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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Take Titans to Task, 2-1

March 10, 2012 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (29-26-3-465, 3rd Atlantic Division), affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, defeated the Trenton Titans (19-35-3-546, 4th Atlantic Division), 2-1, at Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. In a close-to-the vest game, the Titans struck first, but the Royals responded with a late period power play goal in the second and a third period tie-breaking game winner to register back-to-back home games for the first time this season. The Royals had to come-back from a three-goal third period deficit to beat the Toledo Walleye last night at the Sovereign Center. Although this one wasn't quite as steep or dramatic, it did prove to be the team's seventeenth come-from-behind win of the year.

Goaltender Mark Owuya (win, 10-3-2-1, 35/36) made any number of exceptional saves at both ends of the game, including a spectacular rebound stop on the buzzer in the third to preserve his tenth win as a Royal. Trenton's Brad Phillips (loss, 7-12-0-1, 29/31) was equally good, but fell to 2-4-0-1 in seven appearances against Reading this season. The Royals' first goal was scored while playing with the man advantage (1-2). Trenton's lone goal was scored on the power play (1-3).

After a tight and scoreless first period in which it felt as though it was the Titans who had the advantage in quantity and quality of chances, Trenton broke through on their second power play chance of the game 10:55 into the second. Adam Prezniuk feed a diagonal pass out of the right circle to the top of the crease, where Dustin Cameron angled it behind Owuya for his twentieth of the year.

After clanging iron a couple of times, Reading struck pay dirt on the team's first power play chance of the game late in the second. It appeared that the Royals were going to break through when Mikael Bedard walked the line, spun and fed cross-crease to a waiting Olivier Labelle. Although Labelle misfired on the back-door chance, Reading kept the play alive and Matt Caruana fired a perfect cross-ice from the right circle back to Bedard waiting in the left. Bedard got enough of the one-timer to force it through for his seventeenth of the season with just 34.1 seconds left in the period.

Reading got what proved to be the game winner 4:21 into the third, when Chris Doyle dug a puck off the end wall behind the Trenton net and fed a waiting Denny Urban in the high slot. Urban fired a low, hard wrister that Phillips kicked out with the left pad. But the rebound slid directly to Doyle who had gained position at the right side of the crease. Doyle punched it home for his first as a Royal and eighteenth of the season. From that point forward, the Royals played a simple, solid third-and when they didn't, Owuya did, keeping the Titan attack at bay through the final buzzer.

The Royals are off until Wednesday (March 14, 2012 @ 7:05 pm) when the Florida Everblades visit the Sovereign Center, when the Sovereign Center will offer $2.00 select draft beer. Wednesday's game night broadcast will start at 6:35 pm with the Red Robin Gourmet Burger Pre-Game Warm-up Show on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Reading. Streaming audio is available free of charge courtesy of America One through the Royals' website, www.royalshockey.com.

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