ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Suffer Bitter Loss In Dayton, 3-1

November 30, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Dayton, OH - The Reading Royals (9-8-1=19, 4th North Division) of the ECHL sustained a bitter 3-1 loss to the Dayton Bombers at the E.J. Nutter Center in Dayton, Ohio. The Royals out-shot the Bombers 35-27, killed off 5:27 of continuous power play late in the second period that included 1:33 of five-on-three, and apparently notched what would have been the game-tying goal in the early stages of the third period; but it all proved for naught. Dayton goaltender, Rejean Beauchemin (5-4-1; 34/35) was excellent all night long, rejecting repeated quality scoring chances for the Royals. Reading goaltender, Jeff Pietrasiak, (2-3-0; 24/27) suffered his third road loss of the season.

The Royals came out storming in the early going, and Beauchemin was up to the task. At the other end, Dayton struck 6:41 into the game when a loose puck slid from low in the Reading defensive zone toward the blue line. Bombers' defenseman Ryan Reid stepped into the zone and fired a 51 foot slap shot from deep on the right point that found the upper right corner of the net to make it 1-0 Dayton. The Royals responded by taking the play to the Bombers again. After an 'intentional' off-sides by the Bombers brought the face-off into Reading's offensive zone. Bracken Kearns won the face-off in the right circle and Joe Zappala threw the puck towards the net. Kearns crashed and got off a back-hander that Beauchemin rejected; however, Chris Blight took control of the rebound at the right side of the net and took a couple of whacks at the puck until he forced it in for his eleventh goal of the season at the 10:47 mark of the first.

In the second, the two teams traded chances in a somewhat slower pace until the 13:07 mark when Royals' defenseman Rob LaLonde picked up a spearing major that sent the Bombers on an extended power play. 3:27 into the major kill, defenseman Victor Uchevatov was assessed with a cross-checking minor that created 1:33 of five on three for the Bombers. Throughout the extended power plays, the Royals PK stepped up, disrupted Dayton's efforts, and kept the Bombers off the board. However, with 5.9 seconds remaining in the second period, while the team's were playing at even strength, the Bombers took a 2-1 lead when Yannick Tifu threw a pass out of the right wing corner to the mid-slot where Matt Beaudoin fired a quick snap shot high glove side on Pietrasiak for his eleventh goal of the season.

In the early stages of the third, the Royals scored what appeared to be the game tying goal, when P.J. Atherton shook the Bombers' forecheck with a quick cut on the end wall and passed out of the defensive zone to a breaking Brock Hooton. As he carried through the neutral zone, Hooton hit defenseman Mike Salekin who had joined the rush on the left side. Salekin carried deep into the offensive zone, went around the goal and in spectacular move jammed the puck underneath Beauchemin and into the net. However, as the shot was taken, it appeared that Beauchemin bumped the goal and caused the back of the net to lift up, which permitted the puck to slide under the goal and strike the back wall. Salekin and his teammates responded to the apparent goal; but the goal light did not go on, and the referee did not stop play. The teams played to a whistle, and the Royals' protestations in favor of awarding the goal were rejected. The Royals continued to press all the way to the final buzzer, but it was the Bombers who would pick up the last goal of the game at the 16:15 mark of the third, when forward Peter Flache took a snap shot from low on the left side that slipped through Pietrasiak for his first goal of the year.

The Royals and Bombers will go at it again tomorrow night (7:00 pm) at the E.J. Nutter Center in Dayton. The game night broadcast will begin at 6:35 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.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics



ECHL Stories from November 30, 2007


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