischler (47)

Most power play goals: Cail MacLean (9)

Most power play assists: Graig Mischler (19)

Most power play points: Graig Mischler (21)

Most shorthanded goals: Judd Medak (3)

Most Game winners: (five players) (3)

Most Wins: Barry Brust (20)

Most PIMs: Nick Greenough (112)

ECHL GOALTENDER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE:

#33 BARRY BRUST 1GP RECORD: 3-0-0 GAA: .666 SPCT: .972% TEAM RECORD: 3-1-0

Barry Brust remains red hot in net for the Royals. The Swan River, Manitoba native posted all three victories this week for his club allowing just two goals in the process. The rookie goaltender topped the Johnstown Chiefs twice this week on Tuesday in Reading, 5-1 and Sunday in Johnstown, 4-1. Saturday, Brust recorded his third shutout of the season with a 2-0 win over Wheeling

BARRY BRUST 6'2" 210LBS HOMETOWN: SWAN RIVER, MB DOB: 4-6-79

LAST YEAR: SPOKANE/ CALGARY (WHL) AMATEUR CLUB: SPOKANE/ CALGARY (WHL)

DRAFT STATUS: 2002 – MINNESOTA – 3RD ROUND (73RD)

ECHL PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE:

#10 DAN WELCH 4GP TEAM RECORD: 3-1-0 STATS: (4-2=6) +2

Welch has bolstered the Royals front line since being assigned by Manchester. The Hastings, Minnesota native registered multiple- point games on Tuesday (1g, SH, 2a) in Reading's 5-1 win over Johnstown and Sunday (2g) in the Royals 4-1 over the Chiefs. He was held scoreless in the Royals only loss on Friday to Dayton. Saturday in Reading's 2-0 shutout win, Welch accounted for one of the two Royals markers.

DAN WELCH 5'11" 195LBS HOMETOWN: HASTINGS, MN DOB: 2-23-81

LAST YEAR: MANCHESTER (AHL) AMATEUR CLUB: MINNESOTA (WCHA)

DRAFT STATUS: 2000 – LA KINGS – 8TH ROUND (245TH)

IN THE COMMUNITY: Royals Weekly live from the Classic Café, off Route 183 in Bern Township, tonight. Goaltender #1 Matt Yeats and defenseman #26 Mikko Viitanen will be our special guests. Coach Derek Clancey will join us, along with NHL Hall of Famer and Tampa Bay Lightning scout Bill Barber. Royals Weekly airs live on ESPN radio, 1240AM and via the Royals website at www.royalshockey.com every Monday at 6:00 p.m. during the season.

TEAM STREAKS:

· Reading leads the ECHL with 13 shorthanded goals

· The Royals rank #2 in GA (2.30) and 10th in GF (3.13) and 2nd in SA (27.8) and 10th in SF (32.57)

· Reading's 17 wins on the road are a club record and are tied for the league lead (Pensacola)

· The Royals have allowed 125 goals on the season which ranks 1st in the ECHL

· Reading's special teams have been sizzling...In the last five games, the Royals have converted nine of 24 power play chances (37.5%) and killed off 23 of 24 (95.8%)...In the last 10, Reading is 13 of 51 (25.5%) and killed off 43 of 49 penalties (88%)

INDIVIDUAL STREAKS:

· #15 Graig Mischler (C) is riding a ten-game assist streak (17) and 11-game point streak (21) at home

· #29 Eric Fortier (LW) set a new high by scoring in ten straight contests (2/13 – 3/5/05) (9g, 8a), plus he set a new team high with a goal in five straight games (2/22 – 3/5/05)...Fortier has registered a goal in three straight on the road (3g) (2/25 – 3/6/05)

· #33 Goaltender Barry Brust has won four straight starts, while posting two shutouts during that span...

TRANSACTIONS:

3/01/2005 Add TROY MILAM (D) assigned by Manchester (AHL)

3/01/2005 Add SHAWN ROED (C) signed contract

3/01/2005 Delete PAUL CABANA (RW) recalled to Hershey (AHL)

3/02/2005 Add PAUL CABANA (RW) assigned by Hershey (AHL)

3/02/2005 Delete CAIL MACLEAN (RW) recalled to Hershey (AHL)

TICKETS AND INFORMATION: The Sovereign Center Box Office is open from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. The Sovereign Center Box Office is located on the corner of 7th and Penn Streets in downtown Reading. Individual tickets can be purchased at the Sovereign Center Box Office or at any TicketMaster location. To order tickets by phone, call 215-336-2000. If you would like to save money and bring a group of 20-or-more to a game call the Royals hockey headquarters at 610-898-7825 and ask for a ticket representative.

ROYALS ON THE AIRWAVES: All Reading Royals games, home and away, are broadcast on ESPN Radio, 1240AM and on the Royals website at www.royalshockey.com via Sportsjuice and B2 Networks. Join the voice of the Royals, John Curtis for all the play-by-play action. The Classic Café pregame show comes your way approximately 30 minutes before the drop of the puck on the Royals Radio Network presented by Casa Grande Ristorante.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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