Teams Per: 1 2 3
REA: 3 1 3= 7
EVN: 1 1 0= 2
Records
REA: 26-13-1-1=54 (2nd East Division)
EVN: 11-24-4-2=28 (7th North Division)
Goaltenders
REA: Knapp (win) 13-7-0-0 (23/25)
EVN: Dreidger (loss) 7-17-1-1 (6/9) (18:26)
Greenham (nd) (22/26) (41:34)
Power Play:
REA: 0-7
EVN: 0-4
Evansville, IN – The Reading Royals (win, 26-13-1-1=52) 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 Evansville Icemen (loss, 11-25-4-2=28), 7-2, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
In the final game of the regular season between the Royals and Icemen, Reading ran the team’s record to a perfect 4-0-0-0 against Evansville by exploding for a team season-high seven goals at Ford Center where the Royals have a historical record of 8-1-0-0. For the third straight game, Reading struck first and never looked back, getting the team’s first hattrick of the year from Cam Reid, who scored the game’s first goal as well as the one that proved to be the game winner, which came late in the first period. The victory pushed the Royals current win streak to a season-high five games and proved to be the 250th win for Head Coach Larry Courville in his time with the Royals. Perhaps most importantly, tonight’s victory also jumped the Royals into second place of the East Division for the first time this season.
First Period (3-1, Reading)
9:18 (1-0, Reading) Reading Goal
Reid (13); Hughesman and Labelle (snap shot from top of right circle)
For the third consecutive game on this current road trip, Reading scored the game’s first goal when Adam Hughesman sprang Cam Reid into the offensive zone. Reid carried to the top of the right circle and fired a snap shot that appeared to dip under the catching glove of goaltender Chris Dreidger to snap an eight game goal scoring drought for Reid and bag his thirteenth of the year.
14:13 (1-1, Tie) Evansville Goal
Frazee (13); Soudek and Kennedy (chip in from top of right side of crease)
Despite giving up the game’s first goal, the Icemen came back with a vengeance in the middle of the first, and their relentless forecheck pressure and sustained offensive zone puck possession paid off when they tied the game at one with the Royals’ defense scrambling and goaltender Connor Knapp playing without a stick. Thomas Frazee, playing in his first game with the Icemen after being traded from the Fort Wayne Komets, ended up with the puck at the top of the crease staring at a wide open net, and he didn’t miss.
18:05 (2-1, Reading) Reading Goal
Johnston (6); Heywood and Davies (backhand from low right side of the slot)
Reading re-took the lead late in the first after the energy guys, including Matt Hatch and Ian Watters, forced a turnover by virtue of a strong fore-check and the got the puck back up high to the left point where Zach Davies settled it off to the right side, where defenseman Jordan Heywood took possession and feigned as if he intended to rip one off. Instead, he fired a perfect slap pass to Andrew Johnston, who was cutting left to right through the slot. Johnston took the puck on the fly and fired a high backhand up and over the catching glove of Dreidger for his sixth of the year.
18:26 (3-1, Reading) Reading Goal
Reid 2 (14); Hughesman and Marcou (snap shot from between the hashmarks)
Twenty-one seconds later, Reading would get what proved to be the game winner when Adam Hughesman attempted to feed Olivier Labelle in the mid-slot from the right half-wall. Although the puck was knocked away from Labelle, Cam Reid powered his way to the loose puck and, although he was knocked to his knees, was able to get off a shot that beat Dreidger low to the stick side for his second of the night—and fourteenth of the season. That goal also served to chase Dreidger in favor of goaltender Scott Greenham.
Second Period (4-2, Reading)
1:39 (4-1, Tie) Reading Goal
Wiles (12); Cruthers and Mullane (snapper from just above left hash marks)
Reading stretched the lead to three early in the second when an aggressive fore-check by Ryan Cruthers and Pat Mullane forced a turnover that resulted in a point blank look for Sean Wiles—who had already had several golden scoring chances in the game. Wiles didn’t waste this one, gunning a hot bullet over the extended blocker of Greenham for his twelfth of the year.
7:00 (4-2, Reading) Evansville Goal
Kennedy (9); Soudek (snap shot from low slot)
The Icemen climbed back within two when Knapp took possession behind the Royals’ net and attempted to start a break-out with a saucer towards the right corner. Unfortunately, however, Evansville’s Robin Soudek stepped in to pick off the pass and quickly threaded it to the low slot where Patrick Kennedy ripped it into a wide open net for his ninth of the year.
