Game 44 Preview: Manchester at Reading

Royals face New England’s Monarchs on Super Bowl Sunday

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (19-16-3-5, 46 pts., T-5th North), proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are set for a rematch against the Manchester Monarchs (24-19-1-1, 50 pts., 3rd North) Sunday at 2:00 p.m. to finish a three-in-three.Sunday’s game also features a 4-for-48 Family Four Pack. Get four burgers, four hot dogs and four tickets for $48.Reading is 2-2-0-0 over the last four games and seeks their first win of the weekend.Manchester has won five of six games after defeating Reading, 3-0, Saturday at Santander Arena. They are 12-11-0-1 on the road.Next Home GamesSat., Feb. 9: Pink in the Rink vs. Brampton at 7:00 p.m.1) 2nd of 3 games honoring the American Cancer Society2) Royals will wear specialty pink jerseys3) Ladies Night4) Enter for a chance to win a 2017 Toyota Camry, courtesy of AutoRide of ReadingMon., Feb. 11: Player Cards and Player Autograph session vs. Brampton at 7:00 p.m.1) Postgame player autograph session and player card giveaway, pres. by Rieck's PrintingWed., Feb. 20: Player Cards and Player Autograph session vs. Maine at 7:00 p.m.1) Postgame player autograph session and player card giveaway, pres. by Rieck's PrintingBusy bowlReading’s busiest month of the season continues with two games in Norfolk Wednesday and Friday and two games against Brampton at home next Saturday and Monday.The Royals won the only matchup of the year against Norfolk at home Jan. 4 with a 3-0 shutout. Callum Booth recorded 13 saves for the shutout.Jan. 18, the Royals fell, 3-1, against Brampton at Santander Arena. Chris McCarthy scored the lone goal for the Royals, while Étienne Marcoux backstopped the Beast with 29 saves (1 GA).Royals Super Bowl Sunday HistorySunday is the fourth time the Royals will play on Super Bowl Sunday and the club is 2-1-0-0 when playing on the day of the “big game.”On Feb. 1, 2004, the Royals hosted the Dayton Bombers at home and won, 8-1. Later that day, the New England Patriots beat the Carolina Panthers.On Feb. 6, 2005, the Royals played in Trenton and took a 4-1 loss. The Patriots won their second consecutive Super Bowl in a 24-21 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles.Six years later, the Royals again played in Trenton on Super Bowl Sunday and the Royals won, 4-3. The Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25 that day. Ben Scrivens stopped 41 shots (3 GA) and Todd Perry scored the game-winning goal.No Komm-petitionIn Feb. 2018, the Royals sought reinforcements in net with John Muse recalled to Lehigh Valley and Reading turned to Manchester for assistance, acquiring goaltender Branden Komm in exchange for the ECHL playing rights to defenseman Adam Comrie. About a year later, Reading appears to have come out on top of the trade.Komm, currently recalled to Lehigh Valley, has recorded a 5-3-1-1 mark with the Royals (2.67 GAA, .919 sv.%). Last February, he became the first goalie in Royals history to begin his Reading career with back-to-back shutouts. His success with Reading helped lead to his first AHL games with Lehigh Valley this campaign. The fifth-year professional has netminded three times for Lehigh Valley and won his first AHL game Jan. 25 vs. Laval. Comrie never played for Manchester and suited up with the Utica Comets for the second half of the AHL season. Comrie now plays with Klagenfurter AC in Austria.Remembering the Christiansen EraIt’s been well over a decade since former Royals forward Doug Christiansen lit up the lamp in Reading. His 2005-06 campaign saw him net a team-high 35 goals, good for third-most all-time in a single season for the Royals. He added 29 assists for a total of 64 points in 63 games. The Royals qualified for the division semifinals with Yutaka Fukufuji as the leader in cage. Christiansen recorded 11 points in 36 games the next season with Reading before moving to the EIHL in 2007.Two leftThe Royals have points in four of seven games against Manchester (2-3-1-1). After Sunday, the teams square off once more Feb. 22 in Manchester to complete the season series. Manchester has won four straight games.Daniil Miromanov leads Manchester with six points (1g) against Reading this year, while Chris McCarthy’s eight points (1g) puts him atop Reading’s leaderboard. Two Royals – Alex Roos and Josh MacDonald (currently in Lehigh Valley) – top Reading with three goals against Manchester. Tony Cameranesi bests the Monarchs with three goals in the series.About the RoyalsThe Royals are in their 18th ECHL season and 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.