ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Win Overtime Thriller Over K-Wings, 6-5

Published on March 7, 2010 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Reading, PA - The Reading Royals of the ECHL (30-25-1-364, 2nd East 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 Kalamazoo Wings (34-17-5-376, 2nd North Division), 6-5, in overtime at the Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The Royals scored first and held five separate leads in this game before getting one that stuck-in OT-to pick up Reading's first win in team history over Kalamazoo (1-3-1-1). For the second night in a row-and the third time this week-the Royals scored six goals and picked up the win with just fourteen skaters in the lineup. Goaltender Andrew Engelage (win, 6-1-0-0; 21/26) won in his first career start against the Wings. Ryan Nie (21-9-2-1) dropped his first decision to the Royals this season (OTL, 4-0-1-0; 38/44). The Royals scored on the team's first two chances with the man advantage (2-7). The Wings also scored on their first power play chance in the game (1-3).

Reading opened the scoring 4:42 into the game, when Stefano Giliati (who racked up his second consecutive four point night, 2g-2a) sprang Olivier Labelle down the right wing side. Labelle ripped a blast out of the right circle that went by Nie on the short side, but clanged off the right pipe and ricocheted out behind Nie on the other side. Jimmy Fraser, who was crashing in the left circle, fired a backhand off the initial rebound, but Nie stopped that one; but Fraser retrieved the rebound off that shot and stuffed it in for his fifth of the year. Kalamazoo tied the game for the first time 13:20 into the game while on the power play. Jon Landry ripped a shot from the right point that was deftly deflected by Rick Cleaver who was planted at the left side of the net for his twenty-fifth of the year.

The Royals re-took the lead with 1:38 left in the first while playing with the man advantage. Dinos Stamoulis slipped a perfect pass from the high slot into the right circle where a waiting Giliati hammered a one-timer that beat Nie high to the glove side for his sixteenth of the year. Kalamazoo re-tied the game 1:12 later when Mitch Versteeg stepped into the slot to find a loose puck and gun it bar-and-in for his fourth of the season.

Reading took the lead for the third time in the game 1:50 into the second with the team's second power play goal of the night. Andrew Sarauer powered his way from below the goal line to the right side of the goal and slid the puck across the top of the crease, where Aaron Brocklehurst, who had activated off the left point, stepped in for the back-door tap-in for his eleventh of the year. Once again, Kalamazoo bounced back to tie-this time 1:44 later-when Sam Ftorek ripped a blast from just inside the offensive blue line that hand-cuffed Engelage and ended up in the net for his fifteenth of the year.

The Royals' fourth lead came 10:20 into the second period when Giliati fired a low snap shot out of the right circle that beat Nie low to the glove side for his second of the night and seventeenth of the year. But, alas, the K-Wings re-tied the game at four with 4:05 remaining in the second, when a turnover in the offensive zone by Reading at the conclusion of a power play chance gave the K-Wings a transition rush. Patrick Asselin dished to Versteeg who had joined the rush and chipped it through Engelage for his second of the night at fifth of the season.

Lead number five for Reading came 11:59 into the third period, when Andrew Sarauer won an offensive zone face-off, giving Jimmy Fraser a chance to shoot from wide on the left side. That shot hit a body and fell to the stick of Sarauer, who slid a back-hand between the legs of Nie for his eighteenth of the year. But the Wings would earn one more tie-this time at five-with 4:50 left in regulation. On this one, Mathieu Curadeau slid a cross-crease pass to a wide open Cleaver who was waiting at the right side of the net and slammed it home for his second of the night and twenty-sixth of the season.

Reading finally got a lead the team could hold forty-eight seconds into overtime, when Chase Watson battled his way to a spo deep in the right corner. He fed Sarauer, who in turn found Labelle at the top of the right circle. Labelle fired a hot, high wrister that beat Nie to the stick side for his team leading fourth game winner of the year-and the team's third overtime winner of the season.

Reading is off until Friday (March 12, 2010 @ 7:05) when the team travels to the Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for the last time in team history where they'll take on the Johnstown Chiefs. The Royals game night broadcast on the Royals Radio Network presented by Transmissions by Arbogast will begin at 6:35 pm.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



ECHL Stories from March 7, 2010


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.

OurSports Central