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Royals Overwhelmed by Wheeling Wave in the Third, 7-4

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Click Here for Box Score

 

Teams     Per: 1          2          3

WHL:             2         0          5=7

REA:              1         2          1=4

 

Records

WHL: 27-23-2-3 = 59 (2nd Place North Division)

REA: 27-22-5-3 = 62 (3rd Place East Division)

 

Goaltenders

WHL: Palazzese (WIN) 17-14-1-1 (43/47) (59:53)

REA: Knapp (LOSS) 10-10-0-1 (25/30) (57:40) (2 eng)

 

Power Play:

WHL: 0-1

REA: 1-5

 

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­Loss, 27-22-5-3 = 62) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, were defeated by the Wheeling Nailers (Win, 27-23-2-3 = 59) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League, 7-4, at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania.

 

In a Friday evening showdown, the Royals began a three game home-stand with the first of a back-to-back set against the Nailers, which proved to be a back-and-forth affair until Wheeling ran away with things by virtue of a five goal third.

 

The Royals got out of the gate first, but the Nailers bounced back with back-to-back goals to gain their first lead mid-way into the first. Reading stormed out in the second and generated sixteen shots which led to a pair of goals to retake the lead. But the third period belonged to the Nailers, who rang off two quick goals to regain the lead and then boat-raced the Royals to the final buzzer on the strength of a late game breakaway and couple of empty netters.

 

For Reading, this marked the second game in the last three played against Wheeling in which the Royals held a lead into the third period, but still lost in regulation—and the twelfth time this year that the team held a lead at some point in the game only to fail to gain the two points in the standings.

 

7:11 into action, the Royals grabbed an early lead when Cam Reid beat goaltender Franky Palazzese with a hot snapper out of the right circle. After a misplayed clearing attempt by Palazzese, Brandon Alderson was able to swipe the puck off the stick of a Wheeling player and dish a pass to the open Reid, who was cutting through the right circle to bag his first of the night and thirteenth of the year.

 

The Nailers tied the game when a Reading defender gained what appeared to be clean possession in the left circle of the defensive zone. However, the defender mishandled the puck directly to the stick of the Nailers’ Riley Brace, who had clear sailing across the top of the crease for a deft back-hand chip over the catching glove of goaltender Connor Knapp for Brace’s twentieth of the year.

 

1:24 of that, Wheeling defenseman James Melindy, who joined the Nailers today, paid immediate dividends when he took a quick snap shot from a sharp angle deep in the left circle that floated across the body Knapp and caught the far side of the net for Melindy’s fourth of the year, giving the Nailers their first lead at 2-1.

 

The Royals regained their legs at the start of the second and tied the game at two 3:12 into the period, when Yannick Tifu gained possession deep in the left corner, carried all the way to the point, when he spun 270 degrees and fired a pin-point diagonal-down pass through any number of players to the top crease, where a waiting Cam Reid slammed the puck home for his second of the night and fourteenth of the year.

 

Reading re-took the lead at 3-2 8:15 into the second on the team’s third power play chance of the night. After an extended sequence of offensive zone puck possession, Brandon Alderson settled at the left half wall and fired a hard snap shot that Nikita Kashirsky nicked on the way in, causing the puck to flutter by Palazzese on the short-side for Kashirsky’s twelfth of the year—six of which have been scored in ten games played for Reading.

 

The third belonged to the Nailers—pretty much from the face-off to start play in the final frame all the way to the final buzzer. After several early waves of offensive attack, the Nailers re-tied the game at three 6:13 into the third when Matthew Maione drilled a perfect wrist pass from the left point to Cody Wydo, who was wide open and all alone at the top of the crease for an quick one-time snapper under and through Knapp for his fifteenth of the year.

 

1:31 after that, Wheeling re-took the lead (at 4-3) for what would prove to be for good when Tyler Biggs, also playing in his first game as a Nailer, took a shot out of the left circle that fluttered through Knapp for his first ECHL goal of the year.

 

Reading pressed hard at that point and created a couple of counter-punch chances, but 17:05 into the final frame, Wheeling put a nail in the coffin of that come-back effort, when Riley Brace threaded a perfect hundred-foot pass from deep in the defensive zone to the offensive blue-line where Wydo took the puck on the fly for a clean breakaway. Wydo went forehand-backhand, five-hole for his second of the period and sixteenth of the year.

 

The Royals didn’t give up and actually bagged a pulled-goaltender, sixth attacker goal with 1:49 left to close the lead back to one (at 5-4), when Jesper Pettersson fired a hard shot from the left point that Robbie Czarnik re-directed behind Palazzese for his twenty-fourth of the season.

