Royals Close Out 2016 with 5-2 Win in Adirondack

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Teams     Per: 1          2          3

REA:              0          2          3=5

ADK:              0          1          1=2

Records

REA: 18-11-1-1 = 38 (3, North Division)

ADK: 15-8-3-2 = 35 (4, North Division)

Goaltenders

REA: Fielding (Win, 3-0-0-0) (40/42)

ADK:  McDonald (Loss, 9-6-1-2) (21/24) (2 ENG)

Power Play:

REA: 2 – 5

ADK: 1 – 5

Glens Falls, NY – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­Win, 18-11-1-1 = 38) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, defeated by Adirondack Thunder (Loss, 15-8-2-3 = 35), 5-2, at Glens Falls Civic Center in Glens Falls, New York.

In the final game of Calendar Year 2016, the Royals struck first and never trailed, getting a couple of critical power play goals, and ultimately pulling away in the third period with a pair of empty netters to stretch the team’s current win streak to four and push the team’s record to seven games over .500 for the first time this season. Goaltender Drew Fielding continued his strong play, making forty-two saves in his return performance to Glens Falls.

After a tight and scoreless first period, things opened up with a vengeance in the second and the Royals hit paydirt 2:38 into the period when Chris McCarthy and Justin Crandall, who would end up with four assists in the game, worked a give-and-go through the left circle, which ended when McCarthy took a return feed low on the left side and slipped the puck back into the slot, where Olivier Labelle came charging in and fired a snap shot behind goaltender Mason MacDonald for his thirteenth of the year.

The Royals took a 2-0 lead on the team’s first power play chance of the night 7:27 into the second when Robbie Czarnik set one on a tee in the mid-slot for Florian Iberer, who was playing in his 800th career game, and he ripped a hot bullet that McDonald got a chunk of, but not enough to keep it above the goal line for Iberer’s seventh of the year.

1:10 later, Adirondack bounced back with a power play goal of their own when Patch Alber drilled one from the high slot that goaltender Drew Fielding kicked out with the right pad. The rebound fell to the left side of the crease where Ty Loney slipped it back through for his twelfth of the season.

Reading’s power play answered with a critical—and what proved to be game winning—goal 11:57 into the third period when Robbie Czarnik charged down the left wing side and chipped one across the body and up and over the extended left pad of McDonald for his tenth of the year.

From there, the Royals played a solid defensive style to protect the two goal advantage, which they extended to three with an empty netter by Matt Willows with 2:25 left in regulation. Adirondack drew back within two (at 4-2) twenty-eight seconds later with a point blank bullet by Gunnar Hughes. But Reading regained the three-goal advantage fifty-one seconds later with a second empty-netter—this one by Chris McCarthy for his thirteenth of the year.

NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS

FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2017

v ADIRONDACK THUNDER

@ SANTANDER ARENA – READING, PA

FLYERS’ FRIDAY WITH PHILADELPHIA LEGEND BILL CLEMENT

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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