Royals Hold on in Toledo for Win Over Walleye, 5-4

Toledo, OH – The Reading Royals (win, 7-4-0-0=14) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, defeated the Toledo Walleye (4-6-0-2=10), 5-4, at Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.

For the tenth time in eleven games, the Royals scored first, never trailed—and led by as many as three in the third period—but Reading had to fend off a multi-goal late game charge to hold onto the two points and run the team’s record on the road to 4-1-0-0.

Reading struck 5:10 into the game with the third ‘first goal’ of the season for Stanislav Galiev, who fired from deep and wide on the right wing side and found pay-dirt high short-side. Toledo tied the game 9:53 into the first when Trevor Parkes out-battled a couple of Royals below the goal line and slipped the puck to the top of the crease, where a wide-open Martin Frk punched it home for his second of the year.

The Royals re-took the lead 11:01 into the first with the first power play goal against the Walleye on home ice this season. Tyler Ruegsegger gained possession low on the left side, cut to the low slot, outwaited the Toledo defenders and fired. Walleye goaltender Jared Coreau (loss, 0-3-2-0, 21/26) made the original stop but the rebound fell to the left side of the crease, where Dustin Gazley swiped a back-hand into the net for his third of the year.

Reading took the team’s first two-goal lead of the game 14:41 into the first when Ned Lukacevic carried into the offensive end, passed to himself off the blades of his skate and fired from a sharp angle from low on the left side for his first as a Royal since his last stint with the team in 2008-09.

Toledo pulled within one again (3-2) 3:25 into the second when Parkes shot from the top of the left circle deflected off a Reading defender and eluded goaltender Riley Gill (win, 4-2-0-0, 17/21) for his eighth of the year. Reading built the two-goal lead back 17:14 into the second when Galiev became the first Royal this season to bag a multi-goal performance, snapping a shot off the top of the right circle that blew by Coreau high blocker. For Galiev, that was his fifth of the year.

Reading took a three goal (5-2) lead 9:41 into the third, when Louie Caporusso, who ended the game with three assists, set up Domenic Monardo for a bullet from the high slot that proved to be his team-leading sixth goal of the year—and his first game winner as a Royal.

Toledo made a game of it with back-to-back goals down the stretch. The first came 12:24 into the third when Joe Gleason slipped one from the left point that angled off the skate of Frk and into the net. Although the Royals argued that the puck was illegally kicked in, the goal was allowed for Frk’s second of the game and his third of the season. The Walleye drew within one with 46.9 seconds left in the game, when Gleason’s seeing-eye wrister from the left point when by a completely screened Gill. But that would be it for the Walleye, as Gill won his third straight.

Reading returns to Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania, to face the Wheeling Nailers on Wednesday (November 20 @ 7:05 pm). That night, fans can take advantage of the Quaker Maid Meats Steak-umm Meal and Ticket Deal and get a purple zone ticket, a Steak-umm burger and fries for just $20.00. Wednesday’s game night broadcast on CBS Sports Radio in Reading (1240 am and 98.5 fm) will kick off at 6:35 pm with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield.

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