ECHL Reading Royals

To Define and Find The Prize...

Published on February 11, 2008 under ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Although the traditional folk song Keep Your Eyes on the Prize originated well before the Civil Rights Movement began to gain a genuine foothold in America, when civil rights activist Alice Wine adapted the lyrics in the mid-1950's, it was soon adopted as a theme song as the Movement gained momentum. The song, which has been recorded by performers as varied as Duke Ellington and Bruce Springsteen, encourages those who are faced with undue (if not unfair) hardship and are beginning to lose faith to 'hold on/keep your eyes on the prize, hold on!/the very moment we thought we was lost/Dungeon shook and the chains fell off ....." I believe this song (and the documentary of essentially the same name) serve as a timely reminder about the importance of leadership in moments of difficulty. After all, it is the actions of those in positions of leadership that serve as the guiding light for the behaviors of those around them. I'm absolutely certain that there were moments in the early civil rights struggle that the leaders of that Movement would have preferred to allow (if not encourage) their followers to physically lash out at the injustices imposed by those who were attempting to maintain the status quo. Unquestionably, a greater degree of violence and bloodshed (and a significant back-lash) would have followed. The great risk was to lose the support of the smarter part of America who knew that the time for change was long overdue. An emotionally charged decision might have won a battle or two, but it would have almost certainly prolonged the war-and perhaps put it's outcome in doubt-and dragged the entire process right through the muck. There is no question that there are clearly moments when it's time to fight. But picking and choosing your battles and the manner in which you fight them is often the hall mark of great leadership. Although any sporting event pales when juxtaposed against such a historically significant event as the Civil Rights Movement, I believe that those of us in sports (and hockey in particular) can take certain lessons-leadership being one of them-from that Movement. Because if there's one thing about hockey that can be said for certain, every game is an opportunity to show exactly who you are. Oh sure, we all know it's all about the 'W'-as my dad used to say, "tell me something I don't already know....." But my dad also used to have a way of highlighting how insignificant wins (and losses) and real championships were by simply posing a question such as "who won the 1964 U.S. Open?" And when you realized you didn't know who had won the greatest golf tournament in the world for a date not too long passed, you'd also realized how fleeting that 'W' really was. What is significant, and what some of us believe will long outlast those shiny pieces of silver, is how you behave and the level of honor, composure and dignity you bring to the table-for yourself and those who are under your charge...

TOP TEN NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals won the team's only game this week, defeating the Elmira Jackals, 7-1, on Saturday. Reading has won 7 of the team's last 9 games (01/13 - 02/09/08).

2. Reading scored a season high seven goals in Saturday's win, and the six goal differential (7-1) was the largest margin of victory for the Royals this season. Four of the team's goals came in the second period, marking the third time this season that the Royals have scored four goals in a single period: (i) in the first period (02/01 v. Johnstown; win 4-3); (ii) in the second period (02/09 v. Elmira; win 7-1); and (iii) in the third period (10/20/07 @ Johnstown; win 6-4).

3. Chris Blight scored two goals and picked up two assists in the win over Elmira. Blight's first goal of the night was scored while the team was playing short-handed for his team leading third SHG of the year; and it also proved to be his team leading fifth game winner of the year. Blight leads the Royals with 20 goals in 35 games with the team. He is currently riding a 3 game goal scoring streak and a 5 game point streak (5g-1a=6pts). Blight's four point performance on Saturday marked the fifth time this season he has registered three or more points in a single game for the Royals. Blight has had five multi-goal and nine multi-point games this year.

4. P.J. Atherton scored the Royals' first goal on Saturday night. For Atherton that was his eleventh goal of the season, tying him for second amongst defensemen in the league in goals scored. Atherton also picked up an two assists in Saturday's win to register his tenth multi-point game of the season. He is currently tied for fourth amongst d-men in overall scoring with 34 points (11g-23a=34pts).

