Defenseman Mike Marcou Loaned from Lehigh Valley to Reading

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, today announced that defenseman Mike Marcou, who was signed by the Flyers to an American Hockey League contract earlier today, has been loaned to Reading from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the AHL.

Marcou (5’10/177) (26), a fourth year pro from Kings Park, New York, returns to North American pro hockey after beginning the season with the Graz 99ers in Austria, where he recorded six assists and sixteen penalty minutes in twenty-two games. This will mark his second stint with Reading. Last season, Marcou led all defensemen on the Royals with a career personal high thirty-five points (6g-29a) in sixty-four games with the team, which placed him tied for twenty-first in defensemen scoring in the league. Marcou also led all defensemen on the Royals last year with eighteen power play points (2g-16a). His sixteen power play assists tied for the team lead and was fourth most amongst defensemen in the league. Marcou’s 137 shots on goal also led all defensemen on the Royals. In seven playoff games with Reading, Marcou generated five points (2g-3a) and two penalty minutes.

Last year marked the third consecutive season in which Marcou had led the defensemen on his team in scoring. In 2013-14, Marcou recorded a team-leading twenty-nine points (8g-21a) in sixty-five regular season games with the Greenville (then-) Road Warriors of the ECHL. Marcou, who was signed to an AHL deal that year by the Hartford Wolf Pack, also played two games for Hartford without registering any points or penalty minutes. Marcou added five-points (1g-4a) in eighteen post-season games for the Road Warriors, who advanced all the way to the ECHL’s 2014 Eastern Conference Finals before being eliminated by the Cincinnati Cyclones.

In his rookie season, 2012-13, Marcou led Greenville defensemen with twenty-five points (6g-19a) in fifty-four games for the Road Warriors. In January of that season, Marcou was selected to represent Greenville at the 2013 ECHL All-Star Classic in Loveland, Colorado, on a team that was led by the Royals’ Head Coach Larry Courville. That year, Marcou also logged a pair of AHL games with the San Antonio Rampage. In playoffs that year, Marcou played one post-season game in the Road Warriors’ Eastern Conference Quarterfinal first round series against Reading, which the eventual Kelly Cup Champion Royals won four games to one.

In 211 career pro games, Marcou has registered ninety-five points (20g-75a) and ninety-penalty minutes. In twenty-six career pro post-season games, he has ten points (3g-7a) and twenty-four penalty minutes.

Prior to turning pro, Marcou played four seasons at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. In his sophomore season, he was selected as the team’s co-Most Improved Player, and in his final year with the Minutemen, Marcou was second in scoring amongst defensemen on the team with twenty-one points (6g-15a) in thirty-four games. In 117 games for UMass-Amherst, Marcou recorded forty-three points (17g-26a) and seventy-seven penalty minutes.

The Royals return to action on Friday (December 18 @ 7:00 pm) at Santander Arena in Reading where the team will face the Elmira Jackals. On Friday, the Royals will wear the Ugly Sweater Jerseys and the organization will give away a pretzel tree ornament to the first 2000 fans courtesy of Toys for Tots. Friday’s game night broadcast 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. 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.