Royals Can't Slow South Carolina Power Play, 4-2

Teams     Per: 1          2          3

SC:                  2          1          1= 4 

REA:              0          1          1= 2

Records

SC: 9-9-0-4=22 (5th East Division)

REA:  9-8-1-1=20 (6th East Division)

Goaltenders

SC:  Jakaitis (Win) 5-1-0-1 (40/42)

REA: Knapp (Loss) 5-4-0-0 (29/33)

Power Play:

SC: 3-4

REA: 0-3

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­loss, 9-8-1-1=20) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League and the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, were defeated by  the South Carolina Stingrays (win, 9-9-0-4=22), 4-2, at Santander Arena in Reading, PA.

The Royals dropped their third straight—all on home ice—as the team fell behind, 3-0, in the relative early going to the South Carolina Stingrays, who hit pay-dirt on three of their first four power play chances before Reading was able to finally solve goaltender Jeff Jakaitis, who came into this game fresh off back-to-back shutout performances. Reading’s come-back hopes were dashed when the Stingrays re-built a three goal advantage with an early third period goal and then went on to hold onto the lead and hold off the Royals, as South Carolina won their fifth straight and took sole possession of fifth place in the East Division.

First Period (2-0, South Carolina)

4:11 (1-0, South Carolina) South Carolina Goal (Power Play)

Perrier (2); Young and Devin (snap shot from top of right circle)

After failing to capitalize on a couple of early slam dunk scoring chances right off the hop, South Carolina did not waste their first chance with the power play, controlling the puck in the offensive zone and setting defenseman Marcus Perrier at the top of the right circle for a high snap shot that floated by several bodies before sailing by goaltender Connor Knapp and catching the upper left corner of the net for Perrier’s second of the season.

15:53 (2-0, South Carolina) South Carolina Goal (Power Play)

Pimm (6);  Simpson and Haar (stuff in from inside the crease)

The Stingrays struck for their second power play goal of the game on their third opportunity with the man advantage when Wayne Simpson made a power move from deep on the right side towards the Royals’ net. As Simpson cut to the middle, it appeared that a Reading defender had a play on the puck, but it pinballed around his skates and into the blue paint, where Braden Pimm had forced his way to the inside track and was able to jam the puck under Knapp for his sixth of the year.

Second Period (3-1, South Carolina)

1:08 (3-0, South Carolina) South Carolina Goal (Power Play)

Simpson (6); Pimm (snap shot from right hash mark)

The Stingrays made it three-for-four on the power play when they were awarded a four-on-three power play early in the second. Twenty-four seconds into the PP, Wayne Simpson took advantage of all the extra space on the ice, stepped into the deep slot—just above the right hash-mark—and had all day to set one on a tee and drive it high and hot glove side on Knapp for his seventh of the year.

11:17 (3-1, South Carolina) Reading Goal

Hughesman (7); Caruso and Coetzee (rebound put back from low slot)

Reading tapped into the energy generated by a mid-game fight between the team’s captain Bryant Molle and the Stingrays’ Anthony Collins. 1:10 after that tilt, Willie Coetzee came storming into the offensive zone and ultimately fed Michael Caruso at the left point for a hard snap shot through traffic. South Carolina goaltender Jeff Jakaitis made the save, but the rebound kicked to the low slot, where Adam Hughesman stepped in and fired a low snapper that snuck under and through Jakaitis to break up his bid for his third straight shutout.

Third Period (4-2, South Carolina)

2:42 (4-1, South Carolina) South Carolina Goal

Devin (7); Bellamy (rebound chip in from deep on right side)

South Carolina rebuilt the three goal advantage—and stuck a third period dagger in Reading—when Rob Bellamy took a low snap shot from the right half wall. Knapp made a stick save, but the puck slid to the right side of the cage, where Joe Devin corralled the puck and somehow chipped it through on the short-side for his seventh of the season.

12:29 (4-2, South Carolina) Reading Goal

Coetzee (2); Mullane and Comrie (rebound from low in the right slot)

Reading gave the home faithful some hope when the team cut the Stingrays’ lead back to two with 7:31 remaining. Adam Comrie dug a puck off the left half wall and slipped soft pass into the left circle, where a waiting Pat Mullane took a hard one-timer that Jakaitis had trouble handling. The rebound slid to the low slot on the right side, where Coetzee won a hard battle for possession and was able to turn and fire behind Jakaitis for his second in four games with Reading. But that would be it for the Royals, who opened up the throttle down the stretch, but came up empty.

NOTES:

• The scratches for the Royals tonight were: Jordan Heywood (d) (healthy), Ian Watters (f) (healthy), Matt Hatch (f) (healthy) (ECHL Reserve), and Andrew Johnston (f) (healthy) (ECHL Reserve).

• This loss marked the first time this season that Reading has lost three consecutively on home ice and dropped the Royals home record to 5-6-0-1 (and 3-3-0-1 on the team’s current ten game home stand).

• Adam Hughesman’s goal was his seventh of the year, tying him with Cam Reid, David Marshall and Pat Mullane for the team lead in goals scored.

• Willie Coetzee recorded a goal and assist in tonight’s game. That was his second multi-point performance in four games played for the Royals this season.

• Coming into tonight’s game, the Royals penalty killers had blanked the opposition’s power play in nine of the last ten games, killing twenty-eight of the last twenty-nine power play chances for the opposition. However, this marked the second time this season that Reading has allowed three power play goals against. The other was the 7-6 loss to the Fort Wayne Komets on November 8 (3-8).

NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS

Reading Royals v South Carolina Stingrays

@ Santander Arena – Reading, PA

Sunday, December 7, 2014 (5:05 pm)

NEXT UP: The Royals take on the South Carolina Stingrays again tomorrow (Sunday, December 7 @ 5:05 pm) at Santander Arena in Reading. On Saturday, the Royals will celebrate our annual ‘Teddy Bear Toss’ game, when fans are encouraged to throw a stuffed animal on the ice when Reading scores the team’s first goal. Fans are also encouraged to bring a new, unopened toy to the game, which can be donated to Toys for Tots. Those toys and the stuffed animals collected on the ice will be delivered by Toys for Tots to children in need during this holiday season.

Tomorrow is a Super Savings Sunday with a special appearance by wrestling legend Sgt. Slaughter. As with all Sunday games, parking is free courtesy of the Reading Parking Authority, and we’ll have our Berks County Dollar Day ($1.00 hot dogs, popcorn, nachos, and soda). Also, the first 1000 kids, 14 years of age and younger will get a knit cap courtesy of Toys for Tots.

Sunday’s game day broadcast can be heard live in the Reading area on CBS SportsRadio (1240 am and 98.5 fm) beginning with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 4:35 pm. Streaming internet audio is also available free of charge and can be accessed by following the ‘headset’ icon on the Royals’ website. 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.

End 14 12-06