Game 34 Preview: Brampton at Reading

Royals start home 3-in-3 vs. Beast        

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (17-14-2-0, 36 pts., 3rd North) start a five-game home stand and look to spike the Brampton Beast (14-13-1-2, 31 pts., 5th North) Friday at 7:00 p.m. Reading also plays home games Saturday and Sunday against Worcester. Saturday’s game is already close to a sell-out and fans get tickets by visiting royalshockey.com, ticketmaster.com or calling 610-898-7825.

A reminder to fans: Jerry “The King” Lawler has rescheduled his appearance due to inclement weather on the east coast, but “The King” has graciously rescheduled his appearance for Sun., Feb. 18 at 4:00 p.m., courtesy of Tower Health. Fans can meet The King and watch Reading battle Wheeling on Faith and Family Night, Dollar Dog Day, Slapshot T-Shirt giveaway (Bethany Children’s Home) and a postgame skate (pres. by Body Zone). Questions about this rescheduling? Call 610-898-7825 or email info@royalshockey.com.

The Royals are coming off a 2-1 overtime at Worcester and Matt Willows scored the extra-session goal with 2:20 to go. Brampton is in the sixth game of a seven-game road trip and has dropped consecutive games. The Beast are 2-3-0-0 entering the last weekend of the trip.

Reading is two points behind Adirondack for second in the North Division.

Including tonight, some of Reading’s biggest home games are against Brampton. Sat., Jan. 20 is THON Night, Star Wars Jerseys and Scout Night, with the first 2,000 fans receiving a bobblehead of the Royals’ mascot Slapshot in a storm trooper costume on Star Wars Night. Sat., Feb. 17 is Pink in the Rink and Nurse Appreciation Night, with a pink knit scarf giveaway and pink ice. The biggest home game of all against Brampton is St. HatTrick’s Day on Sat., March 17 against the Beast. On the 17th, Reading retires Yannick Tifu’s #10, a Tifu poster giveaway and the WWE’s “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase will be in the house to wrestle Tifu.

Brampton won the opening two games of the nine-game season series at Powerade Center.

Krushelnyski rewarded with All-Star selectionReading Royals forward Alex Krushelnyski has been named to the North Division roster for the 2018 CCM/ECHL All-Star Classic, to be hosted by the Indy Fuel on Monday, Jan. 15 at 1 p.m. ET at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum. Krushelnyski made the 2015 ECHL All-Star with Utah, scored in the game and won the Fastest Skater Competition (13.47 seconds). He was recalled on loan to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms Dec. 11, 2017 and has been on the Phantoms’ roster for the last three weeks.

Krushelnyski is third on the Royals with ten goals and 22 points in 19 games. He has eight multi-point games this season, tied for the team lead. With Lehigh Valley, he has two assists in 12 games. This is Krushelnyski’s first season with the Flyers organization.

de Haas continues to starJames de Haas had two points (1g, 1a) in Reading’s 2-1 OT win over Worcester Wednesday. It’s his fourth career multi-point game and his third with Reading. He scored the go-ahead goal midway through the second in Wednesday’s win, dragging the puck and stuffing it by Eamon McAdam. Next, he assisted on the overtime winner by Matt Willows.

He has one goal and nine points in seven games with the Royals. Combined with his 19 Lehigh Valley games, the rookie and Clarkson graduate has two goals, 17 points and a plus-12 rating in 26 games.

Both of de Haas’ professional goals have been short-handed. His first came Nov. 24 vs. Springfield.

de Haas had four assists and a plus-five rating in Reading’s win over Jacksonville Nov. 11.

Muse dominanceJohn Muse is 3-0-0-0 since returning on loan from Lehigh Valley and made 32 saves in Wednesday’s win. He has allowed six goals. Including his time with the Phantoms, he has won four straight starts. Muse boasts a 9-3-1-0 record, 2.38 goals against average and .928 save percentage.

Scouting BramptonFriday is Brampton’s first game in the new calendar year and the Beast finished 2017 with a 2-1 loss to Cincinnati on New Year’s Eve. Leading scorer Brandon Marino (27 points) was held without a point. He has two goals and three points in his last eight games. In the previous eight contests, Marino had 12 points.

David Vallorani started the season in Sweden but came back to Brampton in December and is tied for a team-best seven points (3 goals) over the last month. He was fifth in the league with 52 assists and 83 points last season. As a rookie in 2012-13, he won the Kelly Cup with the Royals and was named to league’s all-rookie team with 59 points.

Andrew D’Agostini last played December 16 despite winning his last three starts. The returning netminder has a 5-2-0-1 record, 3.09 goals against average and .899 save percentage in eight games. Five netminders have played for the Beast.

Head-to-Head seriesThe Royals allowed three goals in the third period to the Beast in a 5-4 loss Nov. 19. Alex Krushelnyski scored two goals in the first 7:30 of the game. Steven Swavely and Michael Huntebrinker also tallied. Mark Dekanich made 30 saves on 35 shots and Marcus Hogberg won his second straight start against Reading with 23 saves (4 GA).

Hogberg, now in the AHL with Belleville, beat the Royals on consecutive games. In the first game of the series, he made his first 36 saves, but allowed a goal on the final shot of the game with five seconds left to Swavely to snap the shutout. The Beast won the game, 3-1. John Muse made 28 saves in defeat.

Brampton’s Alex Foster has three goals in the series. Brandon Marino has three assists.

Mental Health Awareness Night and Kelly Cup Puck Giveaway Jan. 6Sat., Jan 6 vs. WOR at 7 p.m.: Kelly Cup Tribute Championship puck to the first 2,000 fans courtesy of Berks-Schuylkill Oil Heat Association. Mental Health Night is presented by the Berks County Office Of Mental Health And Developmental Disabilities.

Dollar Dogs and Postgame skate Jan. 7Sun., Jan 7 vs. WOR at 4 p.m.: Dollar dog day presented by Safe Berks, Berks Packing and Coca-Cola, and a postgame skate presented by Body Zone.

Tickets to three of our biggest games for $30 – Purple and Black PackGet an autographed Royals puck and come out to three of our biggest games for just $30.- Sat., Jan. 20 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Brampton (Slapshot bobblehead giveaway, THON Night, Star Wars jerseys)- Fri., Feb. 17 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Brampton (Pink in the Rink, knit scarf giveaway)- Sat., Mar. 17 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Brampton (Yannick Tifu number retired, Meet WWE Million Dollar Man)- Sat., Mar. 24 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Worcester (Kelly Cup Tribute puck giveaway, Autism Awareness jerseys)- Sat., Apr. 7 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Norfolk (FANdemonium, fan appreciation, fan’s choice giveaway)- Call 610-898-PUCK and tickets are available here.

About the RoyalsThe Royals have been owned by serial entrepreneur Jack Gulati since 2014 and are in their 17th ECHL season. Proudly affiliated with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Reading plays in the Santander Arena, located in downtown Reading, PA at 700 Penn Street. The Royals won the Kelly Cup in 2013, have made the playoffs in eight straight seasons and are four-time division champions.

Reading Royals Mobile AppHead to the App Store and Google Play to download the new Reading Royals app on your smartphone! Stay up-to-date with team news, receive notifications and purchase tickets for your next experience at Santander Arena.

Broadcast CoverageAll Royals game can be heard on Rumba 1340 AM and the iHeartRadio app by searching “Rumba 1340”. The pregame show starts 15 minutes before puck drop. Watch Royals games on ECHL.tv. Reading away games are shown locally on BCTV.