 

But that would prove to be too little, too late, particularly because the Nailers racked up a pair long range empty-netters—a 140 shot by Wydo to complete his hattrick and a 90 footer by Jordan Kwas with 35 seconds left to close out the victory and push the Royals record to 0-6-1-0 on home ice on Friday nights this season.

 

The Royals and Nailers will square off tomorrow night (March 5 @ 7 p.m.) at Santander Arena, in Reading, Pennsylvania. Tomorrow night is also  Scout Night & Mascot Mania!; Commemorative Puck Number Four giveaway courtesy of Reading Health System (first 2000); Special Performance by Fur Circus; Intermission Performance Honoring “Slapshot’s Fifteenth Birthday” by Fifteen of His Fine, Furry Friends; Royals wear Boy Scout-Inspired Specialty Jersey with Post-Game Auction to Benefit Hawk Mountain CouncilDiamond Credit Union Saturday Night Shoot for Community younity; Post-Game Scout-Sleepover with Movie Presentation on Center-Hung Scoreboard (All Scouts Invited). Saturday’s matchup can be heard live on CBS SportsRadio 1240 AM and 98.5 FM in Reading, Pennsylvania, starting with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 6:30 pm Eastern Time. Streaming audio is available free of charge on the Royals’ website (follow the ‘headset’ icon); and streaming video is available on a pay-per-view basis through ECHL.TV.

 

For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

End 16 03-04


GAME NOTES: Royals v Wheeling Nailers (Saturday, 03-05-16 @ 7:00 pm)

Royals Late Push Falls Short to Wheeling, 4-3

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Click Here for Box Score

 

Teams     Per: 1          2          3

WHL:             1         1          2=4

REA:              1         0          2=3

 

Records

WHL: 28-23-2-3 = 61 (2nd Place North Division)

REA: 27-23-5-3 = 62 (t-3rd Place East Division)

 

Goaltenders

WHL: Palazzese (WIN) 18-14-1-1 (25/28)

REA: Vazzano (LOSS) 1-2-2-0 (18/22)

 

Power Play:

WHL: 1-3

REA: 1-5

 

Prepared with the Assistance of:

Anthony Marchetto (Kutztown University Intern)

 

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (27-23-5-3 = 62) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, were defeated by the Wheeling Nailers (28-23-2-3 = 61) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League, 4-3, at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania.

 

For the second night in a row, the Royals fell to the Nailers on home ice, despite outshooting and out-chancing Wheeling for substantial portions of the contest. In contrast to last night, the Nailers scored first in this one; but just as with last night’s game, it was an early push in the third period by Wheeling that built what proved to be an insurmountable lead. After Reading tied the game at one in the first period, the Royals unleashed a dominating attack in the second; but the Nailers bagged the only goal in that period and then were able to maintain their perfect record of protecting third period leads this year at 18-0-0-0. For Reading, this marked the team’s third straight regulation loss and extended the team’s current home winless streak to five (0-4-1-0) in front of a sellout crowd of 7215.

 

Wheeling broke through first 12:41 into the opening frame of play. After an extended sequence of offensive zone puck possession, Riley Brace slipped a pass to defenseman Clark Seymour, who settled the puck just inside the offensive blue line. Seymour wasted little time unloading a slap-shot that blew by goaltender Alex Vazzano on the glove side for Seymour’s first of the night and fifth of the year.

 

Undaunted the Royals bounced back to tie the game at one 16:31 into the first. Brandon Alderson, Cam Reid, and Yannick Tifu connected with a tic-tac-toe sequence of cross-ice passes that ended with Tifu stuffing it home from the top of the crease for his thirteenth on the season.

 

The Royals unleashed the hounds in the second and had any number of Grade-A chances to break through for a lead; but Wheeling’s goaltender Franky Palazzese and his teammates did not break. Instead, it was the Nailers who capitalized late in the period while the two teams were playing four aside. In fact, that marked the first time in the period in which Wheeling had the upper hand, as they used the open ice to their advantage. After missing on a couple of point blank looks—and hitting the pipe on one—Wheeling re-grouped and charged on an odd-man rush led by Cody Wydo, who put one on a tee for defenseman Mathew Maione, who joined on the weak side for an easy slam dunk and his eighth of the year.

 

Wheeling stretched the lead to two (at 3-1) 1:02 into the third with only their second power play goal of the season against the Royals in twenty-five chances  with the man advantage over eight games. This one came on another perimeter shot by Seymour who threw a hot snapper from just inside the blue line that buzzed by Vazzano high to the glove side for Seymour’s second of the game and sixth of the year.

