Royals Win First Game Ever in Indianapolis, 6-4

Teams     Per: 1          2          3

REA:              1          2          3= 6 

IND:               2          1          1= 4

Records

REA: 13-9-1-1=28 (t-4th East Division)

IND:   5-14-2-3=15 (7th North Division)

Goaltenders

REA:  Ouellette (win) 8-4-1-1 (28/32)

IND: Carruth (loss) 0-4-1-2 (28/32) (2 eng)

Power Play:

REA: 0-3

IND: 0-4

Indianapolis, IN – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­win, 13-9-1-1=28) 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 Indy Fuel (loss, 5-14-2-3=15), 6-4, Indiana Farmers Coliseum at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana.

In the first trip in team history to Indiana Farmers Coliseum, the Royals fell behind early, but battled back from a two-goal deficit to win by a two-goal margin with the help of two empty netters. Indy scored on their first shot, and after Reading tied the game late in the first, the Fuel re-took the lead at 2-1 later in the first—with just 5.1 seconds left. Indy built a 3-1 lead in the latter stages of the second before Reading bounced back and tied the game with a pair even later in that period—including the game-tying goal with just 4.1 seconds left in the second. The Royals took their first lead on a power move break by Sean Wiles with just 5:34 remaining in the final frame; and then held on with the help of two empty netters to win for the third times in three tries against the Fuel.

First Period (2-1, Indy)

1:17 (1-0, Indy) Indy Goal

Bly (5); Chelios and White (loose puck in the crease stuffed into the net)

The Royals first trip to Indianapolis started on a sour note when the team gave up a goal on the Fuel’s first shot. Indy’s Dean Chelios slid a pass off the left half wall that ricocheted off the skate of a Reading defender and on net. Before goaltender Martin Ouellette could find the loose puck, Fuel forward Rhett Bly stepped in and punched the puck under Ouellette for his fifth of the year.

17:56 (1-1, Tie) Reading Goal

Reid (8); Davies and Marshall (rebound sweep in from right side of the crease)

Reading tied the game late in the first when David Marshall powered his way into the offensive zone on the right wing side and hit defenseman Zach Davies with a cross-ice feed. Davies carried into the left circle and took a hard snap shot that appeared to dip and dive as it was headed towards goaltender Mac Carruth, who was forced to use the left pad to make the stop. The rebound, however, fell to the top of the right crease where Cam Reid had the inside track and was able to corral the puck and sweep it in for his eighth of the year.

19:54 (2-1, Indy) Indy Goal

Gotovets (3); Czarnik and Franson (snap shot from the low left slot)

Indy retook the lead with just 5.1 seconds left in the first. Robert Czarnik carried down the left side, passing to himself between his legs and carrying below the goal line. He then forced a pass back towards the crease where Ouellette used the paddle of the stick to pick off the puck; but he redirected it to the low left slot, where Kirill Gotovets, despite being surrounded by several Royals, was able to get a snap shot off that hit Ouellette in the arm but had enough power to flutter into the net for his third of the year.

Second Period (3-3, Tie)

15:26 (3-1, Indy) Indy Goal

White (5); Bembridge (snap shot from mid slot)

Indy stretched their lead to two in the latter stages of the second period, when Reading got caught off the rush and Matt White got loose down the mid-slot. Garrett Bembridge, who had led the Indy charge, carried down the right wing side and found White cruising down the gut. There was a big collision of several players in front of Oullette and as he tried to get in position to face the developing chance for White, it appeared that Ouellette lost his balance which gave White an opportunity to slip the puck under Oullette for his fifth of the year.

18:33 (3-2, Indy) Reading Goal

Labelle (7); Mullane and Caruso (snap shot from the top of the right circle)

8:09 into the second, Olivier Labelle took a vicious hit to the head from Indy’s Klarc Wilson, who received a major elbowing penalty and game misconduct, while Labelle had to go to the Royals’ locker room. Labelle returned to action later in the period, however, and was able kick start the Royals’ comeback effort with a snap shot from the top of the right circle that slipped between the legs of Carruth for his seventh of the season.

