Game 56 Preview: Reading at Orlando

First of three in the Sunshine State    

Orlando, FL – The Reading Royals (31-20-4-0, 66 pts., 3rd North), proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers, are a season-high 11 games above .500 and swing south for a battle at the Orlando Solar Bears (26-25-5-1, 58 pts., 3rd South) Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

Reading is playing the first of three straight games against the South Division; Friday the squad is at Jacksonville and Sunday the Royals rematch the Solar Bears. The Royals and Solar Bears last met Oct. 31, 2015 in Reading (5-2 ORL win). The last season series game in Orlando was at Amway Center on Apr. 4, 2015, another Solar Bears victory. Reading last defeated Orlando Apr. 12, 2014, 1-0 in a shootout to complete the 2014 regular season.

Sunday, the Royals triumphed, 2-1, in a shootout vs. Manchester. Matt Willows scored in the shootout’s fifth round and Branden Komm denied 35 shots against his former club. Komm finished March with a 5-0-0-0 record and 0.98 goals against average. With the Royals, he has wins in his first four starts and has allowed four goals.

Orlando rides a three-game winning streak into Thursday’s game and last defeated the Norfolk Admirals, 5-3, Monday.

Thursday’s broadcast starts at 6:45 p.m. on Rumba 1340, RumbaReading.com and BCTV (Channel 15 Comcast, Channel 19 Service Electric). Listen in during first intermission to the BCTV/Jimmy G’s Railroad House Trivia Question of the Night for a chance to win a gift card to Jimmy G’s.

Reading travels north to Jacksonville for the second matchup of the season against the Icemen on Fri., Mar. 2 at 7:30 p.m. On Sun., Mar. 4 at 1:45 p.m., the Royals are back in Orlando for the season-series finale at the Solar Bears. Royals Pregame starts 15 minutes before puck drop on RumbaReading.com and BCTV for all Royals road games. Check out the BCTV broadcast during first intermission for the Jimmy G’s Railroad House Trivia Question of the Night for a chance to win a gift card to Jimmy G’s.

Reading is next at home on Wed., Mar. 14 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Fort Wayne, with four players hosting a postgame photo and autograph session, courtesy of Rieck’s Printing.

Royals legend Yannick Tifu will have his #10 retired to the Diamond Credit Union Wall of Honor on Sat., Mar. 17 vs. the Brampton Beast at 7:00 p.m. Plus, meet WWE’s Million Dollar Man and celebrate St. HatTrick’s Day with the Royals, presented by Met-Ed! The first 5,000 fans will receive a Yannick Tifu poster, courtesy of Rieck’s Printing and Diamond Credit Union. The Royals will wear special St. Patrick’s Day jerseys. Tifu captained Reading to the team’s first Kelly Cup in 2013 and played in 245 Royals games, third-most in team history. Tickets are available here.

It’s over but there’s still magicMatt Willows had a 15-game point streak (9g, 17a) snapped in Sunday’s shootout victory, but scored the decisive goal in the skills competition to provide the Royals the win.

During the last 16 games, Willows has tallied two game-winning goals, plus the one in the shootout. He leads the squad in game-winning goals (5), in addition to goals (22), assists (36) and points (58).

Over the 15-game run, Willows scored in eight straight games (9g), tied for Reading’s longest streak (Joe Zappala, 2007-08). He started the streak off with assists in six straight games, also the longest mark of his career.

Coincidentally, Willows’ point streak started and ended against the Monarchs.

Linemates Matt Wilkins (9 games) and Chris McCarthy (8 games) also saw career-long point streaks end over the weekend.

The House that Tanski builtRoyals defenseman Matias Cleland and forward Scott Tanski each return to Orlando Thursday. Cleland started this season with the Solar Bears (25 GP, 1g, 2a) and Tanski played with the Solar Bears for parts of their first four seasons. The AHL’s Toronto Marlies reassigned Cleland to the Royals Dec. 29.

Tanski spent the first 152 of his 289 ECHL games with the Solar Bears and made the 2015 ECHL All-Star Classic. Reading acquired Tanski, then in his fifth professional campaign, on Dec. 1, 2015 and the forward played the rest of that season with the Royals.