 

The Nailers pushed the lead to 4-1 8:34 into the final frame when an aggressive fore-check by Wheeling devolved into a wild scramble in the defensive zone for the Royals, which ended when Adam Krause took the puck from behind Reading’s net and walked out on right side of the cage and slipped a wrap-around attempt into the blue paint that deflected off the right leg of Vazzano, who was sprawled out along the goal line, and ricocheted into the net.

 

Reading began a valiant, albeit a somewhat late, effort to climb back in with a power play goal with 5:27 to play. Nikita Kashirsky turned on the jets in the right circle, busting by everyone and powering his way to the top of crease, where goaltender Franky Palazzese made a brilliant save. However, as Palazzese attempted to cover the loose puck, Cam Reid dug it free, allowing Joey Sides to step up and swipe the puck home for his ninth of the year.

 

The Royals continued the push down the stretch and actually pulled within one with the team’s second pulled-goaltender, sixth attacker goal in two nights when Brandon Alderson converted an offensive zone face-off play into an easy slam dunk at the left side of the net. But that goal, which cut the lead to 4-3, came with just 1.7 seconds left, which left far too little time for the team to attempt to complete the come-back effort.

 

The Royals will complete their three-game home stand tomorrow afternoon (March 6 @ 4 p.m.) when they play host to the Norfolk Admirals. Tomorrow is also Battle of the Badges Night; Pre-Game: Reading Police Department v Reading Fire Department Hockey Game (12:30 pm) (One Ticket Gains Admission to Battle of the Badges and Royals’ Games); Player Trading Card Set giveaway (first 1000); ‘Cops and Robbers’ Intermission Game; $1.00 Hot DogsPost-Game Autograph Session with the Entire Team. Tomorrow’s afternoon matchup can be heard live on CBS SportsRadio 1240 AM and 98.5 FM in Reading, Pennsylvania, starting with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 3:30 pm Eastern Time. Streaming audio is available free of charge on the Royals’ website (follow the ‘headset’ icon); and streaming video is available on a pay-per-view basis through ECHL.TV.

 

For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

 

End 16 03-05

GAME NOTES: Royals v Norfolk Admirals (Sunday, 03-06-16 @ 4:00 pm)

Goaltender Martin Ouellette Loaned to Reading

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, today announced that goaltender Martin Ouellette has been loaned to the Royals from the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League.

 

This is the seventh stint this season in Reading Ouellette, a second year pro from Saint-Hippolyte, Quebec, who was most recently recalled to the Phantoms on February 27. He did not appear for Lehigh Valley during this most recent recall to the AHL. Ouellette has appeared in three games for Lehigh Valley (0-2-0-0, 4.50, .877). In twenty-six games with the Royals, he has gone 13-9-3-0 with a 2.24 goals against average (tied-tenth in the league), a .916 save percentage and three shutouts.

 

The Royals will complete their three-game home stand today (Sunday, March 6 @ 4 p.m.) when they play host to the Norfolk Admirals. Today, the Royals will also host the Battle of the Badges Night; Pre-Game: Reading Police Department v Reading Fire Department Hockey Game (12:30 pm) (One Ticket Gains Admission to Battle of the Badges and Royals’ Games); Player Trading Card Set giveaway (first 1000); ‘Cops and Robbers’ Intermission Game; $1.00 Hot DogsPost-Game Autograph Session with the Entire Team. Today’s matchup can be heard live on CBS SportsRadio 1240 AM and 98.5 FM in Reading, Pennsylvania, starting with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 3:30 pm Eastern Time. Streaming audio is available free of charge on the Royals’ website (follow the ‘headset’ icon); and streaming video is available on a pay-per-view basis through ECHL.TV.

 

For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

 

 

 

End 16 03-06

Royals Close Out Home Stand with Win Over Norfolk, 3-2

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Click Here for Box Score

 

Prepared with Assistance From

Anthony Marchetto (Kutztown University Intern)

 

 

Teams     Per: 1          2          3

NOR:              0         1          1=2

REA:              0         1          2=3

 

Records

NOR: 24-30-3-1 = 52 (5th Place East Division)

REA: ­­­­­­­­­28-23-5-3 = 64 (3rd Place East Division)

 

Goaltenders

NOR: Riopel (LOSS) 7-11-1-0 (33/36)

REA: Ouellette (WIN) 14-9-3-0 (13/15)

 

Power Play

NOR: 0-6

REA: 0-5

 

Reading, PA – The Reading Royals (­­­­­­­­­Win, 28-23-5-3 = 64) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, defeated the Norfolk Admirals (Loss, 24-30-3-1 = 52) of the ECHL, affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League, 3-2, at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania.

