Game 66 Preview: Newfoundland at Reading

The Anthony Myers Movement launches Saturday; it's also ACS Night    

Reading, PA – Anthony Myers will help launch The Anthony Myers Movement  to help those experiencing medical difficulties Saturday at 7:00 p.m. as the Reading Royals (28-28-4-5, 65 pts., 7th North), proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, complete an 11-game season series with the Newfoundland Growlers (40-20-4-2, 86 pts., 1st North). The Royals have also partnered with the American Cancer Society and will wear specialty jerseys at Saturday’s game.Myers’ story gained national attention in fall 2018 when the Berks Catholic high school football and hockey player was diagnosed with brain cancer (Stage 3 Anaplastic Astrocytoma). He rallied the support of Berks County and Pennsylvania around him by starting Team 17 Strong. The launch of The Anthony Myers Movement will further assist those in need of help.The Royals are coming off a 5-2 win Friday against Newfoundland. Saturday’s game is the final time the Royals and Growlers meet this season; Reading is 4-4-1-1 through the first ten battles.In Friday’s win, the Royals scored three in the first to take a 3-0 advantage into first break. Adam Schmidt scored twice in the game. Brayden Low returned the Royals lead to three with the final goal in the final half of the third. Low has 13 goals this season. Josh MacDonald registered his team-leading 25th of the season. Chris McCarthy is second in the league with 50 assists and 68 points after generating a pair of points. The Royals went 2-for-5 on the man up.Reading is five points out of the fourth and final North Division playoff spot with seven games to play in the 2018-19 season. Worcester and Manchester each have 70 points.The Royals complete a home three-in-three Sunday at 4:00 p.m. against Worcester on Scout Day with pregame scout activities starting at 1:30 p.m.  Broadcast Coverage: Deibler Dental In-Arena Broadcast (99.3 FM) | Mixlr.com/ReadingRoyalsSchmidt’s career season continuesAdam Schmidt scored in the first period and added a second-period, 5-on-3 goal for his second multi-goal game of the season Friday. He has a career-high 22 goals and 48 points this campaign. Schmidt has three goals and five points over a four-game point streak and tops Reading with seven goals against the Growlers this season (10 pts.). The 28-year-old is second to Josh MacDonald in season-series points (13).A fifth-year professional from Warrington, PA, Schmidt scored 17 goals and 44 points last season for Reading. He is one of five Pennsylvania natives on Reading’s roster. He grew up 13 miles southeast of Newfoundland goalie Eamon McAdam (Perkasie native).While playing overseas in Sweden, his best campaign in points was 38 for H.C. Vita Hasten.      Booster Club Awards BanquetThe Reading Royals Booster Club Awards Banquet is Wed., Mar. 27 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Stokesay Castle in Reading, PA. Get your tickets at the Booster Club’s Table (Section 118) at either of the next two Royals home games Saturday and Sunday. Admission is $35 for dinner and the awards ceremony. Royals Head Coach Kirk MacDonald and the Booster Club will present Royals players with end-of-season awards.First goal against the GrowlersThe Royals have scored first in six of the ten season-series matchups and Reading has three wins win netting the first goal. Friday’s three-goal first frame was Reading’s best against the Growlers this season. The Royals have also come-from-behind twice against the Growlers, winning Dec. 28, 4-1, when allowing the first goal and on Dec. 7 in a back-and-forth 7-5 Royals victory.Newfoundland has staged four come-from-behind wins, Oct. 24, Nov. 16, Dec. 29 and Mar. 6. The Growlers’ last two come-from-behind wins have happened after the squad allowed the first two goals of the game. Newfoundland is 3-1-0-0 when scoring the first goal.Scouting NewfoundlandThe Growlers endured their first-ever five-game losing streak from Mar. 9-17 (0-3-0-2), including an 18-round shootout defeat at Maine Mar. 17. The club has lost six of seven (1-4-0-2), their worst seven-game stretch in team history. Michael Garteig started for the second straight game Friday, allowing 32 goals on 37 shots. Friday marked the first time in 13 games Garteig earned back-to-back decisions. Garteig is 22-14-3-1 with a 2.76 goals against average and a .907 save percentage. Second option Eamon McAdam is 8-5-1-1 with a 2.71 goals against average and .906 save percentage. Each has been awarded Warrior Hockey ECHL Goaltender of the Month; Garteig took the award in November and McAdam is the reigning winner (February).Points leader Zach O’Brien (60) is tied with Scott Pooley and Brady Ferguson for a team-best 26 goals. Seven of Newfoundland’s top-eight point scorers are rookies (O’Brien is the lone exception). St. John’s, NL native Marcus Power is the team’s top rookie point scorer with 51 and he is second behind O’Brien for the team lead in points.Back-to-back at homeSaturday marks the ninth series of the season the Royals are playing back-to-back home games. It’s also the middle game of Reading’s second home “three-in-three” of the season. The only other time the Royals played three home games in three days this season was Dec. 14-16, when Reading blitzed the Allen Americans with three straight multi-goal victories.For the season, the Royals are 9-5-1-3 when playing back-to-back home games. In the second game of it, the Royals are 4-3-1-0. The second consecutive weekend home game has provided the Royals with some of their most-memorable moments of this campaign; Reading earned its first win of the season and scored four power-play goals Oct. 14 vs. Worcester, the club overcame an early deficit to Wheeling Oct. 28 to triumph and Reading barreled Manchester with three first-period goals in a Super Bowl Sunday win Feb. 3.Trouble gamesAs the Royals attempt to make the playoffs, there are eight games remaining in which North Division teams in front of Reading battling for the third and fourth spot (Maine, Worcester, Manchester, Brampton play each other). As a result, at least two points will be handed out in these games. Saturday, Worcester is at Manchester, meaning the Royals will be unable to gain ground on one of the two squads regardless if Reading defeats Newfoundland Saturday.Sunday, Manchester is at Maine at the same time the Royals host Worcester.Manchester and Worcester are tied for the fourth and final North Division playoff spot at 70 points. Brampton snuck a 2-0 win Friday at Toledo and the Beast are at 68 points. The Royals can climb out of seventh in the North with two more wins this weekend paired with a couple of Brampton losses in their home set against Adirondack.  Next Home GamesFri., Mar. 22: $1 Beer Night at 7:00 p.m. vs. Newfoundland, pres. by Deibler Dental- $1 Draft Beer- Enter for a chance to win a 2017 Toyota Camry, courtesy of AutoRide of Reading

Sat., Mar. 23 The Anthony Myers Movement Night and American Cancer Society Night: 7:00 p.m. vs. Newfoundland- 3rd Night honoring the American Cancer Society with specialty jerseys -  Enter for a chance to win a 2017 Toyota Camry, courtesy of AutoRide of ReadingSun., Mar. 24 Scout Night: 4:00 p.m. vs. Worcester- Scout Night at the Royals- Pregame Scout activities 1:30pmAbout 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.