ECHL Reading Royals

Royals win first shootout of season over Dayton, 3-2

Published on November 11, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals (8-5-0=16, 1st North Division) of the ECHL won the team's first shootout of the season over the Dayton Bombers, 3-2, in front of 4530 at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Royals scored the first two goals of the game; and, after Dayton tied the game with two second period power play goals, but it took the shootout to resolve this one. Reading pressured the Bombers and their goaltender, Rejean Beauchemin (2-2-2; 28/30; 65:00; 2/4 in shootout), down the stretch, but could not break through for the win in regulation or overtime. In the shootout, Chris Blight and Brock Hooton hit pay-dirt for Reading, and goaltender, Jon Quick, was perfect (7-5-0; 13/15; 65:00; 4/4 in shootout), as Reading remained in first place in the North Division of the ECHL's American Conference.

The Royals struck 3:34 into the first period while the teams were playing four skaters aside, when defenseman Jeff Likens started Reading's breakout with a feed to Charlie Kronschnabel who, in turn, found Ned Lukacevic winding it up through the neutral zone. Lukacevic fired a slap shot from just outside the blue-line that struck the stick of Dayton defender and knuckled in on net. Lukacevic's shot eluded Beauchemin, giving the Royals a 1-0 lead and Lukacevic his sixth goal of the season-and his third in three games. 1:17 later Reading took a 2-0 lead with Brock Hooton's second short-handed goal of season when he picked up a loose puck in the neutral zone and carried deep on the right wing side and fired a shot from the circle that slipped through Beauchemin and into the net.

Dayton got on the scoreboard with a power play goal at the 2:51 mark of the second period, when Reading's penalty killers jumped deep into the offensive zone and were caught after the odd man rush broke down. The Bombers' Matt Beaudoin picked up the loose puck and went coast to coast, beating Quick with a snap shot to the glove side from eighteen feet. The Bombers tied the game on their next power play chance, when Beaudoin won a face-off to Yannick Tifu who took a quick shot that deflected off a Royal defender and into the net to make it 2-2 at the 5:49 mark of the second period. For the remaining 34:11 of regulation and five minutes of sudden death overtime, the teams traded chances with the Royals getting the better of the opportunities.

However, Beauchemin made a number of brilliant stops to preserve the tie; while Quick did his part as well, including a dramatic spread-eagle stop on Yannick Tifu at the side of the Royals' goal just as time expired in OT. In the shootout, the Royals' Chris Blight shot first and roofed a backhand to give the Royals all they would need to win. Brock Hooton also bagged his chance in the shootout with another top shelf backhand. Quick rejected all four shootout attempts by the Bombers, including a spectacular glove stop on Chanse Fitzpatrick, who shot second for Dayton.

The Royals do not play again until Friday (November 16, 2007), when they take on the Trenton Devils at the Sovereign Center for the first time this season. The first 1500 fans that night will receive a camouflage hat courtesy of Medalist Performance Apparel and Mossy Oak. The game night radio broadcast will begin at 7:05 pm with the pre-game warm-up show on ESPN Radio 1240 am and on the internet at www.royalshockey.com. Streaming video is available on a pay per view basis through the B2 Networks.

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