 

In the third and final game of a weekend home stand, the Royals battled back from a deficit to snap a three-game losing streak and a five game winless streak at home. In what proved to be the organization’s 299th victory on home ice in the fifteen year history of the Royals, the team fell behind despite heavily outshooting and out-chancing the Admirals who were idle on Saturday, while Reading was playing on limited rest after suffering back-to-back difficult and draining losses to the Wheeling Nailers on Friday and Saturday. Nonetheless, the Royals dug deep and came up with three straight goals—including a pair early in the third period—to claim the team’s fifth win in five tries against Norfolk—four of which have come in come-from-behind fashion.

 

Prior to the Royals’ game, the organization hosted the Eleventh Annual Battle of the Badges Charitable Hockey Game presented by FirstStates Financial Services, pitting the respective hockey teams for the Reading Police and Fire Departments with the police claiming their third win in the last four years, 6-2. In that game, the first half of action featured a natural hat-trick from Police Officer Pete Karpovich, who ended up with five goals in the game. The Fire Department pushed hard down the stretch, but a comeback just wasn’t in the cards.

 

In the Royals game, the two teams played to a scoreless tie in the first, despite a heavy attack from the Royals, who outshot the Admirals 15-3 in the opening frame. However, it was readily apparent that Norfolk goaltender Nic Riopel was feeling it this afternoon, as he gave his team more than an ample opportunity to get their road skates underneath them.

 

3:20 into the second period—on just their fifth shot of the game—Norfolk broke the scoreless tie when Ryan Salkeld passed it along to Davis Vandane, who threw a shot on net from the blue-line. The Vandane shot made its way through a maze of players in front of Reading goaltender Martin Ouellette and sailed into the back of the net to give the Admirals a 1-0 lead.

 

14:45 into the second, Royals defenseman Jesper Pettersson was called for a tripping minor. As Pettersson’s penalty expired, he stepped out of the penalty box and directly into a perfectly placed blue-to-blue line pass from Robbie Czarnik that sprang Pettersson for a clean breakaway. He didn’t waste the chance. Instead, he broke hard to the top of the crease, laid down a brilliant forehand-backhand move, and roofed the puck over a sprawling Riopel for his third of the year 16:52 into the middle frame.

 

Reading grabbed the lead at 2-1 early in the third when Nikita Kashirsky won an offensive zone face-off to the left point where defenseman Kevin Young settled off and cut to the middle of the ice. Suddenly the Red Sea parted for Young, who uncorked a water-bottle busting blast that blew by Riopel high on the glove side for his fourth of the year 1:54 into the final period.

 

1:39 later, Reading would get what would prove to be the game winner when Young got another long-range look—this time from the right point. On this one, however, the Norfolk defense did not bail. Instead, the shot was blocked, but ricocheted directly to forward Joey Sides, who was wide open and all alone just above the right hash mark. Sides followed the earlier trail blazed by Young—with a hot laser high to the glove side for his tenth of the year, eight of which have been scored for Reading since coming over from the Wichita Thunder twenty-five games ago.

 

The Admirals pulled within one at 3-2—and quickened the collective pulse of the Reading faithful with 8:55 remaining—when Greg Chase squeaked one through on a snapper from the right circle that trickled by Oullette, who got a heavy chunk of the shot, but not enough to keep it above the goal line. But the Royals kept Norfolk at bay from that point forward to push the team’s record back to five games over .500 with thirteen regular season games to go.

 

The Royals hit the road for five games and begin it on Friday (March 11 @ 7:00 pm) when the team travels to Manchester, New Hampshire, to face the top team in the East Division, the Manchester Monarchs. Friday night’s matchup can be heard live on CBS SportsRadio 1240 AM and 98.5 FM in Reading, Pennsylvania, starting with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 6:30 pm Eastern Time. As with all Royals’ road games this season, Friday’s game will be televised locally in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on BCTV courtesy of Boscov’s Travel and Apple Vacations. Streaming audio is available free of charge on the Royals’ website (follow the ‘headset’ icon); and streaming video is available on a pay-per-view basis through ECHL.TV or on bctv.org.

 

For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

 

End 16 03-06

Weekly Release: Raconteur Royale No. 21

Radio Recon’s Really Glad He’s On Our Sides…

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Sinking Spring, PA – The Reading Royals cordially invite you to join us tomorrow night (Tuesday, March 8, 2016) from 6 – 7 pm at Jimmy G’s Railroad House Sports Bar and Restaurant (152 Woodrow Avenue, Sinking Spring, PA; 610-678-1177) for Radio Recon, the Royals’ weekly radio show.

