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ECHL Reading Royals

Royals Win Streak Snapped In Trenton, 5-2

January 7, 2006 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Trenton, NJ - The Reading Royals (21-7-2=44) gave up two goals early in the first and fell behind 3-0 in the second, but refused to give up and go away and, despite playing with a short bench for the fifth consecutive road game, scored two goals to make it a one goal game in the third; however, Reading couldn't pull off the comeback as the Trenton Titans picked up two empty net goals in the waning moments to win, 5-2. This loss snaps a six game winning streak for the Royals and ends a team record road winning streak at nine games.

The Titans scored early while on the power play when Mark Lee jammed one in on the doorstep as the Royals' goaltender, Yutaka Fukufuji, made two stops in tight in succession but couldn't stop the third giving the Titans the 1-0 lead 2:31 into the game. Trenton took a 2-0 lead 2:54 later when Chris Pittman flew into the offensive end, slipped behind the Reading defense, went in all alone on Fukufuji and buried a backhander under the bar for the first of what would be his three goals on the night. Early in the second, Trenton took a 3-0 lead-again while on the power play-when Larry Courville went down and was out of the play by virtue of contact with what appeared to be a Trenton player's stick, creating what was virtually a five-on-three power play for the Titans, who deftly moved the puck around until they found Jimmy Henkel planted at the side of the net with the back-door feed for the easy tap in.

The Royals would not, however, go quietly into the night. At the 8:16 mark of the second, Tyler Hanchuck fired a wrister from the left wing point that Courville redirected behind Trenton goaltender, Dustin Traylen, to put the Royals on the board. In the third, with the Royals playing short for the seventh time in the hockey game, Traylen tried to send one out of the zone himself, and the Royals' Chris Bala intercepted the clearing attempt and was able to fire the puck from a sharp angle directly into what was essentially an empty net for his fourth short-handed goal of the season-and the sixth short-handed goal in the last eight games for Reading. The Royals pressured down the stretch and picked up two back-to-back power play chances in the waning moments thanks to two delay of game penalties called on Trenton. In order to create a greater advantage the Royals pulled the goaltender and sent the sixth attacker on the ice. But the Titans were able to re-group and pull out two empty net goals-both by Pittman-to give themselves more than enough insurance on this win.

The Royals return home on Tuesday, January 10, against the Wheeling Nailers in a game sponsored by the Pennsylvania Lottery. Royals' game day broadcasts can be heard on ESPN Radio 1240 am in Ephrata and www.royalshockey.com with pre-game beginning 30 minutes before the opening face-off. Streaming video is also available through the Royals' website on a pay per view basis provided by B2 Networks.

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