Weekly Release, Vol. 18, No. 19

Royals home Wednesday and Sunday as squad hits final 21 games

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals, proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, returned from their road trip to Texas with three of four points, defeating cross-conference Allen Saturday in front of more than 5,000 fans Saturday.The Royals are home twice this week, including a doubleheader at Santander Arena that kicks off with the Battle of the Badges for the FirstStates Cup. The undercard game features the Reading Police and Fire Department vs. the Allentown squads, followed by the Royals and Adirondack at 4:00 p.m. vs. Adirondack.Reading is three points out of the fourth and final playoff spot and tied with Maine for sixth in the North.  Josh MacDonald returned to Reading from Lehigh Valley before the Texas swing and scored Saturday. MacDonald leads the team in goals (19) and tallied two points this weekend (1g 1a).The Royals have also had a pair of goaltenders recalled to the AHL over the last couple of weeks; Branden Komm started Wednesday at Wheeling and was lifted back to Lehigh Valley Thursday, while Callum Booth is back with Charlotte.The moves paved the way for Andrew D’Agostini to go 1-0-1-0 (8 GA) in two games vs. his former team Allen. D’Agostini played in the preseason with Allen.Next Home GamesWed., Feb. 20: Player Cards and Player Autograph session vs. Maine at 7:00 p.m.Postgame player autograph session, pres. by Rieck's Printing.Sun., 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.Weekly ScheduleFeb. 20 vs. Maine: Santander Arena, 7:00 p.m.Feb. 22 vs. Brampton: SNHU Arena, 7:00 p.m.Feb. 23 vs. Adirondack: Cool Insuring Arena, 7:00 p.m.Feb. 24 vs. Adirondack: Santander Arena, 4:00 p.m.

Team Record22-20-4-5, 53 points, T-6th NorthDivision StandingsNewfoundland - 72 pointsAdirondack - 62 pointsBrampton - 57 pointsManchester - 56 pointsWorcester - 54 pointsReading - 53 pointsMaine - 53 points

Weekly ResultsFeb. 11 vs Brampton: L, 4-1Feb. 13 vs Wheeling: L, 5-2Feb. 17 vs Allen: W, 5-3Feb. 18 vs Allen: OTL, 5-4Big Storylines 1) We the Big BroReading faced off against the Allen Americans, both owned by Jack Gulati, five times this season and went 4-0-1-0. The club scored at least four goals in all five series matchups and outscored Allen, 23-15. Chris McCarthy led the team in goals and points against the Americans (6g, 10pts) while blue liner Joe Houk topped the team in assists (6) and set a Royals defenseman record with four assists in the Dec. 16 game. The Royals scored on five of their 29 power play chances (17.2%).2) JMac = backJosh MacDonald, the Royals’ leading goal scorer, was returned from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms in time for the back-to-back Allen games and scored the opening goal for Reading Saturday. He tops Reading with three multi-goal games and is four short of a single-season high. MacDonald is third on the team in points (33).3) D’Agostini proves Texas wrong Andrew D’Agostini, released by Allen in preseason, went 4-0-1-0 with a 3.00 goals against average and a .901 save percentage against his former team.Instead of D’Agostini, the Americans opted to return Jeremy Brodeur, who went 0-9-0-0 with a 4.09 goals against average and an .888 save percentage before being released by Allen in December. D’Agostini bested Brodeur Jan. 15 in Reading.Overall this season, D’Agostini has a record of 6-2-2-0, a 2.70 goals against average with a .913 save percentage.Regular season team leaders Goals: Josh MacDonald (19)Assists: Chris McCarthy (40)Points: Chris McCarthy (54)PIM: Jacob Graves (66)+/-: Michael Huntebrinker (+12)

Practice scheduleMonday – TRAVEL DAYTuesday – Practice, 11:00 a.m.Wednesday – Game vs. Maine, 7:00 p.m.Thursday – TRAVEL DAYFriday – Game at Manchester, 7:00 p.m.Saturday – Game at Adirondack, 7:00 p.m.Sunday – Game vs. Adirondack, 4:00 p.m.Monday – OFF DAYRoyals Radio Recon: Next Show Tues., Feb.  19Live from Jimmy G’s Railroad House from 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.Meet Royals players at Jimmy G’s Railroad House, 152 Woodrow Ave., Sinking Spring, PA. Listen on mixlr.com/ReadingRoyals or via the Mixlr App.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.