19:56 (3-3, Tie) Reading Goal

Cruthers (5); Marshall and Lamarche (stuff in from left side of the crease)

With time ticking down in the second period, the Royals turned up the pressure cooker in the offensive zone and created a mad scramble around the Indy net, which ended when David Marshall forced the puck cross crease from right to left, where a waiting Ryan Cruthers was planted and wide open. Cruthers quickly jammed the puck into the net with just 4.1 seconds left in the second to tie the game at three.

Third Period (6-4, Reading)

14:26 (4-3, Reading) Reading Goal

Wiles (5); Labelle (power move to the top of the crease and finish off on a rebound)

After killing three consecutive power play chances awarded to Indy (who had the second best power play in the league going into tonight’s game) mid-way into the third, the Royals took the lead for the first time when Sean Wiles charged down the right wing side, protected the puck on his backhand, as he cut from low in the left circle to the top of the crease, where he was able to get the puck to his forehand for a quick shot. Carruth rejected Wiles’ first bid, but Wiles stayed with the play and punched the rebound into the net for his fifth of the year.

18:01 (5-3, Reading) Reading Goal (Empty Netter)

Cruthers 2 (6); unassisted (backhand chip from 185 feet into an empty net)

With time ticking down, the Fuel pulled their goaltender in favor of sixth attacker with 2:11 remaining in regulation. Reading hit pay-dirt with what proved to be the game winner, when Ryan Cruthers gained possession in the right wing corner of the defensive zone, and flipped a backhand high into the air. The puck landed hard and bounced and then had just enough power to outrace everyone chasing it into the Fuel net for Cruthers’ second of the night.

19:13 (5-4, Reading) Indy Goal (Sixth Attacker)

Fournier (2); Holl and Chelios (wrist shot from just inside the blue line)

Indy wasn’t done, however. The Fuel pulled the goaltender a second time and capitalized with the sixth attacker on the ice when defenseman Dillon Fournier fired a wrist shot from just inside the blue line that went through a maze of traffic and slipped by a clearly screened Oullette high to the stick side.

19:37 (6-4, Reading) Reading Goal (Empty Netter)

Walrod (3); Wiles (tap into to empty net)

Reading regained the two goal advantage with just 23.1 seconds left in regulation with the team’s second empty netter of the game. Kevin Walrod, who had used his aggressive speed during the game to generate at least two breakaways on which he did not score, got rewarded for his hard work when he out-battled everyone for a loose puck in the offensive end and fought his way to the net where he tapped the puck in for his third of the year.

NOTES:

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

• Tonight’s win marked the sixth come-from-behind win of the season for Reading.

• This marked the second time this season that Reading racked up four straight goals to rally for a win over the Indy Fuel. On November 22 in Reading, the Royals trailed the Fuel 3-0 entering the third period before running off four straight to win 4-3 in regulation.

• The win pushed the Royals’ record to four games over .500, which is the high water mark for the team, for the third time this season

• Tonight’s game marked the first time this season that Reading has scored two empty netters in a single game.

• Cam Reid snapped a nine game goal scoring drought with his eighth goal of the season this year.

• Olivier Labelle’s goal tonight was his seventy-eighth as a Royal—most in team history—in his 180th game with the team.

• Ryan Cruthers recorded his first multi-goal game of the year this season. His second goal proved to be his second game winner of the year—and his fourteenth career regular season GWG as a Royal. Cruthers second goal was also his seventy-seventh goal as a Royal. He is the all-time scoring leader for the team with 243 points (77g-166a) in 235 games with the Royals.

• David Marshall recorded his seventh multi-point game of the season, which is tied for the team lead with Adam Hughesman.

• Goaltender Martin Ouellette stretched his personal win streak to four straight with the victory tonight. Ouellette has compiled a record of 7-1-1-1 in his last ten games.

NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS

Reading Royals v Evansville Icemen

@ Ford Center – Evansville, IN

Friday, December 19, 2014 (8:15 pm Eastern Time)

NEXT UP: The Royals travel to Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, for back-to-back games against the Evansville Icemen on Friday, December 19, and Saturday, December 20. Both games will start at 8:15 pm Eastern Time.  The game night broadcast for both of these games 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 7:45 pm Eastern Time. As with all Royals’ road games this season, those games will 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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