Royals Pull Out Shootout Win in Kalamazoo, 4-3

Teams     Per: 1          2          3          OT      SO

REA:              1          1          1          0          1= 4

KAL:              1          1          1          0          0= 3 

Records

REA:  4-5-0-0=8 (7th East Division)

KAL: 6-3-1-1=14 (2nd North Division)

Goaltenders

REA: Knapp (Win) (3-2-0-0) (37/40) (4/5)

KAL:  Martin (SOL) (5-2-1-1) (36/39) (2/4)

Power Play:

REA: 2-4

KAL: 0-2

Kalamazoo, MI – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­win, 4-5-0-0=8) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, defeated the Kalamazoo Wings  (SOL, 6-3-1-1=14), 4-3, in a shootout at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

In another wild back-and-forth affair, the Royals were able to pull out a victory in the shootout to snap a three game losing streak. After playing in back-to-back games in which the team blew leads and lost in regulation, this was another game in which the Royals battled to earn two separate leads during the sixty-minutes of hockey action—thanks to power play goals by Adam Comrie and David Marshall—only to give those leads back to the opposition, the second one on a game-tying goal by Kalamazoo with the just 1:19 remaining in regulation (and with the K-Wings’ net empty and a sixth attacker on the ice). But in contrast to those two previous games, the Royals took the two points in this one thanks to the team’s second productive shootout performance in two tries this year.

First Period (1-1, Tie)

7:29 (0-1, Kalamazoo) Kalamazoo Goal

Murray (1); Guidmond and Brittain (snap shot from wide left hash-mark)

After a frenetic start which featured multiple Grade-A scoring chances for both clubs, it was the weakest shot of the bunch to that point in the game that snuck through. Sacha Guimond carried into the offensive zone and dropped the puck to Colin Murray, who took it wide down the left side and shot a seemingly harmless wrister that eluded the catching glove of Connor Knapp to make it 1-0 K-Wings.

10:22 (1-1, Tie) Reading Goal

Walrod (1); Marshall and Davies (rebound punch back from right side of the crease)

Reading tied the game when Zach Davies stepped up from the left point and pinched off a clearing attempt by Kalamazoo on the left half-wall. Davies fired a low shot towards the net that was deflected by David Marshall at the top of the crease. The deflection made it a tough puck for goaltender Joel Martin to handle. The puck came hard off his goal stick to the right side of the crease where Kevin Walrod punched it back home for his first of the year.

Second Period (2-2, Tie)

13:44 (2-1, Reading) Reading Goal (Power Play)

Comrie (2); Mullane and Labelle (slap shot from mid-slot)

Seven seconds into the first power play of the game, Reading took the team’s first lead of night, when Pat Mullane won the faceoff to restart play to Olivier Labelle, who in turn fed Adam Comrie for a hot rocket from the mid-slot. Comrie’s shot bulleted by Martin low stick for his second of the season—both of which have been power play goals.

14:58 (2-2, Tie) Kalamazoo Goal

Longpre (3); Labelle and Hughesman (slap shot from low right circle)

Kalamazoo quickly bounced back to tie the game on a wild hack from the deep left wing corner. Nathan Longpre tracked a loose puck to the left corner directly on the goal line, where he took a full-on golf swing to drill the sharp angle shot towards the Royals’ net. The puck appeared to hit goaltender Knapp in the side of the head, ricochet off the cross-bar and then trickle down his back and across the goal line to tie the game at two.

Third Period (3-3, Tie)

4:49 (3-2, Reading) Reading Goal (Power Play)

Marshall(4); Reid and Marcou (shot off the rush from just below the dot in the right circle)

Reading took the team’s second lead of the game while playing on a major power play in the third period. (Reading was awarded a five-minute power play when Kalamazoo’s Ray Kaunisto was assessed with a fighting major—and an aggressor game misconduct—with no corresponding fighting major being assessed against a Royal 3:21 into the third).  Cam Reid sprang Marshall on a break down the right wing side. Marshall picked up the puck, carried below the dot in the right circle and snapped a hard shot five-hole on Martin for his fourth of the year.

18:41 (3-3, Tie) Kalamazoo Goal (Sixth Attacker Goal)

Scheidl (4); Longpre and Mallet (scramble at top of crease)

Kalamazoo tied the game (again) with just 1:19 remaining and the sixth attacker on the ice. After winning an offensive zone face-off, the K-Wings pushed the puck to the top of the crease, where a scramble ensued which ended with Lane Schiedl forced the puck under and through Knapp for his fourth of the year.

Overtime (No Scoring) (3-3, Tie)

Neither team broke through in overtime, thanks in no small measure to an unbelievable save by Joel Martin on a two-on-one break with time ticking down. Cam Reid fed the breaking Mike Marcou with a beautiful diagonal-down saucer that landed flat in the low right circle for Marcou, who gunned a snapper short-side; but Martin diving face-first right-to-left somehow snared Marcou’s shot to send it to the shootout with just 1.7 seconds left in OT.

Shootout (4-3, Reading)

Reading wins shootout 2-1

First Shooter: KAL, Taylor (stopped); REA, Cruthers (stopped)

Second Shooter: KAL Mallet (SCORED); REA, Hughesman (stopped)

Third Shooter: KAL, Longpre (stopped); REA, Marshall (SCORED)

Fourth Shooter: KAL, Fox (stopped); REA: Reid (SCORED)

Fifth Shooter: KAL, Caria (stopped); REA (NO SHOOTER NEEDED)

NOTES:

• The scratches for the Royals tonight were: Dan Ford (d) (healthy), Jordan Heywood (d) (healthy), Ian Watters (f) (healthy), and Justin Daniels (f) (healthy – placed on ECHL Reserve List). Matt Hatch was activated from ECHL Reserve prior to the game.

• Kalamazoo played tonight’s game with only fifteen skaters (one short of the allowable number).

• Cam Reid extended his personal point streak to eight games (3g-7a=10pts).

• Olivier Labelle extended his point streak to five straight games (1-5a)—and his assist streak to four straight. With his assist tonight, Labelle became the fourth leading scorer in Royals history with 73g-67a=140pts in 165 games.

• Tonight’s game marked only the third time this season that Reading’s penalty kill blanked the opposition (2-2) in nine games played.

NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS

Reading Royals @ Kalamazoo Wings

@ Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, MI

Saturday, November 15, 2014 (7:30 pm)

NEXT UP: The Royals take on the K-Wings again tomorrow night (Saturday, November 15 @ 7:30 pm) at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Saturday’s game night broadcast can be heard live on CBS SportsRadio 1240 am and 98.5 in Reading, Pennsylvania, starting with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 7:00 pm. As with all Royals’ road games, Saturday’s game will also be televised live in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on BCTV courtesy of Boscov’s Travel and Apple Vacations. Streaming audio is available free of charge on the Royals’ website (follow the ‘headset’ icon); and streaming video is available on a pay-per-view basis through ECHL.TV.

For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

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