Royals Notch Fortieth Win of the Year in Brampton, 6-3

Teams     Per: 1          2          3

REA:              1          2          3= 6 

BRM:             1          2          0= 3

Records

REA: 40-16-4-2=86 (2nd East Division)

BRM: 21-37-3-0=45 (7th Central Division)

Goaltenders

REA:  Ouellette (win) (25/28)

BRM: DeMelo (loss) 3-4-0-0 (19/24) (45:26)

            Van Buskirk (ND) (5/5) (13:33)

Power Play:

REA: 1-7

BRM: 1-7

Brampton, ON – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­win, 40-16-4-2=86) 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 Brampton Beast (loss, 21-37-3-0=45), 6-3, at Powerade Centre in Brampton, Ontario.

For the second time in three games, Reading scored on the team’s first shot (by defenseman Bryant Molle) and got six goals from six different players (three of them defensemen) to record the Royals’ fortieth win of the year—and first win ever in team history in Canada. Despite the three goal margin of victory, this one was anything but easy, as the Beast battled back after falling behind early to take a 2-1 lead. Reading threw a counter-punch of their own on a power play goal by Michael Caruso and the twentieth of the year by David Marshall (3-2) midway into the second, only to have Brampton get off the canvas throw their own counter-punch to re-tie the game at three on a late second period four-on-four breakaway for Bobby Hughes. But in the third, the Royals came alive again—getting the game winner off the stick of Adam Hughesman early on the period after a face-off battle and then adding an insurance goal by defenseman Brett Flemming and an empty-netter by Kevin Walrod to reach the twenty-win plateau on the road for the fifth straight year.

First Period (1-1, Tie)

0:53 (1-0, Reading) Reading Goal

Molle (2); Watters and Marshall (snap shot from left point)

For the second time in three games, Reading struck on the team’s first shot—again by a defenseman (d-man Jordan Heywood did it in last Sunday’s 6-1 win over Kalamazoo)—when an aggressive first-shift forecheck by former Brampton Battalion player Ian Watters freed the puck to the left point where Bryant Molle threw a seeing-eye snapper toward the net that buzzed by goaltender Ryan DeMelo for Molle’s second of the season—and first ever non-empty net goal in 183 games with the Royals.

17:42 (1-1, Tie) Brampton Goal (Power Play)

Wild (9); Lyon and Ling (inadvertent punch in from left side of crease)

After the Royals penalty killers had knocked off fifty-seven seconds of five-on-three for Brampton earlier in the period, the Beast tied the game at one on their third power play chance of the night when Brett Lyon carried around the Royals’ net left-to-right and slid a pass into the crease from the below the goal line. Cal Wild came crashing into the crease, looking for Lyon’s pass, but it appeared that the puck hit the left shin-pad of Wild, causing the puck to hop up and over the extended right pad of goaltender Martin Ouellette for his ninth of the year.

Second Period (3-3, Tie)

3:21 (2-1, Brampton) Brampton Goal

Fawcett (12); Dale and McCready (multi-shot rebound punch back from just off the top of the crease)

Reading got off to a lethargic start in the second that back-fired when a less-than-stellar effort to get the puck out of the defensive zone, allowed the Beast to gain possession deep in the left corner, and then slip the puck to the right point where defenseman Matt McCready was waiting with all sorts of open ice staring him in the face. McCready took the ice, carried to the mid-slot and drilled a low, hard shot that Ouellette kicked out with his right pad. The rebound fell directly to Jason Dale at the top of the crease. Ouellette rejected Dale’s bid, too; but the second rebound slipped farther out to Tyson Fawcett, who was able to snipe the puck up and over Ouellette who was prone on the ice for Fawcett’s twelfth of the year—and third in four games against Reading.

7:42 (2-2, Tied) Reading Goal (Power Play)

Caruso (3); Cruthers and Marshall (slap shot from right circle)

The Royals tied the game on their third power play chance of the night after a long sequence of puck possession in the offensive zone, which ended when the team worked it around the horn into the right circle where Michael Caruso drilled a one-time slap shot that DeMelo was able to knock down; but the puck fell free to right side of the crease, where multiple players crashed in looking for the loose change, and it was Caruso’s stick that nicked it across the goal line for his third of the year.

16:25 (3-2, Reading) Reading Goal

Marshall (20); Alderson and Ouellette (snap shot from the right circle)

Reading re-took the lead on the twentieth of the year for David Marshall. Goaltender Martin Ouellette started a rush that resulted in the puck sliding into the right corner in Brampton’s zone. Brandon Alderson tracked the loose puck and slipped a pass back up into the right circle where David Marshall set for a hot bullet over the right arm of DeMelo to become the fifth different Royal to reach the twenty goal plateau this year.

