Orlando, FL – The Reading Royals (win, 46-22-2-2=96) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, defeated the Orlando Solar Bears (SOL, 42-24-2-3=89), 1-0, in a shootout at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida.
In the second shutout-shootout in team history, the Royals got a brilliantly goaltended game from Brandon Anderson (win, 25-10-1-1 in 65:00 3/4 in shootout), who recorded his fifth shutout of the year and league leading twenty-fifth win of the season. At the other end, Orlando’s Maxime Clermont (SOL, 10-12-0-2 in 65:00, 1/4 in shootout) was equally brilliant.
After sixty-five minutes of scoreless hockey it came down to the shootout, where the Royals went three for four, getting goals from Ryan Cruthers, Josh Brittain and the shootout winner from T.J. Syner—his third of the season. Anderson stopped three of four in the skills competition to pick up his second shootout win of the year.
The Royals now head to the post-season where the team will be the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and take on the eighth seed. The Eastern Conference Quarter-Finals will kick off at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania on Thursday, April 17 @ 7:05 pm. The game night broadcast on Thursday will kick off with the Pre-Game Warm-Up Show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 6:35 pm on CBS Sports Radio 1240 am and 98.5 fm in Reading.
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