Royals Go Perfect for Indianapolis with 3-2 Win Over Fuel

Teams     Per: 1          2          3

REA:              0          2          1= 3 

IND:               0          0          2= 2

Records

REA: 42-17-4-2=90 (2nd East Division)

IND:   26--29-4-5=61 (6th North Division)

Goaltenders

REA:  Ouellette (win) 16-8-1-1 (40/42)

IND: Owen (loss) 13-16-1-1 (25/28)

Power Play:

REA: 0-3

IND: 1-5

Indianapolis, IN – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­win, 42-17-4-2=90) 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, 26-29-4-5=61), 3-2, at Indiana Farmers Coliseum on the Indiana State Fairgrounds in Indianapolis, Indiana.

In the fourth and final trip of the season to Indianapolis, Indiana, the Royals pushed the team’s record to a perfect 4-0-0-0 at Indiana Farmers Coliseum with another nail-biter against the Fuel. Indy came out storming, which was reflected in the 20-3 first period shot advantage for Fuel, but Reading held on by their finger-tips to get out of the first period in a scoreless tie, despite a five-minute major power play for Indy to close out the period. In the second, the Royals showed a bit more jump and bagged a couple of goals to take a 2-0 advantage into the third. The Fuel pushed back hard in the final frame and finally broke through on Martin Ouellette, who was the game’s first star, mid-way into the period; but Reading rebuilt the two-goal advantage with a late game goal by defenseman Brett Flemming—who has four goals in his last six games. Indy didn’t give up and got a late-game pulled-goaltender power play goal to make it a one goal game; but Reading held on to stretch the team’s road unbeaten streak to six straight (4-0-2-0).

First Period (0-0, Tie)

NO SCORING

Indy, who are battling for their playoff life, came charging from the opening face-off and put the Royals on their heels for virtually the entire twenty minutes. The 20-3 shot differential accurately reflected the tilt of the ice towards the Royals’ defensive zone. That tilt became particularly steep at the fifteen minute mark of the first when Reading’s Andrew Johnston picked up a fighting major (among other penalties) with no corresponding fighting major assessed against the Fuel, which resulted in a five minute major power play for Indy. However, Reading was able to hold onto the scoreless tie through the buzzer at the end of the first.

Second Period (2-0, Reading)

1:41 (1-0, Reading) Reading Goal

Labelle (26); Lamarche (deflection of shot from right point)

Reading struck early in the second on the team-leading twenty-sixth of the year for Olivier Labelle. Indy gained possession in the defensive zone and sought to clear it up the glass and out, but defenseman Maxim Lamarche made a great keep with the glove at the right point. Lamarche was able to quickly settle the puck to his stick and fire a low hard shot towards the net, which was deftly nicked by Labelle on the way in, causing it to slip between the legs of goaltender Shane Owen for Labelle’s ninth goal in his last sixteen games.

9:59 (2-0, Reading) Reading Goal

Heywood (9); Watters (slap shot from high slot)

The Royals stretched the lead to two with a bullet from the high slot by Jordan Heywood that rocketed by everyone including Owen, who may have been screened on the play. The goal was Heywood’s ninth of the season, which leads all defensemen on the team.

Third Period (3-2, Reading)

8:10 (2-1, Reading) Indy Goal

Schneider (2); Bruneteau and Franzon (rebound after a save on a breakaway opportunity)

The Fuel finally solved goaltender Martin Ouellette, when Indy d-man Nick Bruneteau drove down the middle of the ice, walked around a Reading defender and broke in all alone on Ouellette, who answered with a great left pad save. However, the puck kicked directly back to the low slot, where a trailing Peter Schneider punched it home for his second in three games played for the Fuel.

15:35 (3-1, Reading) Reading Goal

Flemming (7); Watters (slap shot from right circle)

Reading rebuilt the two-goal advantage—and got what proved to be the game winner—on another shot from the point. This one came after a face-off win by Ian Watters and with heavy traffic out of in front of the Indy net creating problems for Owen. Defenseman Brett Flemming settled and fired from the right point, and after buzzing by several players rumbling in the low slot, the puck caught the upper left corner of the net for Flemming’s seventh of the season.

19:41 (3-2, Reading) Indy Goal (Power Play)

Bembridge (26); Jones (rebound tap in after mad scramble around the net)

With 18.2 seconds remaining in regulation, the Fuel made it a one-goal nail biter on a pulled-goaltender sixth attacker power play goal. Defenseman Nick Jones fired a shot from the high slot that Ouellette knocked down with his catching glove. The puck fell in the blue paint and a wild scramble ensued which ended when Garrett Bembridge found it in the pile and slipped it across the goal line. But that would be it for the Fuel, as Reading ran the team’s overall record to 6-0-0-0 against Indy with two more games to be played between the two teams.

NOTES:

• The scratches for the Royals tonight were Zach Davies (d) (21-Day Injured Reserve); Matt Hatch (f); and Bryant Molle (d).

• Tonight’s win pushed the Royals record back to a season-best twenty-five games over .500 (42-17-4-2=90).

• With tonight’s victory, Reading reached the ninety-point plateau for the third straight year; the fourth time in the last five seasons; and the sixth time in team history.

• The victory stretched the team’s unbeaten streak on the road to six straight games (4-0-2-0).

• This was the twenty-second road victory of the season for Reading (22-6-4-0), which ties the team record. The Royals won 22 on the road in 2010-11 and 2013-14 (22-12-1-1).

• Tonight’s win pushed the Royals record to 6-0-0-0 against the Fuel with two more games to go between the two teams on April 10 and 11—which will be the final regular season games for both clubs. Reading compiled a perfect 4-0-0-0 record against the Fuel in their first season in the ECHL at Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana.

• The Royals have compiled a record of 29-4-0-2 when scoring the game’s first goal this season.

• Olivier Labelle notched the first goal of the game tonight. That was his fourth ‘first goal’ of the year and his team-leading twenty-sixth of the season, which is one short of Labelle’s career best of 27, which he notched for Reading in 2011-12.

• Defenseman Jordan Heywood scored his ninth goal of the year tonight, which leads all defenseman on the team. He is the leading scoring rookie for the Royals with twenty-two points (9g-13a) in forty-five games with the team.

• Defenseman Brett Flemming stretched his point streak to four games (3g-1q) with his first game winner of the season tonight. Flemming, who has four goals in his last six games, has recorded at least one point in ten of his last thirteen games (4g-9a=13pts).

• Ian Watters (0g-2a) recorded his third multi-point performance of the season tonight.

• Tonight’s 94 penalty minutes between the two teams was a season-high for any game played by Reading this season. The Royals racked up a season high 52 penalty minutes (which included three fighting majors) tonight.

NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS

Reading Royals v Wheeling Nailers

@ WesBanco Arena – Wheeling, WV

Saturday, March 28, 2015 (7:35 pm Eastern Time)

NEXT UP: The Royals continue a late-season five-game road trip tomorrow (Saturday, March 28 @ 7:35 pm Eastern) at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia, where the Royals will face the Wheeling Nailers for the eleventh time this year. The game night broadcast for Saturday’s matchup with the Nailers 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. As with all road games this season, Saturday’s game will be televised live locally 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 03-27