 

As anyone who’s been around the ECHL for a while knows, it’s a bit of a crap-shoot when you head out and make a claim on the waiver wire. But in the case of Joey Sides, there’s no question that the Royals rolled a big winner. He’s not only been a productive offensive force since joining the team, but his bright and upbeat attitude has also lived up to the namesake of his home town, Sun Valley, Idaho; and we’ll seek to find out from the native of the mountain-west what’s clicked with him here way on the other side of continent. We’ll also kick things off on the show tomorrow with a bit of a novelty…the coach on the coach’s show. The trade deadline is looming and the playoff push is in full bloom, and we’ll find out what Coach Courville has up his sleeve for the run down the stretch.

 

As always, we welcome any and all comments and questions from the fans at Radio Recon. We might also come up with a little crazy trivia and giveaways for those who participate in the show. Royals Radio Recon will be broadcast live on the Royals Broadcast Network (CBS Sports Radio 1240 am and 98.5 fm in Reading).

 

End 16 03-07

 


Forward Mike Pereira Loaned to Utica Comets

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, today announced that forward Mike Pereira has been loaned to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League.

 

This is the second trip of the season to the AHL for Pereira, a second year pro from West Haven, Connecticut, who was previously loaned to the Comets in early January and played six games for Utica (1g-0a=1pt, 4 pims) before being returned to Reading on January 27. In forty-six games with the Royals this year, Pereira has recorded forty-one points (17g-24a) and twenty penalty minutes and played to a team-leading plus-13 (+13).

 

The Royals return to action on Friday (March 11 @ 7:00 pm) when the team travels to Manchester, New Hampshire, to face the top team in the East Division, the Manchester Monarchs. Friday night’s matchup can be heard live on CBS SportsRadio 1240 AM and 98.5 FM in Reading, Pennsylvania, starting with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 6:30 pm Eastern Time. As with all Royals’ road games this season, Friday’s game will also be televised locally in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on BCTV courtesy of Boscov’s Travel and Apple Vacations. Streaming audio is available free of charge on the Royals’ website (follow the ‘headset’ icon); and streaming video is available on a pay-per-view basis through ECHL.TV or on bctv.org.

 

For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

 

End 16 03-08

Royals Acquire Forward Mike Pelech

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, today announced that the team has acquired forward Mike Pelech from the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL in return for forward Robbie Czarnik and defenseman Sam Windle.

 

Pelech (6’3/220) (26), a seventh year pro from Toronto, Ontario, was second in scoring on the Admirals with thirty-eight points (9g-29a) and seventy-seven penalty minutes in fifty-seven games with the team. Pelech, a sixth round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2009, scored a career high twenty-five goals with the Utah Grizzlies last season. Pelech, who has played thirty-five career AHL games (2g-4a=6pts)—including one with the San Diego Gulls this season, was an alternate captain of the 2013 Cincinnati Cyclones club that was defeated by the Royals in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals. In 431 career ECHL games, Pelech has recorded 315 points (96g-219a) and 726 penalty minutes.

 

Czarnik, a fifth year pro from Detroit, Michigan, registered forty-six points (23g-23a) and thirty-two penalty minutes in fifty-one games with the Royals. Windle, a first year pro from Maple Grove, Minnesota, had three assists and fourteen penalty minutes in twenty-eight games with the Royals.

 

The Royals return to action on Friday (March 11 @ 7:00 pm) when the team travels to Manchester, New Hampshire, to face the top team in the East Division, the Manchester Monarchs. Friday night’s matchup can be heard live on CBS SportsRadio 1240 AM and 98.5 FM in Reading, Pennsylvania, starting with the pre-game warm-up show presented by Highmark Blue Shield at 6:30 pm Eastern Time. As with all Royals’ road games this season, Friday’s game will also be televised locally in Berks County, Pennsylvania, on BCTV courtesy of Boscov’s Travel and Apple Vacations. Streaming audio is available free of charge on the Royals’ website (follow the ‘headset’ icon); and streaming video is available on a pay-per-view basis through ECHL.TV or on bctv.org.

 

For more information about the Royals, call 610-898-7825 or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

Royals Agree To Terms with Forward Ian Watters

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Ian Watters. Watters is the second player announced as signed by the Royals to an ECHL Standard Players Contract for the 2016-17 season, joining forward Olivier Labelle.

