
Royals Wheel into West Virginia for Back-To-Back with Nailers
March 25, 2023 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release
Wheeling, WV - The Reading Royals (36-21-4-0), proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, continue a three-game road-trip out west with the first of two-straight games against the Wheeling Nailers (25-32-5-0) on Saturday, March 25 at 7:10 p.m. at WesBanco Arena.
The Royals conclude the road-trip in Wheeling on Sunday, March 26 at 4:10 p.m. at Wesbanco Arena.
The Royals return home on Wednesday, March 29 to host the Adirondack Thunder at 7:00 p.m. at Santander Arena. The home game features a Wild Wednesdays promotional game with ticket discounts on Green Zone tickets ($6.10) and $5 Buy One, Get One tickets for students with a valid .edu e-mail address! College students ONLY pay service fees for ticket.
Food and drink deals at the game include $1 beer at select locations around the concourse. Tickets to the game and a list of the full promotional game schedule is available at royalshockey.com/promotions.
Royals Right Now:
Reading hoists a 36-21-3-0 record after defeating the Toledo Walleye in their previous game on Friday, March 24, 4-2. Alec Butcher and Tyler Heidt each tallied multi-point games (1g-1a) while Devon Paliani earned his fourth professional career multi-goal game (2g). Pat Nagle turned aside 40 of 42 shots faced for his 218th ECHL career win to become the second all-time leader among goalies in the ECHL career wins.
The Royals boast an all-time record of 112-88 against Wheeling and have won two of the six meetings with the Nailers this season. Reading fell to Wheeling in their previous meeting on January 11, 5-2, in the 200th meeting all-time between the two clubs.
In the head-to-head season series, Reading has scored 17 goals to Wheeling's 20. The non-divisional rivals have compiled a total of 178 penalty minutes, the most between the Royals and a single opponent this season.
Reading (76 pts) holds second place in the North Division with a three-point lead over the Maine Mariners (73 pts) in the standings. Newfoundland leads the North Division and Eastern Conference standings with a 42-19-2-0 record and became the first team in the Eastern Conference to clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff berth on Saturday, March 18. Maine holds third place with a 35-23-2-1 record and losses in five of their last eight games. Worcester ranks fourth in the standings with a 32-29-3-0 record while Adirondack (26-26-8-2) holds a twelve-point lead over Trois-Rivières (24-36-2-0) for fifth place in the division. Norfolk sits at the bottom of the North Division and Eastern Conference with 17 wins in 63 games (17-41-2-3).
Wheeling has dropped their last two games after after earning their last win in overtime against the Norfolk Admirals on Friday, March 17, 4-3. Wheeling has fallen in nine of their last 11 games and is on a four-game losing skid at home. Forward Cédric Desruisseaux leads the Nailers in goals (26) and points (52) while forward Brooklyn Kalmikov leads the club in assists (27).
A few Royals captured milestones and achieved distinguished rankings in the league in the road-trip opener in Toledo:
Streaks:
Forward Alec Butcher is on a four-game point streak (3g,6a)
Forward Jacob Gaucher is on a four-game point streak (1g-5a)
Defenseman Tyler Heidt is on a four-game point streak (3g-4a)
Defenseman Mason Millman is on a four-game point streak (5a)
Milestones:
Goalie Pat Nagle earned his 218th ECHL career win to become the ECHL's 2nd all-time winningest goalie
Defenseman Tyler Heidt earned three consecutive multi-point game for the first time his professional career
Player Rankings:
Forward Charlie Gerard is tied for 15th in the league in points (61)
Gerard is third in the league in shots on goal (248)
Forward Max Newton is tied for third among rookies in goals (25) and is fourth in points (58)
Newton is fourth among rookies in shots on goal (180)
Goalie Pat Nagle is sixth among goalies in goals-against average (2.46)
Defenseman Colin Felix is tied for third among rookies in major penalties (7) and is fourth in minor penalties (35)
Captain Garrett McFadden is tied for ninth among defensemen in points (39)
Defenseman Mason Millman is 10th among defensemen in points (38)
Millman is tied for second among defenseman in game-winning goals (2)
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The game will be streamed live on the Royals Broadcast Network available on the following platforms:
FloSports: flosports.link/3yarTg4
Mixlr: mixlr.com/readingroyals
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ECHL Stories from March 25, 2023
- Barratt Tallies Three Points, Royals Drop High-Scoring Affair to Nailers, 6-5 - Reading Royals
- Second Period Outburst Pushes Thunder Past Heartlanders - Wichita Thunder
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- Joe Vrbetic Records his First Professional Shutout - Trois-Rivieres Lions
- Royals Wheel into West Virginia for Back-To-Back with Nailers - Reading Royals
- 'Clones Hang on in Utah, Extend Point Streak to 20 Games - Cincinnati Cyclones
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