Game 55 Preview: Reading at Adirondack

Game 55 Preview: Reading at AdirondackRoyals leap into middle game of three-in-three

Glens Falls, NY – The Reading Royals (32-16-5-1, 70 pts., 2nd North) and Adirondack Thunder (22-23-8-5, 57 pts., 5th North) play for the seventh time this regular season in the series’ last road game Saturday at 7:00 p.m. Reading is 3-2-0-1 against Adirondack this season, with the last head-to-head meeting Mar. 27 in Reading.Friday, Frank DiChiara had three points to lead Reading, but Adirondack overcame a 5-3 deficit with four goals and a shootout tally from Matt Salhany to win in the skills competition, 6-5. Perkasie, PA native Eamon McAdam made 40 saves, including eight in overtime.Max Willman had another two-point effort to give him seven (2g) in the last two games. Reading finishes the road weekend with a Sun., Mar. 1 showdown against Worcester at 3:05 p.m.The Royals next play at home Sun., Mar. 8 at 4:00 p.m. vs. Brampton for First Responders Night, pres. by Met-Ed. Friday starts the Royals’ longest road trip of the season (5 games).Broadcast coverage: Watch on BCTV (Ch. 15 Comcast, Ch. 19 Service Electric) and mixlr.com/readingroyals. Watch on ECHL.tv.A Royals win would…Put Reading 17 points in front of Adirondack…Be the second win of the season at Adirondack…Give Reading a 2-2-0-1 mark this season in Glens Falls.Royals leadersGoals: Cuddemi (21)Assists: DiChiara (34)Points: DiChiara (53)PIM: Mitchell (106)+/-: Knodel (25)Thunder leaders Goals: Salhany (25)Assists: Szmatula (27)Points: Szmatula/Salhany (47)PIM: Payne (54)+/-: Nazarian/Summers (14)Head-to-head season-series leaders Royals goals – Mackin/DiChiara (3) | Thunder goals –  Salhany (7) |Royals assists – DiChiara (5) | Thunder assists – Salhany/Szmatula (4)Royals points – DiChiara (8) | Thunder points – Salhany (11)Royals PIM – Mitchell (16) | Thunder PIM – Pierro-Zabotel (10)Royals +/- – Multiple with (2) | Thunder +/- – Multiple with (3)Season SeriesReading is 2-0-0-0 at home this season against the Thunder and 1-2-0-1 at Cool Insuring Arena.Frank DiChiara leads Reading with eight points (3g) against Adirondack this season. He and rookie Corey Mackin are the only Royals skaters to score three goals.Felix Sandström has one victory over Adirondack this season (1-2-0-1, 3.96 GAA, .851 sv%). His sole victory was a 1-0 shutout on Nov. 3.Matt Salhany leads the Thunder with 11 points. His four-goal effort Friday lifted him to seven series goals.Nearly half of Casey Pierro-Zabotel’s PIM have been against Reading (10 PIM). He is one of two players who have double-digit PIM in the head-to-head series (Garrett Mitchell, 16).Eamon McAdam has faced down Reading all six times and allowed 16 goals. For his career, he is 8-6-1-0 against Reading, allowing 37 goals in 16 head-to-head games.All-Time Series v. ADKThe Royals are 27-22-6 all-time against the Thunder, with a 15-14-3 mark in the Kirk MacDonald era against Adirondack.Both teams have winning records on home ice; Reading has taken at least a point in 16 of 25 games played at Santander Arena. February leaders Matthew Strome is riding a career-long, 11-game point streak and leads Reading with 13 points this month. Reading has played 11 games in February and has an 8-2-0-1 record.Twenty-three Reading skaters have at least one point this month.Brayden Low and Frank DiChiara are tops on Reading with six goals in the month. DiChiara has increased his season points total to 53.Of note, D Garrett Cecere, who returned from injury a month ago, is a team-best plus-12 during February.Kirill Ustimenko (2-0-0-0), Tom McCollum (1-1-0-0) and Felix Sandström (5-1-0-1) have each won games for Reading in February, with McCollum and Ustimenko netting one shutout each.First time Saturday marks the first time Reading will play on Feb. 29 in team history. In 2015-16, the Royals also had a back-to-back with Adirondack on the last two days of February (1-1-0-0), but 2016 wasn’t a leap year, so the teams faced off in Glens Falls on Feb. 27-28.Not usually like this Adirondack has an 11-13-2-4 mark at Cool Insuring Arena, putting the team on pace for the fewest home points earned in a single season. The previous worst home record in Thunder history was in 2015-16, the team’s first in Glens Falls (17-16-1-2).From 2016-19 (3 seasons), Adirondack had the best home points percentage of any team in the North Division (.671) and 65 combined home wins.Road trip updateStill stationed in Glens Falls, Reading has four more games remaining in a season-long, five-game road trip.  Reading travels 180 miles east to Worcester following Saturday’s game for a Sunday afternoon showdown in Massachusetts.Reading heads home for a few respite days before leaving next week for a New England back-to-back at Maine Fri., Mar. 6 and Worcester Sat., Mar. 7. That completes the trip; the Royals are home for First Responders Night (Met-Ed) on Mar. 8. The home stay is short-lived; following that Sunday game, the Royals are back on the bus to prepare for a Tuesday morning (10:45 a.m.) game at Wheeling Mar. 10.Single-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.Upcoming Home Games: royalshockey.com/promotions Sun.,  Mar. 8 at 4:00 p.m. vs. Brampton (First Responders Game, Pres. by Met-Ed)Game pres. by Met-Ed - the Reading Fire/Police squads face the Allentown squads before the game at 12:30 p.m. - 1 ticket includes admission to both games |  $1 Hot Dogs, Sodas and Nachos | Touch a Truck Event for Kids | Faith & Family Night - Church Group Rates Available | Heaven’s Thunder music performance | Last Postgame Party of the season with players at Cheers! Restaurant at the DoubleTree Hotel.Fri., Mar. 13 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Norfolk (Mental Health Awareness Night)If a Royals player records a hat trick at the game, one fan will win $10,000 | Special Theme Jersey | Green Ice for the First Time in Royals History | Mental Health Awareness Night | College ID Night: $5 tickets with valid college ID at box office| $1 Green Beer and $1 Domestic Beers | Deibler Dental Royals and Flyers Alumni Coaster Set GiveawaySat., Mar. 14 at 7:00 p.m. vs. Norfolk (Autism Awareness, Scout and Teacher Appreciation) Sensory-friendly game, with subdued atmosphere with music and lighting, plus quiet spaces in the arena | Green Ice3 Lucky Fans will each get to pick a player they think will score a Hat Trick in a contest to win a Jeep Compass Limited | Autism Awareness jerseys | Scout & Teacher Night | BSOHA Royals Puck Giveaway | $1 Rainbow treat or Dippin’ Dots | Diaper Drive to benefit Mary’s Shelter in ReadingAbout 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.