Game 58 Preview: Reading at Orlando

Game five of eight-game road trip

Orlando, FL – The Reading Royals (31-21-5-0, 67 pts., 3rd North) are at the Orlando Solar Bears (27-25-5-1, 60 pts., 3rd South) for their third game in four days Sunday at 1:30 p.m. from Amway Center. The Royals are proud ECHL affiliates of the Philadelphia Flyers and the Solar Bears are the ECHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs. After today’s game, the Royals play 12 of their final 14 games against the North Division. Through the first four contests of an eight-game road trip, Reading is 1-1-2-0.

Reading has played the last two games against the South Division and last took on Jacksonville Friday, a 6-1 loss.

The Royals fell in overtime, 4-3, to the Solar Bears Thursday after Reading’s Tyler Brown evened the score in the final half of the third period. Winners of a season-best four straight games, the Solar Bears are two games above .500 for the first time this season. The squad has been above .500 three times this season.

Sunday’s broadcast starts at 1:15 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 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.

Enter for a chance to win $10,000 with the Reading Royals as the team hosts Brampton on St. HatTrick’s Day Sat., Mar. 17 vs. the Brampton Beast at 7:00 p.m. It’s an easy process; Step 1: purchase tickets to the game here | Step 2: Register to be entered into the contest here | Step 3: Watch a Royals player score a hat trick vs. Brampton.

Additionally, meet WWE’s Million Dollar Man and celebrate the holiday with the Royals, presented by Met-Ed! Royals legend Yannick Tifu will have his #10 retired to the Diamond Credit Union Wall of Honor during the game. 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.

Power play heating upReading has scored ten power-play goals over the last eight games (10-for-40, 25.0%), the best two-week stretch of the season. The Royals started the dominance with a 4-for-4 performance vs. Cincinnati, scoring the man-up goals by using 1:08 of the available power-play time.

Friday, the Royals had a streak of man-up goals in three straight games (4-for-17) snapped. Forward Matt Willows leads the squad with 17 points on the man up (4g) and linemate Chris McCarthy is second on the squad with 11 (4g). Michael Huntebrinker has tallied five of his 16 goals with the team up a skater.

Since Jan. 24, the Royals penalty kill has yielded four man-up goals in 15 games (41-for-45, 91.1%).

Orlando’s penalty kill has yielded four man-up goals in the last two games (7-for-11). The unit has been to the penalty kill 284 times, tied for most in the league with Idaho. On the flip side, Orlando’s power play (15.8%) has been to the man up 266 times.

Three straight losses

Reading has lost three straight games in  the all-time series to Orlando (0-2-1-0), last beating the Solar Bears Apr. 12, 2014 in the shootout, 1-0, for the Royals’ regular-season finale. Goaltender Brandon Anderson made 37 saves and stopped three of four Orlando shooters. Meanwhile, Reading scored three goals in the skills competition past Maxime Clermont, who had 31 saves in the game. One Reading player from that team remains in the ECHL: TJ Syner (Worcester).

Head-to-headIn the only matchup of the season Thursday, Martins Dzierkals scored on the first shot of overtime at :27 of the extra session to knock off the Royals, 4-3.

Tyler Brown smacked the third-period tying goal in on the power play and Reading was 2-for-7 on the man up. Orlando was 0-for-4 on the man advantage.

The Solar Bears fought back after Mark Bennett opened the scoring nine minutes into the first period. Reading has tallied the game’s first goal in 16 of the last 18 games (11-4-3-0 record).

Orland scored three times in the second (Adam Phillips, JJ Piccinich and Hunter Fejes). Fejes broke a 2-2 score with 30 seconds left in the second.

Cal Heeter earned the win, stopping 23 shots. Mark Dekanich allowed four goals on 30 shots.

Road trip diary: 1,770 miles down, 2,230 to goThe Royals will drastically alter their “climate” after the Sunday game, flying to Buffalo, NY and then driving to Brampton, ON for a game Mar. 8 at 11:05 a.m. A pair in Wheeling, WV completes a three-in-three Mar. 9-10.

Season tickets for 2018-19 now available: Early Renewal through Mar. 15Call 610-898-7825 to join the Royals family or renew season tickets for the 2018-19 season. Early renewal and registration runs through Mar. 15. Top Early Renewal Benefits include: Extra chance to win jerseys-off-our-backs | Chance to win Owner's Suite | Chance to watch warm-ups from bench and high-five tunnel experience.

Royals Awards Banquet at Santander Arena Mar. 26Register here. Get a pregame pep talk from Royals Head Coach Kirk MacDonald, behind-the-scenes tour of the Royals locker room and buffet meal at Santander Arena Mon., Mar. 26 from 6-8 p.m. for the Royals Awards Banquet. We will hand out the best awards from the 2017-18 season.

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.Enter for a chance to win $10,000 with the Reading Royals as the team hosts Brampton on St. HatTrick’s Day Sat., Mar. 17 vs. the Brampton Beast at 7:00 p.m. It’s an easy process; Step 1: purchase tickets to the game here | Step 2: Register to be entered into the contest here | Step 3: Watch a Royals player score a hat trick vs. Brampton.

Additionally, meet WWE’s Million Dollar Man and celebrate the holiday with the Royals, presented by Met-Ed! Royals legend Yannick Tifu will have his #10 retired to the Diamond Credit Union Wall of Honor during the game. 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.

Special Olympics Night Fri., Mar. 23 vs. WOR at 7:00 p.m.Postgame shake, shiver and freeze with the Royals to raise money for the Special Olympics and a Royals trading card set giveaway to the first 2,500 fans (Rieck’s Printing).

Austism Awarness Night Sat., Mar. 24 vs. WOR at 7:00 p.m.This is one of the best nights of the season for a wonderful cause. No goal horn and the Royals wear special autism awareness jerseys. Plus, a one-time-only giveaway: a puck with Head Coach Kirk MacDonald and Assistant Coach Pat Wellar.

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.