Royals Sign Defenseman Rich Botting to ATO

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, today announced that the team has signed defenseman Rich Botting to an Amateur Tryout Agreement.

Botting (6’0/181) (22), who hails from Binghamton, New York, just completed his senior season at SUNY-Plattsburgh, where he led all defensemen on the team with twenty-one points (3g-18a) in twenty-seven games. Botting, who was selected to the State University of New York Athletic Conference First Team at the conclusion of the regular season, helped the Cardinals make it all the way to the SUNYAC Conference Championship before getting knocked off by SUNY-Geneseo in the finals. In ninety-five career collegiate games, Botting recorded thirty-four points (11g-33a=44pts) and sixty-nine penalty minutes.

The Royals return to action tonight (Friday, March 11 @ 7:00 pm) when the team visits Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, to face the top team in the East Division, the Manchester Monarchs. Friday night’s matchup can be heard live on CBS SportsRadio 1240 AM and 98.5 FM in Reading, Pennsylvania, starting with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 6:30 pm Eastern Time. Friday’s game will also 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 or on bctv.org.  For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.