Third Period (7-2, Reading)
0:48 (5-2, Reading) Reading Goal
Labelle (16); Reid and Hughesman (snap shot from between the hashmarks)
Reading re-built the lead to three early in the third, directly at the conclusion of a power play chance. Reid settled out of the right circle and slipped a perfect saucer to Adam Hughesman, who was planted along the goal line to the right side of the net. Hughesman quickly turned 180 degrees towards the net and, in doing so, slid a perfect behind-the-back pass to the waiting Olivier Labelle who was planted for a quick one-time snapper from directly between the hash-marks for this team leading sixteenth goal of the year.
12:25 (6-2, Reading) Reading Goal
Reid 3 (15); Lamarche and Molle (rebound of shot off the right pad of goaltender)
Reid became the first Royal to record a hattrick for the team this year, when Maxim Lamarche fired a snap shot from the high slot that appeared deflected on the way in. The re-direction of the puck made it a difficult save for Greenham, who kicked the puck out with his right pad, but the rebound fell directly in front of him, where Reid stepped up for punch back and his fifteenth of the year.
13:16 (7-2, Reading) Reading Goal
Heywood (4); Johnston and Mullane (snap shot from between the hashmarks)
Fifty-one seconds later, the Royals extended the lead to five when another aggressive attack in the offensive zone freed the puck for another point blank look—this time from defenseman Jordan Heywood who stepped down off the blue line deep into the slot for a quick snapper up and over Greenham’s glove hand, which proved Heywood’s fourth of the year.
NOTES:
- The scratches for the Royals’ tonight included Gentry Zollars (d) (ECHL Reserve), Kevin Sullivan (f) (ECHL Reserve), and David Marshall (f) (healthy).
- Tonight’s victory pushed the Royals’ current win streak to five, which ties the season long previously established from December 17 through 27.
- The Royals have won six of the team’s last seven games, nine of the last twelve, fourteen of the last eighteen, and seventeen of the last twenty-one.
- The win served to jump the Royals into second place of the East Division for the first time this season with a record of 26-13-1-1=54, thirteen games over .500, which is the team season high-water mark.
- The victory also stretched Reading’s road win streak to four straight (dating to January 17). The team season-long for consecutive road victories is six (12/17/14 – 01/03/15).
- This was the final match-up of the regular season between the Royals and Icemen. Reading finished the season series with a 4-0-0-0 record against Evansville with all four wins coming at Ford Center in Evansville, where Reading has compiled an historical record of 8-1-0-0.
- Tonight’s victory was the 250th career win for Larry Courville as the head coach of the Royals (250-153-36, which translates into a .611 win percentage).
- This marked the third consecutive game in which the Royals have scored the game’s first goal. Reading has gone 18-4-0-1 when scoring first this season (and 9-3-0-0 on the road).
- The seven goals scored tonight established a new team season-high for Reading.
- The five goal margin of victory was also a team season high for the Royals.
- Six different players for Reading registered a multi-point performance tonight: Jordan Heywood (1g-1a), Andrew Johnston (1g-1a), Olivier Labelle (1g-2a), Pat Mullane (0g-2a), Adam Hughesman (0g-3a), and Cam Reid (3g-1a).
- Reid, who snapped an eight game goal scoring drought tonight, recorded the first hattrick of the season for Reading tonight. His four-point performance (3g-1a) ties the team season high. (Ryan Cruthers has two four point games this year.)
- For Reid, his second goal tonight proved to be his fourth game winner of the year. (He also has scored a shootout winner for Reading this year.)
- Olivier Labelle (1g-2a) scored his team leading sixteenth goal of the season tonight. Labelle has had three multi-point games (and two three-point performances) in his last four games.
- Adam Hughesman (0g-3a) recorded his tenth multi-point game of the season tonight and his fourth three-point game of the year.
- Pat Mullane (0g-2a) recorded his team-leading thirteenth multi-point game of the year tonight—and his sixth multi-point game in his last twelve games played.
- Goaltender Connor Knapp pushed his personal win streak to four straight games. This is the second four game win streak of the year for Knapp, who has won eight of his last ten games.
NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS
Reading Royals @ Indy Fuel
@ Indiana Farmers Coliseum – Indianapolis, IN
Friday, January 30 (7:35 pm Eastern Time)
NEXT UP: The Royals continue the team’s five game road trip this Friday (January 30, 2015 @ 7:35 pm) when the team will face the Indy Fuel at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana. Friday’s game 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 7:05 pm Eastern. Friday’s game, as with all Royals’ road games this season, 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.
End 15 01-28