Game 18 Preview: Reading at Adirondack

Royals continue busy schedule with final game of back-to-back

Glens Falls, NY – The Reading Royals (6-5-2-4, 18 pts., T-3rd North), proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, complete a home-and-home set at the Adirondack Thunder (11-6-0-1, 23 pts., 2nd North) Saturday at 7:00 p.m. at Cool Insuring Arena.Last night, Adirondack scored five goals in the second and took the front end of the home-and-home, 8-3. The Royals have one point in three games vs. Adirondack this season.Steve Johnson scored for the second straight game Friday and Steven Swavely extended to a five-game point streak (6g, 4a) with a helper. Mike Szmatula scored four points Friday, extending to four goals and six points over the last two games.After Saturday’s game, the Royals are at the Maine Mariners on Wed., Nov. 28 at 7:00 p.m. The Royals are 2-0-0-0 at Maine and 2-1-0-0 overall against the Mariners.Reading hosts the Kalamazoo Wings on Fri., Nov. 30 at 7:00 p.m., featuring a PA Lottery Voucher Giveaway to fans 18 and older.Listen to today’s game at Mixlr.com/ReadingRoyals, with coverage starting 15 minutes before puck drop.Road strength The Royals’ 4-0-0-3 start on the road is indicative of Reading’s normal strength throughout squad history. The Royals have made the playoffs in nine straight seasons and finished above hockey .500 in road games in eight of those campaigns. Reading has won at least 20 road contests in seven of the last eight seasons.On the road this season, the Royals have outscored opponents, 26-20. It is the first time in Royals history the team has registered points in the squad’s first seven road games.Home-and-home The Royals play four “back-to-back” sets against the Thunder this season, all with one game in Reading and one in Adirondack. The next time the teams play a home-and-home is Feb 23-24. On Apr. 5-6, the teams end the regular season with consecutive games, the latter of which is at Santander Arena at 7:00 p.m. for FANdemonium. In the first home-and-home, the Royals earned one point Nov. 9-10. Reading and Adirondack are in the midst of a stretch of five season-series games in a four-week spanLast season, the Royals and Adirondack played three home-and-home sets and Reading went 3-3-0-0 vs. the Thunder, sweeping the first back-to-back weekend and splitting the second. The Thunder swept the final home-and-home weekend of the 2017-18 campaign.In the first game of a home-and-home, Reading is 2-3-0-1, with a 1-4-0-0 mark in the second game. At Santander Arena, Reading is 2-3-0-0 vs. the Thunder in home-and-home sets. At Cool Insuring Arena, Reading holds a 1-3-0-1 mark.All time in home-and-home sets vs. the Thunder, Reading is 3-7-0-1.  

Johnson’s twoSteve Johnson has goals in consecutive games for the first time in his career, extending to three goals and six points in 15 games. At the NCAA level, Johnson never scored goals in back-to-back games. He potted six goals over four seasons at Minnesota.Back-to-back historyThe Royals and Thunder have faced off in 12 previous back-to-backs over consecutive days, with all of them being “home-and-home” sets this season.All time, Reading is 10-12-1-2 in back-to-backs vs. the Thunder. At Santander Arena, Reading is 6-6-1-0, with a 4-6-0-2 away mark. In the first game of a back-to-back, Reading is 4-5-1-2 (2nd game: 5-7-0-0).Record thereReading is 19-16-2-3 vs. the Thunder all-time, with the Royals registering an 8-8-1-3 mark at Cool Insuring Arena. The Royals took two of seven games against the Thunder in Glens Falls last campaign. Reading has dropped six straight at Cool Insuring Arena, with the last win coming Dec. 8, 2017. In that contest, Alex Krushelnyski led the team with two assists and Michael Huntebrinker scored.Thunder at home Adirondack has opened up with a 5-2-0-0 home record at Cool Insuring Arena, continuing a trend of home success throughout the team’s history.Adirondack is 76-37-5-7 at home in squad history. In each of the last two seasons, the Thunder have won 22 games at home, including a squad-best 22-8-3-3 record in 2016-17. Similarly to the Thunder, Reading has won at least 20 games at home in each of the last two seasons.

Santa Sacks and Stocking Stuffers: Get ticket vouchers, autographed mini-sticks, pucks and player picturesBlack Friday vs. Adirondack: Fri., Nov. 23 at 7:00 p.m.PA Lottery Voucher Giveaway vs. Kalamazoo: Fri., Nov. 30 at 7:00 p.m.

About the RoyalsThe Royals have been owned by serial entrepreneur Jack Gulati since 2014 and are entering their 18th 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 nine straight seasons and are four-time division champions.Listen to all Royals broadcasts at Mixlr.com/ReadingRoyals or by downloading the Mixlr App from the App Store or Google Play.