 

This will mark the fourth stint in Reading for Watters (6’0/191) (24), who hails from Pickering, Ontario. Last year, he registered twenty-one points (7g-14a) and ninety-nine penalty minutes in sixty-eight regular season games with the Royals. Watters, who will be entering his fifth season of pro, ended the regular season with the second most penalty minutes on the team and led players on the end-of-season active roster with 157 shots on goal. Watters, who served as one of the Royals’ alternate captains last year, completed the season with four points (2g-2a) in twelve post-season games during Reading’s 2016 playoff run. His playoff goals included what proved to be the game winner in Game Two of the first round Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series against the Toledo Walleye.

 

Watters joined the Royals in the 2013-14 season, which was unfortunately cut short for him when he sustained what proved to be a season-ending injury in his seventh game with the team. In 2014-15, Watters racked up twenty-five points (4g-21a) and seventy-five penalty minutes in fifty-seven regular season games with Reading. He also registered three assists in the seven playoff games played against the South Carolina Stingrays in the 2015 East Division Semi-Finals. Watters’ 132 career games with the Royals (11g-36a=47pts) is seventeenth most in team history—one more than Andrew Sarauer and one fewer than Shawn Germain. Watters, who engaged in three tilts last season, has registered 174 career penalty minutes with the Royals, which is twenty-third all time. In four seasons of pro, Watters has played in 195 career regular season games, registering eighty-seven total points (28g-59a) and 249 penalty minutes.

 

Prior to turning pro, Watters spent three full seasons with the Brampton Battalion in the Ontario Hockey League, scoring forty-five goals and assisting on fifty-two others (ninety-seven points) over a span of 159 games. In 2010-11, he was second on the Battalion with twenty goals in sixty-eight games. In his final season of major junior, 2011-12, Watters, who served as an alternate captain for the Battalion, recorded thirty points (16g-14a) despite only playing in thirty-four games in a season that was disrupted by injury. Prior to joining Brampton, Watters played one season with the Ajax Attack in the Ontario Junior Hockey League. That year, he led the Attack with thirty-one goals (and seventy-nine points) in forty-six games and was selected as the OJHL Rookie of the Year in the Ruddock Division.

 

Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

Royals Extend Qualifying Offers to Five

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, today announced that the team has extended qualifying offers to the following five players: Austin Farley (f), Jordan Heywood (d), Adam Morrison (g), Cam Reid (f), and Kevin Sundher (f).

 

Players who had already signed a contract by June 30 did not need to receive a qualifying offer. Each team was entitled to reserve the rights to a maximum of eight qualified players. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four could be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the upcoming 2016-17 season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded. The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until Aug. 1 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.

 

A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player will retain the rights to that veteran until Aug. 1. After Aug. 1, if the veteran player is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams. Restricted free agents may not be traded. When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player’s rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player’s rights and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association. The member with the player’s rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer.

 

If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by Aug. 31, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent..

 

Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

 

End 16 07-01

Royals Agree to Terms with Forward Justin Crandall

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Justin Crandall. Crandall is the third player announced as signed by the Royals to an ECHL Standard Players Contract for the 2016-17 season, joining forwards Olivier Labelle and Ian Watters.

 

Last season, Crandall (5’11/189) (24), who hails from Lakeville, Minnesota, led the Royals with fifty-five points (17g-38a) in fifty-four regular season games with the team. His points total with Reading placed him fourth in the scoring race amongst first year pros in the ECHL. (His thirty-eight assists was second amongst rookies.) Crandall, who was selected as the team’s Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, also earned two separate call-ups to the American Hockey League, playing seven games with the Chicago Wolves (1g-1a=2pts) and two with the Albany Devils (0g-1a=1pt). Crandall, who led the Royals last season with nineteen power play points (7g-12a), finished the year by racking up eight points (3g-5a) in fourteen playoff games in the Royals’ 2016 post-season run.

 

Crandall actually first joined the Royals when he signed an Amateur Tryout Agreement late in the 2014-15 season after completing a stellar four year career at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. That year, he played four games with the Royals and registered three points (1g-2a). Crandall closed out his collegiate career at UMD by racking up twenty-three points (13g-10a) in thirty-eight games, while serving as an alternate captain for the Bulldogs in his senior season. In 145 career games at UMD, Crandall recorded seventy-nine points (40g-39a) and 120 penalty minutes with the Bulldogs.

 

Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

Royals Agree to Terms with Defenseman Mike Marcou

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, today announced that the Royals have agreed to terms with defenseman Mike Marcou. Marcou is the fourth player announced as signed by the Royals to an ECHL Standard Players Contract for the 2016-17 season, joining forwards Justin Crandall, Olivier Labelle and Ian Watters.

