Royals Stymie Stingrays to Snap Skid, 3-1

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Teams     Per: 1          2          3

SC:                  0         0          1=1     

REA:              0         2          1=3

Records

SC: 20-23-2-1 = 43 (3rd South Division)

REA: 17-14-2-3 = 39 (4th East Division)

Goaltenders

SC:  Komm (LOSS) Record (24/26)

REA: Ouellette (WIN) 7-5-0-0 (37/38)

Power Play:

SC: 0-5

REA: 2-6

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­Win, 17-14-2-3 = 39) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, defeated the South Carolina Stingrays (Loss, 20-13-2-1 = 43) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League, 3-1, at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania.

In a game that witnessed eleven combined power plays, the Royals were able to convert on two of their chances, as they ended a three-game losing streak and took the rubber match of a three-game regular season series against the South Carolina Stingrays, 3-1. South Carolina struggled to generate scoring chances early on, but ended up totaling thirty-eight shots on net, and Royals’ goaltender Martin Ouellette was not fazed. Ouellette stopped thirty-seven of those shots putting his team in a prime position for a victory. The power play goals proved to be enough, although the team iced things with an 190 empty netter by Adam Comrie with 16.8 seconds left.

In a three-in-there Sunday matinee, the Royals sought to start fast and put the stingy Stingrays team on their heels. The two sides fought to a scoreless first frame that saw Reading outshoot South Carolina, 8-4. Martin Ouellette started his fifth game in a row and was successful when called upon, but was backed with an outstanding early defensive effort, holding the Stingrays to only four shots on net. South Carolina were assessed a hooking minor at the 14:49 mark and a tripping minor at the 17:15 mark giving Reading a pair of power plays, but the Royals could not capitalize on either.

The first half of the second period was filled with power play chances, causing the concomitant scoring chances to flourish. Midway into the period, the Royals kept the course and found themselves with a 5-on-3 advantage which helped them push the offensive pressure. South Carolina gained a man back but, Mike Marcou ripped a shot in the direction of Stingrays goaltender Branden Komm. Justin Crandall interjected, jarring the puck free and creating a Cam Reid goal-scoring opportunity at 12:37. Reid, who was returned to the Royals today from the Hershey Bears of the AHL, didn’t waste the chance, swiping home his tenth goal of the season put the Royals in front, 1-0. The assists were awarded to Marcou and Crandall.

South Carolina’s somewhat undisciplined play continued throughout the period when a cross-checking penalty at 15:46 of the second period, once again, gave the Royals a man advantage. The Royals won the ensuing face-off in the SoCo zone. Adam Comrie slipped a pass at the point to Mike Marcou, and the ensuing Marcou missile was rejected by Komm, but the rebound fell directly to Crandall was in the right place stashing the loose puck in the Stingrays net, ten seconds into the power play. Crandall picked up his first goal of the New Year and tenth on the season with the effort. The assist gave Marcou his second of the game and Comrie’s assist registered his thirty-third point of the season, leading all ECHL defensemen.

Exactly fifty minutes passed before South Carolina could crack Ouellette, who was brilliant throughout the game. Ryan Ruikka ripped a low bullet from the slot that Ouellette rejected with the left pad. But the puck fell in front of the pad and before Ouellette could adjust and cover, Colin Mulvey swept in and buried his eleventh of the year.

Down the stretch, South Carolina pulled out the lunch pails and peppered the Reading net in the attempt to tie the contest. The final gasp came after a scramble at the right side of the net, which ended when Ouellette poked the loose puck to Adam Comrie found, who launched  it the length of the ice, planting it in the back of the net at 19:43 of the third period to register his team-leading twelfth multi-point game (1g-1a) of the year.

Next up for the Royals, the team will venture north and combat division foe, the Elmira Jackals (January 15, 2016 @ 7:05 pm) for the ninth time this season. To this point, the Royals and Jackals have each taken four games in the regular season series. Friday night’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. As with all road games for the Royals, Friday’s game will be televised locally 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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