Forward Derek Mathers and Defenseman Jesper Pettersson Assigned to Reading

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, today announced that forward Derek Mathers and defenseman Jesper Pettersson (‘YESS per – PEET er son) have been assigned by the Flyers from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL to Reading.

This is the second stint this season in Reading for Mathers, a twenty-two year old third year pro from Strathroy, Ontario. He began the year with the Royals and played in the team’s season opening game against the South Carolina Stingrays in North Charleston, South Carolina—recording twelve penalty minutes—before being recalled to Lehigh Valley. In three games with the Phantoms this year, Mathers has registered twelve penalty minutes. In four career games with Reading over the past two seasons, Mathers has one assist and twenty-six penalty minutes.

This marks the first trip to Reading for Pettersson (5’9/189) (21), a second year pro from Stockholm, Sweden. A seventh round pick of the Flyers in 2014, Pettersson has played six games in Lehigh Valley this year recording one assist and two penalty minutes. Pettersson, who was a member of the Swedish Junior National Team that claimed the Silver Medal in the 2014 World Junior Championships Under-20 tournament, recorded seven points (2g-5a) and thirty-five penalty minutes in fifty-one games with the Phantoms in his rookie season (2014-15).

The Royals kick off a heavy span of four games in five days tonight (Wednesday, November 11 @ 7:00 pm), when the team faces the Wheeling Nailers for the first time this year at Santander Arena in Reading. Tonight, the Royals will celebrate our Wednesday Night Rivalry game with our T-Shirt Fired-Up Frenzy, when the organization will fire some 250 t-shirts into the crowd.

The game night broadcast for tonight’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 6:30 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. Remember, you can always listen to the game night broadcast inside Santander Arena on the Diebler Dental In-Arena broadcast system at 99.3 fm.

Season Tickets for the 2015-16 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.