 

This marks the third stint in Reading for Marcou (5’10/177) (26), who hails from Kings Park, New York. Last season, Marcou began the year with the Graz 99ers in Austria, where he recorded six assists and sixteen penalty minutes in twenty-two games prior to returning to North America in mid-December when he was signed to a two-way American Hockey League deal by the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. He was then loaned by the Phantoms to the Royals, where he registered nineteen points (4g-15a) and seventeen penalty minutes in forty-seven regular season games, which placed him fourth amongst defensemen on the team in scoring. His eleven power play assists and 125 total shots on goal led all d-men on the squad. Marcou, who served as an alternate captain for the Royals last season and earned the team’s “Heart Award,” completed the year by registering five points (3g-2a) in the fourteen post-season games played by the Royals.

 

In his first stint with the Royals (2014-15), Marcou led all defensemen on the team with a career personal high thirty-five points (6g-29a) in sixty-four games, which placed him tied for twenty-first amongst defensemen in league scoring. That year, Marcou also led all d-men on the Royals with eighteen power play points (2g-16a). His sixteen power play assists tied for the team lead and was fourth most amongst defensemen in the league. Marcou’s 137 shots on goal also led all defensemen on the Royals. In the seven playoff games played by Reading against the South Carolina Stingrays in the 2015 East Division Semi-Finals, Marcou generated five points (2g-3a) and two penalty minutes.

 

Marcou, who will be entering his fifth season of pro, has led the defensemen on his team in scoring three times, including 2013-14, when he racked up twenty-nine points (8g-21a) in sixty-five regular season games with the Greenville (then-) Road Warriors of the ECHL. Marcou, who was signed to an AHL deal that year by the Hartford Wolf Pack, also played two games for Hartford without registering any points or penalty minutes. Marcou added five-points (1g-4a) in eighteen post-season games for the Road Warriors, who advanced all the way to the ECHL’s 2014 Eastern Conference Finals before being eliminated by the Cincinnati Cyclones.

 

In his rookie season, 2012-13, Marcou led Greenville defensemen with twenty-five points (6g-19a) in fifty-four games for the Road Warriors. In January of that season, Marcou was selected to represent Greenville at the 2013 ECHL All-Star Classic in Loveland, Colorado, on a team that was led by the Royals’ Head Coach Larry Courville. That year, Marcou also logged a pair of AHL games with the San Antonio Rampage. In playoffs that year, Marcou played one post-season game in the Road Warriors’ Eastern Conference Quarterfinal first round series against Reading, which the eventual Kelly Cup Champion Royals won four games to one.

 

In 258 career pro games, Marcou has registered 114 points (24g-90a) and one-hundred and seven penalty minutes. In forty career pro post-season games, he has fifty points (6g-9a) and twenty-four penalty minutes.

 

Prior to turning pro, Marcou played four seasons at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. In his sophomore season, he was selected as the team’s co-Most Improved Player, and in his final year with the Minutemen, Marcou was second in scoring amongst defensemen on the team with twenty-one points (6g-15a) in thirty-four games. In 117 games for UMass-Amherst, Marcou recorded forty-three points (17g-26a) and seventy-seven penalty minutes.

 

Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

Royals Agree to Terms with Forward Mike Pereira

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Mike Pereira. The Royals have announced five players as signed to ECHL Standard Players Contracts for the 2016-17 season. In addition to Pereira, Reading has announced the signing of forwards Justin Crandall, Olivier Labelle and Ian Watters and defenseman Mike Marcou.

 

Last year, Pereira (5’11/186) (24), who hails from West Haven, Connecticut, led all players on the Royals final active roster with nineteen goals (19g-24a=43pts) in forty-seven games with the team. Pereira, who racked up eleven multi-point performances during the regular season, also led the Royals with five game winning goals and led all forwards on the team in plus-minus by playing to a plus-14 (+14). Pereira earned three separate call-ups last season to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League, where he played seventeen regular season games (1g-1a) and three in the post-season (0g-1a). After Utica was eliminated from the playoffs, Pereira rejoined the Royals on April 29, 2016, but was limited by injury to just one post-season game with Reading (Game One of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Wheeling Nailers).

 

Pereira kicked off his pro career in 2014-15, when he registered seven points (4g-3a) and eight penalty minutes in a rookie season that was abbreviated to just twenty-two games with the Stockton Thunder of the ECHL due to injury. Pereira actually made his pro debut late in the 2013-14 season after the conclusion of his senior season at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, when he joined the Worcester Sharks of the AHL. During a three-game stint with the Sharks, Pereira scored his first pro goal when he bagged what proved to be the game winner in Worcester’s 5-1 victory over the Manchester Monarchs on March 16, 2014.

