Royals Post Second Straight Shutout Over Elmira, 4-0

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Teams     Per: 1          2          3

REA:              1          0          3=4

ELM:              0          0          0=0

Records

REA: 14-11-1-2 = 31 (4th East Division)

ELM: 18-11-0-0 = 36 (t-2nd East Division)

Goaltenders

REA: Morrison (win) 5-5-1-1 (45/45)

ELM: Lundstrom (loss) 8-2-0-0 (16/20) (44:37)

Motte (ND) (5/5) (14:54)

Power Play:

REA: 2-3

ELM: 0-5

Elmira, NY – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­win, 14-11-1-2=31) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, defeated the Elmira Jackals (loss, 18-11-0-0=36), affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL, 4-0, at First Arena in Elmira, New York.

In the return to action after a week off, the Royals picked up right where they left off before going on the holiday break—shutting out the Elmira Jackals, tonight by a score of 4-0. As with the 2-0 win last Saturday in Reading, goaltender Adam Morrison, who has put together 120 minutes of scoreless hockey, was a primary part of the story, making all forty-five saves he was called upon to make to rack up his third shutout of the year. On the offensive side, defenseman Adam Comrie bagged the game winner in the first and added a power play goal in the third to push his league-leading (amongst defenseman in the ECHL) totals to twelve goals and twenty-six points. Justin Crandall also bagged a couple in the third period (and picked up an assist on another) to push his totals to twenty-seven points (9g-18a) in twenty-two games.

Reading got all they would need 12:23 into the first period shortly after Mike Marcou got a look from the top of the right circle that sent the Elmira defense scrambling. Ian Watters retrieved off the left half-wall and set one on a tee for Comrie from the left point. Comrie uncorked a rocket that blew by goaltender Niklas Lundstrom for his eleventh of the year.

After a scoreless second, Reading struck thirty-three seconds into the third. Right off the face-off to start play in the final frame, the Jackals quickly attacked and created a wild scramble in the Royals’ defensive zone. The Royals dodged that bullet and got the puck into the Elmira end, where the Jackals coughed one up at their defensive blue line to Crandall, who picked off the puck, stepped up and ripped a bullet low blocker on Lundstrom to stretch the lead to 2-0.

Moments later, Reading got a bit of a break when simultaneous minor penalties—one for slashing and the other for too many men on the ice—were assessed against the Jackals 4:12 into the third. Reading capitalized on both ends of the ensuing five-on-three.

Fifteen seconds into the two-man advantage, Comrie drilled another hot rocket from the high slot by Lundstrom for his second of the night. Twenty-seconds after that Crandall got his second of the night, after a beautiful rush was executed into the offensive zone by Cam Reid and Robbie Czarnik. Crandall carried deep down the left side, got in tight at a sharp angle, and quickly snapped a bar-down bullet up and over Lundstrom for his ninth of the year.

Elmira continued to attack and had twenty-one seconds of five-on-three of their own, but the Reading defense and Morrison pulled together, hunkered down, and held on for the team’s fifth shutout of the year.

Reading continues a four game road trip to close out Calendar Year 2015 by traveling north to Brampton, Ontario, for the first time this season, where the team will face the Brampton Beast tomorrow afternoon (3:00 pm) at the Powerade Centre. The game night 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 2:30 pm Eastern Time. As with all Royals’ road games this season, 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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