Royals Explode for Four Power Play Goals in 7-3 Win in Elmira

Teams     Per: 1          2          3

REA:              2          2          3= 7 

ELM:              1          2          0= 3

Records

REA: 34-13-2-1=71 (1st East Division)

ELM:  26-19-0-5=57 (t-3rd East Division)

Goaltenders

REA:  Reiter (win) 2-0-0-0 (34/37)

ELM: Fullerton (loss) 16-6-0-4 (26/33)

Power Play:

REA: 4-7

ELM: 2-4

Elmira, NY – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­win, 34-13-2-1=71) 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 Elmira Jackals (loss, 26-19-0-5=57), 7-3, at First Arena in Elmira, New York.

In the twelfth match-up of the season with the Jackals, the Royals pushed the team’s record in the series to 7-3-1-1 with a 7-3 win. The Jackals struck on their first power play chance of the night but Reading battled back to take a 2-1 lead to the locker room after one. The two then teams traded a total of four goals in a span of two minutes in the second period; but, after that, the Royals progressively pulled farther away—thanks in no small part to a total of four power play goals—to stretch the team’s current unbeaten streak to fourteen (13-0-1-0). Reading ended up getting goals from six different players, including Cam Reid who racked up his twentieth of the year, while Pat Mullane buried a pair to become the second Royal to hit the twenty goal plateau. The win, which pushed the Royals’ road unbeaten streak to nine (8-0-1-0), ran the team’s overall record to 34-13-2-1, which is the best record in team history through fifty games.

First Period (2-1, Reading)

11:48 (1-0, Elmira) Elmira Goal (Power Play)

Rashid (10); Tassone and Hart (elevated stick downward deflection of one-timer from right circle)

Elmira struck on their first power play chance of the game on a disputed goal. Matt Tassone set up for a hot, high one-time rocket off the top of the right circle. Ryan Rashid, who was floating across the top of the crease, got a chunk of the high shot with his stick and deflected it over the right shoulder of Reading goaltender Kenny Reiter. The Royals argued that Rashid’s stick was above the cross bar at the time that it made contact with the puck, but that argument fell on deaf eyes.

17:28 (1-1, Tie) Reading Goal (Power Play)

Labelle (18); Reid and Hughesman (re-direct at top of the crease of tap pass from left circle)

The Royals tied the game with the first of what would prove to be four power play goals in the game. Adam Hughesman started the play from the right half-wall with a cross-ice pass to Cam Reid in the left circle. Reid drew the attention of the defenders and then slipped the puck back to the top of the crease, where Olivier Labelle angled it across the body of goaltender Travis Fullerton and into the low right corner for his eighteenth of the year.

18:02 (2-1, Reading) Reading Goal

Mullane (19); Watters and Molle (one-time bullet from above the hashmarks)

Thirty-four seconds later, the Royals took the team’s first lead of the night, when Ian Watters set one on a tee for Pat Mullane who drilled a fade-away one-timer from the high slot that bulleted by Fullerton high to the glove side for Mullane’s first of the night and nineteenth of the season.

Second Period (4-3, Reading)

13:29 (2-2, Tie) Elmira Goal (Power Play)

Wetmore (5); Seidel and McPherson (deflection of low wrister from left circle)

Elmira tied the game at two with their second power play goal of the night. Mike Seidel threw a low wrister off the top of the left circle. Riley Wetmore, who was planted to at the top of the crease redirected the puck just inside the right pipe for his fifth of the year.

13:44 (3-2, Reading) Reading Goal

Hughesman (17); Reid and Labelle (tap in from top of crease).

Fifteen seconds later the Royals re-took the lead for good. Right off the face-off to restart play, the Royals’ line of Reid, Hughesman and Labelle attacked the net. Reid ended up with the puck at the left side of crease and patiently waited for Fullerton to commit, and when he did, Reid slid the puck back up to Hughesman who was planted at the top of the crease for a wide open look which he turned into his seventeenth of the year.

