Game 44 Preview: Reading at Worcester

Calendar flips, same opponent Saturday

Worcester, MA – The Reading Royals (24-14-5-0, 53 pts., 2nd North) and Worcester Railers (17-26-2-0, 36 pts., 6th North) dual for the second straight day to complete a stretch of seven games in a month between the North Division foes Saturday at 7:05 p.m. Following the pre-Super-Bowl dual, the Royals return home for home games Fri., Feb. 7 (Ladies Night) and Sat., Feb. 8 (Pink in the Rink Night – pres. by Lamar Advertising, Adams & Associates and Alvernia Univ.).The ECHL season has nine weeks left; the Royals and Railers each complete their season on April’s first Saturday. Reading is one point ahead of Brampton for second in the North Division, while Worcester sits 12 out of the North’s fourth and final playoff spot.Friday in Worcester, Trevor Gooch scored his first professional hat trick and pitched in a career high four points to smush the Railers, 5-1. Gooch recorded all four of his points in the game’s opening 35 minutes, completing the hat trick with a right-circle snipe. Rob Michel had two primary assists to Gooch. The rookie Gooch out of Mantua, NJ has nine goals and eight points this season. Four of his goals have been against the Railers. Kirill Ustimenko registered 36 saves to improve to 6-1-1-0 in January.Reading is 3-4-1-0 in the season series; two wins have been at the DCU Center (2-2-0-0).Broadcast coverage: Watch on BCTV (Ch. 15 Comcast, Ch. 19 Service Electric) and ECHL.tv | Listen on mixlr.com/readingroyalsSingle-game tickets and mini-plans are on sale by visiting royalshockey.com/promotions, calling 610-898-7825 and visiting Santander Arena and The Weidenhammer Box Office at 700 Penn Street, Reading, PA.A Royals win would…

Give Reading a winning record at the DCU Center this season…Make Reading 3-0-0-0 against Worcester when Eric Knodel is in the lineup…Keep Reading second place in the North Division until at least Feb. 7.Royals leadersGoals: Cuddemi (21)Assists: DiChiara (30)Points: DiChiara (43)PIM: Mitchell (94)+/-: Knodel (16)Railers leadersGoals: Pierog (18)Assists: Almeida (19)Points: Almeida (30)PIM: Turcotte (153)+/-: Sailturo/Thomson/Hitchcock (1)All Time Series v. WorcesterThe Royals are 12-11-4-1 in the all-time series against the Worcester Railers. First goals have often loomed large, both in this season series and all time. Worcester is 12-3-0-0 against Reading when scoring the game’s opening goal. Reading holds a 9-4-0-0 mark when scoring first and is undefeated (3-0-0-0) when netting the opening marker in this series.At the DCU Center, Reading has a record of 4-7-2-0, scoring 31 goals in 13 games (2.4 goals/game). This contrasts to Reading’s home record, where the Royals average 3.2 goals/game at Santander Arena against the Railers and Reading is 8-4-3-0 all time.Slow before busyThe Royals host Atlanta next Fri., Jan. 7 and then are home to Wheeling Sat., Feb. 8 for the team’s annual Pink in the Rink Game. Following the Feb. 8 game, the Royals have a six-day break to prepare for a road game at Brampton Feb. 14. Reading then hosts Worcester on Feb. 16.After the 16th, the busiest month and a half of the Royals season begins; the Royals play 25 games in the season’s last 46 days.Knodel good timesThe Royals have won 18 times in 27 games (18-6-3-0) with reigning ECHL Defenseman of the Year Eric Knodel in the lineup. Knodel played his first ECHL game in three weeks Friday against Worcester.In addition to his leadership role as alternate captain, Knodel is the Royals’ oldest player (29 years old) and leads team blueliners with 27 points (4g).While with Lehigh Valley, Knodel contributed three assists in seven games, which included his first AHL multi-point  game (2a) in five seasons with the Phantoms Jan. 15.This day in Royals history - Feb. 1

On Feb. 1, 2004 the Royals took down the Dayton Bombers 8-1 for one of the lopsided wins in team history. 

Four of the eight goals were scored in the second period. Reading has scored at least eight goals in a game 12 times. 

The Royals were 35-24-1 against the Bombers; Dayton ceased operations before the 2009-10 season began.Upcoming Home Games: royalshockey.com/promotions Fri., Feb. 7 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Atlanta (Ladies Night/Wine Tasting)Free Wine Tasting on the concourse with Deerfoot Vineyards, Black River Farms and RoseLawn Bistro | College ID Night: $5 tickets with valid college ID at box office| $1 SmoothiesSat., Feb. 8 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Wheeling (Pink in the Rink)Royals play on pink ice with Fleece Blanket Giveaway to the first 1,500 fans | Breast Cancer Awareness Jerseys$1 Pink Rose Draft Cider | Doubleheader: 1 ticket also gets you admission to the Alvernia Women’s Hockey Game at 2:00 p.m.Sun., Feb. 16 at 4:00 p.m. vs. Worcester (Kids Club Game)Last free postgame skate of the season, presented by Body Zone | Team Photo Giveaway | $1 Hot Dog, $1 Soda & $1 Nacho Concession Special Pricing | Game Included Kids Club Packages presented by Applebee’s, Schuykill Valley Sports and YMCA of Reading and Berks County (Sign Ups Available)About the RoyalsThe Royals are in their 19th ECHL season and are proudly affiliated with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The Royals won the Kelly Cup in 2013, have made the playoffs 14 times, and are four-time division champions. The Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA), founded in 1996, owns the Royals and oversees operations at Santander Arena and the Santander Arena Performing Arts Center.Listen to all Royals broadcasts at Mixlr.com/ReadingRoyals or by downloading the Mixlr App from the App Store or Google Play. All Royals away games are broadcasted on BCTV (Ch. 15 Comcast, Ch. 19 Service Electric) and Mixlr.