5. Patrick Jarrett assisted on three of the Royals goals scored on Saturday, including one on the short-handed game winner by Chris Blight. Saturday's game was the fifth multi-assist performance of the season for Jarrett and his sixth multi-point performance of the year, and two of those multi-point performances have come in the three games that he has played since returning to the Royals line-up from injury on February 1.

6. Marc Cavosie scored two power play goals and picked up an assist in Saturday's win. That marked Cavosie's third multi-goal game of the year for Reading-two of those coming in his last four games with the team. (Cavosie has scored at least one goal in three of his last four games played with the Royals). Cavosie has registered four multi-point games in the seventeen played for Reading so far this year.

7. Brock Hooton assisted on two of the Royals' goals in Saturday's game. For Hooton, that was his sixth multi-assist game of the year and his tenth multi-point performance of the season. Hooton currently leads the Royals with thirty-nine points (15g-24a=39 points).

8. Goaltender Jon Quick picked up his eighteenth win of the season on Saturday, which is tied for third in the league. Saturday's game marked the ninth time this year that Quick held the opposition to one goal or less in the 60 minutes of regulation hockey (and the third time in his last five games-and fourth time in last eight games), and he has compiled a record of 7-0-2 in those games. Quick has dressed in 34 games for the Royals this year and has started in 32 of those games. Quick is currently third in the league in total minutes played (1883).

9. The Royals scored a season high five power play goals (on eleven chances with the man advantage) in Saturday's win. This also marked the tenth time this season that the Royals have scored more than one power play goal in a single game. In the last ten games, Reading's power play has scored fourteen power play goals in sixty-one chances with the man advantage, which is a 23.0% scoring ratio. Over the course of the season, the Royals PP has scored 45 goals in 262 chances with the man advantage- a 17.2% scoring ratio, which is twelfth in the league.

10. Reading's penalty killers kept the Elmira Jackals' power play off the board in five chances with the man advantage. This was the fifteenth time this season that the Royals' PK has kept the opposition's power play off the board, and nine of those blanks have been tossed in the last sixteen games played by the Royals. In the last nine games, Reading has allowed only four power play goals against in 53 chances for the opposition (a 92.4% kill ratio). Over the course of the season, the Royals' PK has stopped 224 of the 276 power plays the PK has faced (52 power play goals against) for a 81.2% kill ratio (fifteenth in the season).

CLOSING NOTES

1. Last Saturday's game kicked off a season long six game home stand for Reading. Fifteen of the final 26 regular season games for the Royals will be played at home. The Royals are currently 13-6-2 at the Sovereign Center.

2. This weekend, the Royals face the Dayton Bombers (on Friday), the Texas Wildcatters (on Saturday), and the Gwinnett Gladiators (on Sunday). The games against the Wildcatters and Gladiators mark the final two games of the regular season against teams from outside the North Division. (Reading is 5-2-0 against teams from other than the North this year.)

3. Defenseman Rob LaLonde picked up an assist and 21 penalty minutes in Saturday's game. LaLonde is currently riding a four game point streak for the Royals (2g-3a=5pts). LaLonde's PIMs on Saturday included his team leading ninth fighting major of the year. LaLonde has been assessed with 149 PIMs this year, which leads all defensemen in the ECHL.

4. Dany Roussin scored his thirteenth goal of the year in Saturday's win. That goal was Roussin's sixth power play goal of the season. Roussin is currently riding a three game point streak (1g-2a=3pts). He has twenty nine points (12g- 17a=29pts) in his last 27 games with the Royals.

5. Joe Zappala scored the Royals' seventh goal on Saturday night, snapping a streak of eight games without a goal. That marked Zappala's second power play goal of the year.

6. Six different Royals have had birthdays over the past week: (i) Thursday, 02/06: Patrick Jarrett (24); (ii) Friday, 02/08: Matt Herneisen (26), Charlie Kronschnabel (25), and Malcolm MacMillan (26); (iii) Sunday, 02/10: Victor Uchevatov (25); and (iv) Monday, 02/11: Ned Lukacevic (22).

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ECHL Stories from February 11, 2008


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