A native of Athabasca, Alberta, Tanski mashed in a career-best 17 goals and 29 points during the 2013-14 season with the Solar Bears. He has scored 50 ECHL goals and 27 were with Orlando.

Solar Bears Head Coach Drake Berehowsky coached Tanski during his second professional season when Tanski skated for Orlando.

Muse rewardedLehigh Valley Phantoms goaltender John Muse signed a two-way NHL contract with the Philadelphia Flyers Monday, continuing his meteoric rise through the system. Muse began the campaign with Reading and won a career-best seven straight ECHL starts from Dec. 1-Jan. 10.

Since being recalled to the Phantoms in early Feb., Muse is 5-0-0-0 (10 GA) and boasts a 7-1-0-0 mark, 2.05 GAA and .934 save percentage.

The Komm brillianceBranden Komm is 4-0-0-0 with two shutouts to begin his Royals career, matching some of the best goaltender starts with Reading in recent memory. To start this season, John Muse won consecutive games and impressed with 37 saves (1 GA) against Wheeling in the second game of the season.

Last season, Drew Fielding, now on Adirondack, played four games with Reading and went 3-0-0-0 with a shutout, 1.19 goals against average and .961 save percentage. In 2014-15, Ken Reiter played four games with Reading and began 3-0-0-0, allowing 11 goals.

During the 2012-13 Kelly Cup season, netminders Riley Gill and Mark Owuya each had impressive starts. Gill was 3-2-0-0 and then won seven straight starts. Owuya played in one regular season game with Reading before earning a pair of shutouts in game four and game five vs. Greenville in the first round of the playoffs.

Scouting OrlandoThe Solar Bears had four players hit double-digit points in February and Orlando went 7-6-0-0 in the season’s shortest month. Former Wheeling Nailers forward Hunter Fejes led the team with eight assists (10 pts.) in February. He is second on the team with 46 points and 19 have been with the Solar Bears since the club acquired him Jan. 2.

A graduate of Colorado College, Fejes has played in nine career games vs. Reading (6g, 3a). Seven of those were with the Nailers earlier this campaign. From Nov. 26-Dec. 6, the Royals and Nailers met four times and Fejes scored five goals and seven points.

Joshua Winquist tops the Solar Bears with 31 assists and 49 points.

While Reading averages fewer than 10 PIM/game, a league low, Orlando has had 43 major penalties and takes 18.1 PIM/game.

Netminder Cal Heeter has seen a greater share of net time recently, totaling 35 GP, a 15-13-3-1 record, 2.84 GAA and .908 sv.%. Partner Mackenzie Skapski has a 9-11-2-0 mark, 3.18 GAA and .904 save percentage over 23 games.

Road trip diary: 1,470 miles down, 2,530 to goAfter flying to Orlando, the Royals have crossed off a large portion of mileage during the season-long eight-game road trip. Reading enjoys a trip to Jacksonville Friday and returns to face the Solar Bears Sunday afternoon. After Florida, the Royals have a game in Brampton, ON Mar. 8 and two in Wheeling, WV to complete a three-in-three Mar. 9-10.

Postgame autograph session Wed., Mar. 14 vs. FW at 7:00 p.m.Stay after the game for a special postgame autograph session on Wed., Mar. 14 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Fort Wayne, presented by Rieck’s Printing. It’s the only chance of the season to see the Komets.

Next Big Night: Yannick Tifu Number Retirment, Ted DiBiase “Million Dollar Man” appearance, St. HatTrick’s Day on Sat., Mar. 17 vs. BRM at 7:00 p.m.Royals legend Yannick Tifu will have his #10 retired to the Diamond Credit Union Wall of Honor on Sat., Mar. 17 vs. the Brampton Beast at 7:00 p.m. Plus, meet WWE’s Million Dollar Man and celebrate St. HatTrick’s Day with the Royals, presented by Met-Ed! The first 5,000 fans will receive a Yannick Tifu poster, courtesy of Rieck’s Printing. The Royals will wear special St. Patrick’s Day jerseys. Tifu captained Reading to the team’s first Kelly Cup in 2013 and played in 245 Royals games, third-most in team history.

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.