Sports stats



ECHL Reading Royals

With A Little HELP! From Our Friends...

January 15, 2008 - ECHL (ECHL)
Reading Royals News Release


Many consider the psychedelia-laden 1967 concept record Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band the Beatles' most powerful and creative work of art, if not the most influential album of all time. After the record 'introduces' the 'Lonely Hearts Club Band,' it segues into a simple ditty that has Ringo Starr (as Billy Shears) seeking 'a little help from his friends.' The song was specifically written by Lennon and McCartney to match Starr's limited vocal range-which he flat out admits in the opening line. The tune took a second and perhaps more recognizable life a year or so later, when Joe Cocker (with the help of one of his friends, drummer B.J. Wilson) changed the key and tempo and added vocal grit to build a genuine soulful plea that bursts into a plaintiff wail for help that probably has only been matched by O.J.'s ex-wife's dog on a certain night at her Bundy Drive condo in the Brentwood area of LA. The Royals found themselves wailing- if not flailing-a couple of times this past week, as the make-shift and patch-worked roster, decimated by injuries and call ups and more injuries (and did I mention the injuries?), was stretched to the snapping point at a 'perfect storm' moment-a week that included five games in six days (and seven in ten and eleven in nineteen). Somewhat remarkably, the boys didn't flinch and were not only able to hang around in the first four games this week, but also picked up an improbable two points with a gutsy win in Dayton on Wednesday. But, quite honestly, by Sunday morning the prospects had a certain bleak tinge as the Royals, riding a five game home winless streak, prepared to face the high-flying first place Cincinnati Cyclones, who one could anticipate would be particularly ornery after coming off a rare loss the night before. If you heard a plaintiff wail at that point, it was probably the head coach on the phone trying to track down the cavalry. And that's when our friends came through. As it happened, the Manchester Monarchs, the Royals' AHL affiliate, was playing down the road in Philly and had a couple of extra young guys, who dutifully made the trek to Reading and showed why they ordinarily ply their trade in the AHL. And, everybody fed off of that-not just the talent they brought to the ice-but also the fact that somebody cared. And there's only one thing left to say when your friends come through when you need them most (and we'll try not to sing it out of key): "thanks".....

TOP TEN NOTES OF THE WEEK

1. The Royals just completed a stretch of the schedule where the team played seven games in ten days (01/04 - 01/13/08: 3-4-0) and eleven games over nineteen days (4- 6-1). The back-to-back regulation losses sustained by the Royals on Friday and Saturday of this week marked only the third time this season that Reading has lost two games in a row in regulation time. The Royals are 10-3-1 in games following a regulation loss.

2. Sunday's 5-3 win over the Cincinnati Cyclones snapped a season long three game home losing streak and a season long five game home winless streak (0-4-1). Sunday's win also marked the Royals' first win of the year in three tries against the Cyclones at the Sovereign Center. The only team that Reading has not defeated at home to this point in the season is Johnstown. The Royals and Chiefs play for the second time this year at the Sovereign Center on Saturday night.

3. The Royals defense has allowed five or more goals in five of the last eight games. In that time span, the opposition has scored a total of 39 goals (a 4.86 team goals against for Reading) and the Royals went 3-5-0 in those games. In the first thirty games of the season, the Royals allowed five or more goals only three times, allowing a total of 84 goals during that time span (a 2.80 team goals against) and the team went 17-10-3 in those games. The Royals overall team goals against at this point in the season is 3.24 (which is thirteenth in the league).

4. Three players for Reading have played all 38 games with the team (i) Brock Hooton; (ii) P.J. Atherton; and (iii) Charlie Kronschnabel. The Royals have now had 42 different players on the active roster at some point in the season. Sixteen of those players have been out of games due to injury at one time or another during the season. Eleven different players have logged time for the Royals and in the American Hockey League this year.

5. Brock Hooton took over as the leading scorer for the Royals this past week as he registered a total of eight points (3g-5a=8pts), which included 3 multi-point performances, in the five games played. Four of the five assists he picked up this week came on the power play. Hooton has picked up at least a point in twelve of his last fourteen games (8g-13a=21pts), a span which has included six multi-point games.

6. P.J. Atherton is currently riding a three game goal scoring streak, which included scoring his first game winning goal of the season on Sunday against the Cincinnati Cyclones. Atherton has bagged nine goals this season, which leads all defensemen in the ECHL. Atherton's twenty-four points (9g-15a=24pts) places him tied for sixth in the league in points amongst defensemen.

7. Dany Roussin registered eight points (3g-5a=8pts) in the five games played this past week. Roussin had back-to-back three point performances on Wednesday and Friday of last week and scored back-to-back goals in Sunday's 5-3 win. In his last nineteen games with the Royals, Roussin has scored eleven goals and assisted on twelve others (twenty-three points). He has had six multi-point games during that stretch.

8. Charlie Kronschnabel is currently riding a four game assist streak (0g-5a=5pts). Kronschnabel has picked up at least a point in seven of the last eight games in which he's played (4g-9a=13pts). Kevin Saurette picked up at least a point in three of the last four games for the Royals (1g-4a=5pts), a span which included two multi-point performances.

9. The Royals have scored at least one power play goal in four consecutive games (6-25, a 24.0% scoring ratio). In last Friday's 7-4 loss to the Wheeling Nailers, the Royals scored three power play goals, marking the third time this season that the team has scored three PPGs in a game. Over the course of the season, the Royals have scored 33 power play goals in 213 chances with the man advantage-a 15.5% scoring ratio, which is 18th in the league.

10. In three of the five games played this past week, the Royals' penalty kill allowed more than one PPGA. Fifteen times this year, the opposition has scored more than one PPGA the Royals. On Tuesday night, four of Dayton's five goals were scored while the Bombers were on the power play, tying a season high against Reading. In Wednesday's win in Dayton and Friday's loss to Wheeling, the PK kept the opposition off the board. The Royals have blanked the opposition's power play in ten of the 38 games played this year. Reading's PK has allowed 48 goals against in 226 opportunities for the opposition, which is a 78.8% kill ratio, which is 22nd in the league.

CLOSING NOTES

1. Shawn Germain scored his first goal of the season, which proved to be the game winner, in the Royals' 5-1 in Dayton last Wednesday. Germain also picked up an assist in that game to register his first multi-point game of the season. Germain played to a plus-3 in Sunday's 5- 3 win over Cincinnati, marking the thirteenth game (out of 32 games played) of the season in which he has played to a plus. Germain is currently playing to a plus-10 on the season, which leads the active players on the Royals' roster.

2. Matt Herneisen, who was named as the team's captain last Tuesday, scored a goal in the Royals' 5-2 loss in Dayton that same day. He also scored in Friday's 7-4 loss to the Wheeling Nailers. Herneisen did not play in Sunday's game against the Cyclones due to injury.

3. The Royals got goals from several of the team's newcomers this past week. (i) Ryan MacGregor scored a goal and picked up an assist in his second game with the team on Tuesday; (ii) Peter Ferraro scored in Wednesday's win and Saturday's loss and now has three goals in eight games with Reading; and (iii) Tom Boudreau scored his third goal with the Royals in Wednesday's 5-1 win in Dayton. (Boudreau was traded to Bakersfield on Sunday to complete the future considerations element in the trade for defenseman Steven Later.)

4. Larry Courville picked up two assists this weekend, including one on the game winner Sunday. Courville has now had at least a point in five separate seasons for the Royals-the last four consecutively. Graig Mischler played in Saturday's loss to Johnstown, marking his 134th game (over four seasons) with the Royals.

Check out the Reading Royals Statistics

• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...

ECHL Stories from January 15, 2008


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