Royals Long Road Trip Ends with Stumble Down the Stretch in Wheeling, 4-1

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Teams     Per: 1          2          3

REA:              0          1          0=1

WHL:             0          1          3=4

Records

REA: 6-4-0-1 = 13 (t-2, North Division)

WHL: 5-3-1-0 = 11 (t-4, North Division)

Goaltenders

REA: Dekanich (Loss, 3-3-0-1) (30/34)

WHL:  Carr (Win, 4-3-1-0) (25/26)

Power Play:

REA: 0 – 1

WHL: 1 – 2

Wheeling, WV – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­loss, 6-4-0-1 = 13) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, were defeated by the Wheeling Nailers (win, 5-3-1-0 = 11), 4-1, at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling, West Virginia.

In the first intra-divisional matchup for the Royals in some twenty-one days, the Royals played a back-and-forth tightly held battle with the Nailers for about 45 minutes until Wheeling broke away down the stretch bagging three goals and handing Reading the team’s second consecutive loss. This game completed an eight game road trip for the Royals, who ended up 4-3-0-1 in the season-long roadie.

After an energetic, but scoreless first period, things got heated up relatively quickly into second period when Christian Hilbrich dug a loose puck out behind the Royals net and as he was being knocked to the ice slipped the puck back up to the left side of the Royals’ crease where Wheeling’s Adam Krause had the inside track for the punch home forty seconds into the period for his first of the season in his first game with the team.

Reading answered back forty-three seconds later, when Justin Crandall carried down the right wing side and ripped a hot snapper from deep in the circle that Wheeling goaltender Doug Carr kicked out with his right pad. But the rebound went right up the gut of the slot, where Robbie Czarnik was prepared for a quick one-time snapper that proved to be his fourth of the year.

Wheeling broke the 1-1 tie 5:15 into the third when defenseman Brett Stern took a shot from the right point that ricocheted off the shin pad of Reading’s Ian Watters, which served to redirect the puck to Jordan Kwas who was pretty much all alone in a soft spot low in the left side of the slot where he was able to swipe the puck home for his fourth of the year.

Wheeling got a little insurance late in their second power play chance of the night half-way into the final frame. After a long sequence of offensive zone puck possession, during which Reading kept the Nailer PP pretty much on the perimeter, Josh Shalla gained possession deep on the right side made a move towards the net and took a sharp-angled snapper low and along the ice that slipped under and through Reading goaltender Mark Dekanich at the 10:16 mark of the third. For Shalla, it was his seventh of the season. With that goal, the Royals have now given up at least one power play goal in ten of the eleven games the team has played this year.

The Nailers added insult to injury with 2:33 left in regulation when Nick Sorkin won a face-off in the right circle of the offensive zone. The puck slid to the interior portion of that circle where Derek Army took a quick swipe sending the puck up and over the left arm of Dekanich on the short-side of the net. But that was more than the Nailers would need in this one to hand the Royals to back-to-back regulation losses for the first time this season.

NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12 (@ 7:00 PM) v MANCHESTER MONARCHS

VETERANS – ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY APPRECIATION NIGHT

Army – Navy Game @ 2:00 pm (One Ticket Gains Admission to Both Games)

Rally Towel Giveaway Courtesy of UGI

Team Wears Veteran-Themed Specialty Jerseys

Post-Game Auction to Benefit Local Veterans Causes

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13 (@ 5:00 PM) v ATLANTA GLADIATORS

SONIC SUNDAY FAMILY FUN GAME

Four Tickets – Four Hats – Four Combo Meals – For Just $44.00!

ROYALS BROADCAST

AUDIO: iHeartRadio – Rumba 1340 in Reading

TELEVISION: Royals’ Road Games are televised locally in Berks County, Pennsylvania

on BCTV, which Can Found at Comcast Reading Cable Channel 15,

Service Electric Cable Channel 19, Comcast Southern Berks Channel 965

Courtesy of Boscov’s Travel and Apple Vacations

STREAMING VIDEO: ECHL.TV powered by NeuLion (Pay-Per-View)

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