18:36 (3-3, Tied) Brampton Goal (Four-on-Four)

Hughes (12); McCready (breakaway backhand-forehand five-hole)

Brampton tied things back up on a four-on-four breakaway. Reading put the pedal for the medal in an effort to extend the team’s lead—and things back-fired when Matt McCready gained possession just inside the defensive zone blue line and fired a three-zone pass to a wide open Bobby Hughes, who was way off to the races. Hughes didn’t waste the chance, going backhand-forehand with multiple stickhandling moves which opened up Ouellette’s five-hole as he cut right-to-left across the top of the crease and slipped it home for his twelfth of the year.

Third Period (6-3, Reading)

2:20 (4-3, Reading) Reading Goal

Hughesman (20); Labelle and Mullane (cut across the top of the crease and stuff the puck home)

Reading turned an offensive zone face-off into the game winning goal, when Pat Mullane and Olivier Labelle attacked a loose puck after a face-off in the right circle. As Brampton’s defenders converged towards the loose puck, as well, the puck was forced free, sending it sliding towards the low slot, where Adam Hughesman collected the puck, cut across the top of the crease, reached around DeMelo and stuffed it in to become the sixth different Royal to reach the twenty-goal plateau.

5:26 (5-3, Reading) Reading Goal

Flemming (5); Johnston (snap shot from left point)

The Royals notched some insurance off another offensive zone face-off win. This one was in the left circle and won by centerman Andrew Johnston, who pulled the puck back to the left point where Brett Flemming, who (as with Bryant Molle earlier in the game) snapped another seeing-eye wrister—this one buzzing by high on the glove side for Flemming’s fifth of the year.

19:01 (6-3, Reading) Reading Goal (Empty Net)

Walrod (8); Mullane (shot from eighty feet)

Reading notched an empty-netter with 58.5 seconds left when Mullane forced a neutral zone turnover that gave Kevin Walrod a relatively clear look at the empty net from eighty feet—and Walrod didn’t miss.

NOTES:

• The Royals scratches tonight were Matt Hatch (f) and Zach Davies (d) (21-day injured reserve).

• With tonight’s win, the Royals pushed the team’s record to a season best twenty-four games over .500 (40-16-4-2=86). The remains in second place in the East Division.

• Reading has compiled a record of 3-2-2-0 in the team’s last seven games; 7-3-3-1 in the last fourteen; 19-3-3-1 in the last twenty-six; and 31-8-3-1 in the last forty-three.

• Tonight’s win pushed the Royals’ record against Brampton to 2-1-1-0 with one more game to be played between the two teams on Sunday (March 22 @ 2:00 pm) at Powerade Center.

• This was the Royals first win ever on Canadian soil.

• With this win, the Royals have reached the forty-win plateau for the third straight season; the fourth time in the last five years; and the sixth time in team history.

• Reading also reached the twenty-road-win plateau for the fifth straight season—and the sixth time in team history.

• Reading’s “magic number” to clinch a playoff spot in the East Division currently sits at one with respect to the Greenville Road Warriors and two with respect to the Elmira Jackals.

• Tonight’s win pushed the Royals’ record 27-4-0-2 when scoring the game’s first goal.

• Reading entered the third period in a 3-3 tie with the Beast. The Royals have compiled a record of 10-3-2-0 when entering the third period tied with the opposition.

• Tonight’s game marked the Royals’ eighteenth come-from-behind win of the year for Reading.

• This game marked the ninth time this year that Reading has scored six or more goals in a single game (8-1-0-0).

• Bryant Molle’s (1g-0a) goal tonight was second goal of the season (and second as a Royal)—but the first goal he has scored that wasn’t an empty-netter. It came in his 183rd game with the team.

• Michael Caruso’s (1g-0a) goal was his third of the season—and his first power play goal of the year.

• David Marshall (1g-2a) and Adam Hughesman (1g-0a) each reached the twenty-goal plateau tonight to become the fifth and six players, respectively, this season to score twenty or more this season (joining Cam Reid, Olivier Labelle, Sean Wiles, and Pat Mullane). That marks the first time in team history that Reading has had six different players reach the twenty-goal plateau in one season.

• Hughesman’s goal tonight proved to be his second game winner of the year.

• Pat Mullane (0g-2a) registered his team leading eighteenth multi-point game of the season tonight.

• Defenseman Brett Flemming has nine points (2g-7a) in his last ten games.

• Kevin Walrod is riding a three-game goal scoring streak (3g-1a=4pts).

• Ryan Cruthers (0g-1a) recorded his team-leading twentieth power play point of the season tonight (5g-15a).

• Goaltender Martin Ouellette snapped his personal two-game losing streak with his twenty-five save win this evening.

NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS

Reading Royals @ Brampton Beast

@ Powerade Centre – Brampton, ON Canada

Sunday, March 22, 2015 (2:00 pm)

NEXT UP: The Royals and Beast finish out the three-game set and the five-game season series this Sunday (March 22 @ 2:00 pm) when the two teams will meet up again at Powerade Centre in Brampton, Ontario. The game day broadcast for Sunday’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 1:30 pm Eastern Time. As with all Royals’ road games, Sunday’s game will be televised 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.

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