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ECHL Reading Royals

The long, strange trip as a way of life

January 10, 2007 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


It's no wonder that, after experiencing the extremes of the roller coaster ride that was the Royals' life over this past week in the ECHL's North Division, the team might be struggling through a rather daunting case of vertigo. From being chewed up by the absolute meat grinder of what was a tight, scratching and clawing 1-0 loss in a goaltender's duel on Friday in Cincinnati; to experiencing the utter elation of a last minute comeback win on Saturday; to crashing into the psychological and physiological wall of once again out shooting an opponent only to come up with another egg-head in Wheeling on Sunday, it's no surprise that the ups and downs of the Royals' life this week left everyone associated with the team looking for solid-and flat-ground by Monday morning. But every cowboy knows that, after that one peaceful moment of sanity standing at the side of the corral, at some point you have to climb back on that bull-and like it or not some joker's going to open the gate and, well, all hell's going to break loose again. So as we prepare for a weekend that is for all practical purposes a rematch of exactly the games we just went through, the challenge for the Royals this week is to get a peek at perspective. We're about half-way through this season-and, yeah, a lot of it has felt like we've been trapped in the middle of Grateful Dead classic-not to mention the synapses that comprised the middle of that band's collective mind-but such is the life in the North Division, and we've got no choice but to jump on board and enjoy the ride.....

TOP TEN NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. After going 8 - 2 - 1 in a span of eleven games from November 29 through December 21, the Royals have gone 2- 6 - 0 in the last eight games.

2. The Royals' road losing streak was stretched to three games with a 1-0 loss in Cincinnati on Friday, a streak that was snapped the team's 5-4 shootout win over the Cyclones on Saturday night.

3. Friday's 1-0 loss to Cincinnati marked the first time this season that the Royals have been shutout. Reading was also blanked in Wheeling on Sunday afternoon (5-0). Last year the Royals were blanked twice during the regular season, and one of those was a 1-0 shutout by the Johnstown Chiefs on March 12, 2006 when goaltender Morgan Cey made all 50 stops he was called upon to make. The Royals have scored 19 goals in the team's last eight games a 2.38 goals per game average. (Over the course of the season, Reading is averaging 3.43 goals per game, which is ninth in the league.)

4. On Saturday, the Royals pulled off their first shootout win in five tries this season. The Royals went 2-6 in Saturday's shootout with the winning shot coming in the sixth round by Ned Lukacevic (the first shootout shot that he has made in his pro career). Over the course of the season, the Royals have made four shootout shots in twenty-six attempts, a 15.4% scoring ratio.

5. Saturday's game also marked the first shootout win in the pro career of goaltender Jeff Pietrasiak who stopped five of the six shots he faced in the shootout. That game also snapped a personal four game losing streak for Pietrasiak, who has started fourteen of the last fifteen games for the Royals.

6. Greg Hogeboom scored the game tying goal with 59.8 seconds remaining in Saturday's shootout win. For Hogeboom, that was his second goal of the game and his team leading nineteenth of the season. It also marked his team leading fourth multi-goal and thirteenth multi-point game. (He also had an assist in Saturday's game, marking the fifth time he has picked up three or more points in a single game.) Hogeboom has had at least one point in 13 of his last sixteen games with Reading (10g - 14a = 24 pts). Hogeboom also scored on his attempt (shooting second for Reading) in the shootout- his first goal in the shootout in 5 tries.

7. On Saturday, Chris Bala scored the Royals' third goal with just 2:04 remaining to cut the Cyclone lead to one (4-3). For Bala, that was his fifth goal in his past six games with the Royals-and three of those goals have been scored in the third period.

8. The 5-4 win on Saturday marked the first 'one-goal' win for Reading since the team's 3-2 overtime win in Johnstown on December 2, 2006. The Royals are 3 - 10 - 4 in one-goal games this year.

9. Saturday's game snapped a string of three in which the opponent had out-shot the Royals, as Reading out-shot the Cyclones 42-24. Reading also outshot the Wheeling Nailers, 40-39, in Sunday's 5-0 loss. That game marked the sixth time this season that the Royals have had 40 or more shots on the opponent's goaltender. (The Royals have given up 40 or more shots four times.) Over the course of the season, Reading has out-shot the opposition twenty four times and has compiled a record of 10 - 11 - 3 in those games. Reading averages 34.06 shots on goal per game (6th in league) and 29.06 shots against (5th in league).

10. The Royals power play has been held off the board in the last four consecutive games, as the team has gone 0 for the last 19 chances with the man advantage. In fact, Reading's PP has been blanked in eight of the last ten games (after going 18 consecutive games with scoring at least one PPG from November 5 through December 15). In the last ten games the Royals have scored two goals in the last 48 power play opportunities, a 4.2% scoring ratio. Over the course of the season, Reading has gone 36 for 237 on the power play, a 15.2% scoring ratio (18th in the league).

CONGRATULATIONS

1. Joe Zappala was selected as CCM Vector ECHL Rookie of the Month for December, when he racked up 15 points in 14 games and scored 4 GWGs. 2. Shawn Germain was named the HOK Sport ECHL Plus Performer of the Month for December, as he played to a +12 in 13 games for the Royals. 3. Former Royal, T.J. Kemp, was selected to represent the Manchester Monarchs in the 2007 RBK Hockey AHL All-Star Game in Toronto this month.

UNSUNG HERO OF WEEK: Taylor Christie

It can't hurt to take a moment and remind ourselves about how fortunate the Royals were to acquire defenseman Taylor Christie from the 'waiver wire'. There just aren't that many players obtained by that means who end up having a significant impact on a pro hockey team. However, no one in Reading is going to question the impact that Taylor has had with this club. Since his arrival to Reading in late November, Taylor has without question been a primary stalwart on the Royals' back end. But of late we've even seen flashes of something that you really don't expect to find on a waiver wire-leadership. While getting immense ice time on a shortened defensive corps, Taylor has quietly taken more of an ownership position on this team, a role that was in full bloom late in Saturday's game when, for all practical purposes, he should have been completely gassed. However, Taylor refused to give up, repeatedly jumped into the rush, and ultimately started a charge that resulted in the game tying goal with less than a minute remaining. If nothing else, it certainly serves to remind us all to keep a close eye on the transactions.....

CLOSING NOTES

1. At the start of the third period in Sunday's game in Wheeling, the Royals substituted goaltender Ryan Munce for starter Jeff Pietrasiak, who made 21 stops on 26 shots in the 40 minutes he played. In the final period, Munce stopped twelve of the thirteen shots he faced. This marked the sixth time this season that the Royals have made an in-game goaltender substitution.

2. Rookie forward Ned Lukacevic bagged a pair of assists in Saturday's 5-4 shootout win, marking his fourth multi-point game with the Royals this year. Lukacevic also scored his first shootout goal as a pro on Saturday, which proved to be the game winner.

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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.

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