14:43 (4-2, Reading) Reading Goal (Power Play)

Reid (20); Heywood (stretch pass breakaway and top shelf finish from in tight)

Fifty-nine seconds after that, the Royals stretched the lead to two with the team’s second power play goal of the game. Jordan Heywood fired a long stretch pass from just inside the defensive blue line to a breaking Cam Reid, who skated onto the pass at the offensive blue line and blew by the Elmira defenders. Reid carried to the top of the crease where, despite being extremely tight to Fullerton, he roofed a quick snap shot for his twentieth of the year.

15:29 (4-3, Reading) Elmira Goal

Stefishen (11); Tolkinen and Rashid (wrist shot from left circle that went off Reading defender skate)

The Jackals drew within one (again) on an unfortunate bounce for Reading. Elmira’s Taylor Stefishen was carrying down the left wing side and attempted to pass the puck towards the slot. The puck hit the skate blade of a Reading defender and angled up and over the left arm of Reiter for Stefishen’s eleventh of the year.

Third Period (7-3, Reading)

3:42 (5-3, Reading) Reading Goal (Power Play) (Five-on-Three)

Lamarche (6); Heywood and Hughesman (one-time bullet from the top of the left circle)

Reading regained the two goal advantage with a five-on-three power play goal early in the third. Jordan Heywood set one on a tee in the high slot for Lamarche who unleashed a bomb that caught the top right corner for his sixth of the season.

7:08 (6-3, Reading) Reading Goal (Power Play)

Mullane 2 (20); Marcou and Cruthers (rebound off the end wall punch back)

The Royals racked up the team’s fourth power play goal of the game on when Mike Marcou stepped up in the high slot and gunned a hot slap shot that went wide on the right side, but ricocheted hard off the end wall directly back into the low slot where an alert Pat Mullane punched it right back into the net for his second of the game and twentieth of the year.

18:34 (7-3, Reading) Reading Goal

Wiles (17); Sullivan and Caruso (breakaway top shelf snap shot)

Reading added insult to injury on a late game breakaway by Sean Wiles who went flying down the middle of the ice and found himself with a wide open track to the net when an Elmira defender fell down. Wiles carried to the low slot and ripped a snapper up and over Fullerton for his seventeenth of the year.

NOTES:

• The Royals scratches tonight were Andrew Johnston (f) and Matt Hatch (f).

• Tonight’s win stretched the Royals’ unbeaten streak to fourteen games (13-0-1-0).

• Reading is also riding a nine game road unbeaten streak on the road (8-0-1-0).

• Tonight’s victory pushed Reading’s record to 7-3-1-1 against Elmira this season. Reading is 13-1-1-0 at First Arena in Elmira since February of 2013.

• The team record (34-13-2-1=71) is the best record in Royals’ team history through fifty games.

• The Jackals scored first in tonight’s contest and held their only lead at 1-0, making this the fifteenth come-from-behind win of the year for Reading.

• The seven goals scored by Reading tonight tied the team season high.

• The four power play goals registered by Reading tonight tied the team season high.

• Tonight five different players recorded multi-point performances tonight: Cam Reid (1g-2a), Adam Hughesman (1g-2a), Pat Mullane (2g-0a), Olivier Labelle (1g-1a), Jordan Heywood (0g-2a). Thirteen of the sixteen skaters for Reading tonight recorded at least a point.

• Goaltender Kenny Reiter picked up his second win in two games for the Royals this season. Reading has outscored the opposition 13 – 6 with Reiter in net. (Reading has scored eight total power play goals in the games that Reiter has played for Reading.)

NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS

Reading Royals @ Kalamazoo Wings

@ Wings Stadium – Kalamazoo, MI

Friday, February 20, 2015 (7:30 pm)

NEXT UP: The Royals continue the team’s current five game road swing at Wings Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan next Friday (February 20 @ 7:30 pm et) where Reading will face the Kalamazoo Wings. As with all Royals’ road games this season, next Friday’s game will be televised live locally in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on BCTV courtesy of Boscov’s Travel and Apple Vacations. The game night broadcast for next Friday’s matchup 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 Time. 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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