Game 25 Preview: Allen at Reading

Game 25 Preview: Allen at Reading   $5 Tickets, Teddy Bear Toss, Holiday Ornament Giveaway

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (11-7-2-4, 28 pts., 3rd North), proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, seek their fifth straight win vs. the Allen Americans (6-20-0-2, 14 pts., 7th Mountain) Saturday at 7:00 p.m. as the Weekend of Giving continues with $5 tickets (all proceeds to Salvation Army of Reading). The Weekend of Giving is presented by Met-Ed and the Salvation Army.

Saturday’s PromotionsSat., Dec. 15 at 7:00 p.m.: Community Night with $5 tickets (all proceeds to Salvation Army), Teddy Bear Toss, Food Drive, Holiday Ornament Giveaway to the first 2,000 fans, Royals will wear Ugly Christmas Sweater jerseysThe Weekend of Giving continues Sunday at 5:00 p.m. vs. Allen with SpongeBob SquarePants Nickelodeon Night. SpongeBob will be at the game and is available to meet with fans as part of the Royals’ SpongeBob VIP Package. Friday, the Royals scored three power-play goals on a season-high ten opportunities to bludgeon Allen, 5-3. Chris McCarthy notched a season high with three points and Charlie Vasaturo scored his first career game-winning goal. Allen scored three man-up goals on five chances. Reading never trailed and Andrew D’Agostini made 27 saves in his Royals debut.Allen has lost five straight games. Saturday is the second game of three straight vs. the Americans.Listen to today’s game at Mixlr.com/ReadingRoyals, with coverage starting 15 minutes before puck drop.Roos on the looseAlex Roos registered his first professional goal and multi-point effort (1g, 1a) in the 5-3 win Friday. A 24-year-old rookie from Prairie Grove, IL, he struck for Reading’s second power-play goal late in the first period, then registered the primary assist on Charlie Vasaturo’s game-winning strike in the second.Roos has three points (1g, 2a) in seven games.Last season, he scored three goals and six points in 13 games at the University of Michigan. Roos spent his final collegiate season in Ann Arbor after playing the three campaigns for Colorado College.Joe Houk (1g, 1a) also scored his first Royals points.Almost through 25 The Royals are at 28 points through 24 games, putting the team on pace for its usual successful start in the opening 25 games. At this point the last two seasons, the Royals were 14-9-2 (30 points) through the first 25 games.In 15 of 17 seasons, the squad has had at least 24 points through 25 games. Reading has made the playoffs 12 times when hitting that mark 25 contests.The Royals have made the playoffs in nine straight seasons, the third-longest active streak in the ECHL behind South Carolina and Idaho.Gulati CupSaturday’s rematch is the second time the Royals and Americans battle under the watchful eye of both teams’ owner Mr. Jack Gulati.Mr. Gulati purchased the Royals in April 2014, he purchased the Royals. Mr. Gulati purchased Allen in 2017 to help keep the Americans in Texas. Jack has owned 44 companies in his career. However, at all times, he has always kept business and family in focus and has learned to balance both for ultimate success. He has written a book, “Serial Entrepreneur”, in the hope that others may learn from his experience. Over the years, Mr.Gulati has served in numerous civic and advisory positions. He was appointed to the Small Business Advisory Committee of FCC by President George H. W. Bush. He was also a delegate to the 1986 and 1995 White House Conferences on Small Business by President Ronald Reagan and President Bill Clinton.

Mountain menThe Americans are the only Mountain Division team the Royals play in the 2018-19 season. Friday marked the first time in two seasons the Royals faced a team from the Mountain, with the last meetings coming on a Western Conference swing Oct. 26 - Nov. 5 in 2016. Reading went 4-1-0-1 in that series, as the club triumphed over Idaho, Colorado and Rapid City (2x).Reading has only played 11 games against teams currently in the Mountain Division, accruing a 8-2-1 record.In contrast, Reading is the second North Division team the Americans have ever played.  Allen is 6-0-1 against Brampton.Second game feelsReading is 6-2-0-1 when playing for the second day in a row, as the Royals have racked up wins the last three times they’ve faced the second game of a back-to-back. Over those three Saturday wins, Reading has outscored opponents, 10-5. Reading is 5-0-1-0 when allowing two goals of fewer. Coincidentally, four of those six performances have come on in the second game of a back-to-back.100 for CoachHead Coach Kirk MacDonald will coach in his 100th career game Saturday vs. Allen. Through the first 99 games, MacDonald is 53-31-15 for a points percentage of .611.The 53 wins through 99 games puts MacDonald on pace for one of the best two-season starts in Royals history. Larry Courville registered 52 wins in his first 1.5 seasons as Royals Head Coach (110 games). In two full seasons, Karl Taylor (Head Coach 2005-08) generated 74 victories and Derek Clancey (2003-05) had 77.

Power-play statsThe Royals power play has scored ten times in the last nine games (10-for-36), moving Reading to a 19.2% conversion rate on the power play. Prior to the hot stretch, the Royals had slumped to a 14% rate. Five Royals have ticked in a pair of power play goals. Leading scorer Steven Swavely has eight man-up points (2g). Allen’s power play has scored five times in the last seven games (5-for-34) slots in at 15%.After allowing five man-up goals over the last two games, Reading’s man up has dropped to 78.3%. The Americans’ penalty kill has yielded in seven straight games, dropping the unit to 80.7%. Over the last seven, Allen’s penalty kill checks in at 34-for-46 (73.9%).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.