Royals Drop Third in a Row, 5-1 to Manchester

Click Here for Box Score

Teams     Per: 1          2          3

MAN:             1          1          3=5

REA:              0          1          0=1

Records

MAN: 33-20-7-4=77 (3, North Division)

REA: 36-24-2-2=76 (4, North Division)

Goaltenders

MAN: Flinn (Win, 3-2-1-0) (35/36)

REA: Ouellette (Loss, 14-13-0-1) (22/26) (1 eng)

Power Play:

MAN: 0-0

REA: 0-3

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­loss, 36-24-2-2=76) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, were defeated by the Manchester Monarchs (win, 33-20-7-4=77), 5-1, at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania.

For the third straight game, the Royals gave up the game’s first goal and were never able to muster a comeback despite out-shooting and out-chancing the opposition. Tonight it was the Manchester Monarchs and goaltender Jack Flinn who kept Reading at bay and pulled away with a three-goal third period to leap frog the Royals into third place in the North Division. The loss also served to drop the Royals to 2-7-1-0 in the final game of the ten game season series between the two teams.

Despite a flurry first period offensive chances for the Royals, it was the Monarchs who struck first 17:17 into the opening frame when Rihards Burkharts carried into the offensive zone and backed the Royals’ defenders down. Ultimately, Teddy Doherty settled and stepped up from the left point and threaded a low seeing-eye wrister through a sea of legs in front of goaltender Martin Ouellette who appeared to get a chunk of the shot but not enough to keep it above the goal line.

Reading continued the team’s offensive push in the second, but it was Manchester who struck paydirt, while the Royals got turned back on several point blank looks. 7:06 into the period, a careless turnover at the defensive blue line led to a steal by Daniel Doremus, who carried down the slot and ripped a thirty-five footer that beat Ouellette low blocker to make it 2-0.

1:23 later, the Royals bounced back and finally solved Flinn—who has made 75 saves on the last 78 shots the Royals have taken on him. Defenseman Florian Iberer slipped a perfectly placed diagonal down pass from the top of the left circle to the low mid-slot where Steven Swavely, who was playing in his first game as a Royal since February 9, had a wide open look. Swavely didn’t waste the chance quickly snapping the puck into the gaping right side of the net for his thirteenth of the year.

The Monarchs stuck a dagger in the Royals’ collective heart 5:28 into the third period, when Doremus slid a puck from below Reading’s goal line to the top of the crease, where it appeared that two Royals had a chance to clear the puck out of harm’s way, but failed. Instead, Manchester’s Joey Diamond stole and chipped the puck up and over Ouellette’s left pad for his twenty-first of the year.

Diamond stretched the lead to 4-1 with a similar goal 14:53 into the third. Again a pass from below the goal line—this one by Wade Murphy—found Diamond at the top of the crease—this time, he was wide open for an easy slam dunk and his second of the year.

The Monarchs tacked on a late-game empty netter by Kevin Morris; but that goal just served to add insult to injury and pushed the Monarchs goal differential in the ten game season series against Reading to 37 – 23.

NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS

FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2017

v Adirondack Thunder

Santander Arena – Reading, PA (7:00 pm)

Flyers Friday with Philly Legend Brad Marsh

ROYALS BROADCAST

AUDIO: iHeartRadio – Rumba 1340 in Reading

Deibler Dental In Arena Broadcast: 99.3 fm Inside Santander Arena

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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