Leading scorer F MacDonald returns, G Komm recalled by Lehigh Valley

Reading, PA - The Reading Royals, proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, announced Thursday forward Josh MacDonald has been released from his professional try-out contract with Lehigh Valley and reassigned to the Royals. Additionally, goaltender Branden Komm has been recalled from loan by Lehigh Valley. 

MacDonald leads the Royals with 18 goals and ranks third on the roster with 31 points. He played in first eight AHL games with the Phantoms from Jan. 21 - Feb. 10 and generated five shots on goal. In his ECHL career, the fourth-year professional has scored 66 goals and 133 points in 184 games. MacDonald is five goals away from matching his single-season high (23) that he combined to tally in 2016-17 with Rapid City and Utah.  

This recall is Komm’s third of the season to the AHL. With the Royals, the 27-year-old from Williamsville, NY is 5-6-1-1 with a 2.81 goals against average and .911 save percentage. In the AHL, Komm is 1-2-0 with the Phantoms in four games (3.28 GAA, .901 sv.%). He played in his first AHL game Jan. 5 at Hartford and won his first game with the Phantoms vs. Laval on Jan. 25, blocking 34 of 36 shots. The Royals have two goaltenders on the active roster - Andrew D’Agostini and Devin Buffalo. The tandem readies for a weekend set at the Allen Americans Feb. 16-17. Royals Pregame begins at 7:50 p.m. on Sat., Feb. 16 for the fourth battle of season series with the Americans. The Royals rematch Allen on Feb. 17 at 5:05 p.m.

Next Home Games

Wed., Feb. 20: Player Cards and Player Autograph session vs. Maine at 7:00 p.m.Postgame player autograph session and player card giveaway, pres. by Rieck's PrintingSun., Feb. 24 at 4:00 p.m.: Faith and Family Night + Battle of the Badges with a Berks Schuylkill Oil Heat Puck Giveaway vs. Adirondack1) Pregame Battle of the Badges for the FirstStates Cup game (Allentown police and fire vs. Reading police and fire departments)2) Royals will give away a Berks Schuylkill Oil Heat Puck.3) Faith & Family NightGroup tickets start at $11 for all Royals home games.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.