 

Prior to turning pro, Pereira had a stellar collegiate career at UMass-Amherst, finishing in the team’s top three in goals and overall scoring in all four of his seasons with the Minutemen. In his freshman year, Pereira tied for the team lead with twelve goals in thirty-four games and earned a spot on the Hockey East All-Rookie team, while being selected as the team’s Rookie of the Year. A three-time selection to the Hockey East All-Academic team, Pereira led the Minutemen with seventeen goals in his sophomore season, while also leading the team in power play points (7g-6a=13pts), game winning goals (3) and hattricks (2). Pereira, who was chosen as the Hockey East Player of the Week twice and UMass-Amherst’s Athlete of the Week four times during his college career, racked up 107 points (53g-54a) in 135 games with the Minutemen.

 

Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 


Royals Agree to Terms with Defenseman Derik Johnson

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with defenseman Derik Johnson. The Royals have announced six players as signed to ECHL Standard Players Contracts for the 2016-17 season. In addition to Johnson, Reading has announced the signing of forwards Justin Crandall, Olivier Labelle, Mike Pereira and Ian Watters and defenseman Mike Marcou.

 

Last year, Johnson (6’0/201) (26), who grew up in the Phoenix, Arizona, area, registered ten points (1g-9a) and twenty-eight penalty minutes, while playing to a plus-12 (+12) in fifty regular season games with the Royals. The highlights for Johnson in his first full year of pro included scoring his first pro goal—the team’s second in what proved to be a 5-0 win over the Adirondack Thunder on January 2, 2016. Johnson also earned his first chance to play in the American Hockey League when he was called up to the Springfield Falcons, where he played four games (0g-0a=0pts, 2 pims) in late March and early April. Johnson, who received the Royals’ “Unsung Hero” Award last year, finished the season by playing in eleven post-season games with the team (0g-2a=2pts, 6 pims).

 

Johnson got his first taste of pro hockey late in the 2014-15 season when he joined the Missouri Mavericks of the ECHL for five games (0g-0a=0pts, 6 pims) after completing his senior season at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. That year at UMD, Johnson registered five points (1g-4a) and a team-leading sixty-three penalty minutes in forty-games for the Bulldogs, who earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Northeast Regional Finals before being eliminated by Boston University. Johnson, who led UMD in penalty minutes twice during his college career, registered seventeen points (2g-15a) and 211 penalty minutes in 108 career games with the Bulldogs. Johnson’s father, Jim, who had a thirteen year NHL career (during which he racked up a total of 1197 penalty minutes), is an assistant coach with the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL.

 

Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

 

Royals Renew Affiliation Agreement with Philadelphia Flyers

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL and Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League today jointly announced that the two organizations have extended their working arrangement with a multi-year affiliation agreement. Under the affiliation extension, which was originally signed in June of 2014, the Royals will receive players designated for assignment within the professional hockey operations development system of the Flyers.

 

“We’re very excited to extend our affiliation relationship with the Flyers,” said Royals President Drew Bell. “We believe that the philosophy, culture and goals of the Royals and Flyers are consistent with one another—an unwavering dedication to excellence in all phases of our operations and ultimately, of course, winning hockey games. There is no question that the relationship with the Flyers has paid positive dividends for the Royals over the past two seasons, and we anticipate that our position within the Flyers’ player development pipeline is only going to get stronger over the next several seasons. We look forward to this opportunity to expand our role in the effort to develop young prospects and grow the interest in and support for professional hockey in Southeast Pennsylvania.”

 

“We are pleased to extend and continue our relationship with the Royals,” said Flyers’ General Manager Ron Hextall. “Reading has created a long-term culture of success and has provided our prospects a positive environment that is important in the development of their careers. The geographic proximity of our minor league affiliations in Lehigh Valley and Reading gives our coaches and scouting department the best possible platform to evaluate and promote the advancement of our prospects within the Flyers system.”

 

“I’m looking forward to continuing our working relationship with the Flyers,” said Royals’ Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Larry Courville. “There is no question that our team’s success is directly tied with that of our affiliate, and we believe that we have built a positive working arrangement with the Flyers over the last couple of years. We’re dedicated to continuing our effort to help young prospects pursue their goal of advancing to the highest level of the game, while engaging those same young players in our team’s goal to win another ECHL championship.”

 

The Flyers, who celebrated their fiftieth anniversary of being awarded an NHL franchise this past February, joined the NHL as part of the six team expansion which began play in the 1967-68 season. The Flyers, who play their home games at Wells Fargo Center in south Philadelphia, hold an overall, historic win percentage at .577, which is second only to the Montreal Canadiens as the best ever in the NHL. The Flyers, who won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975, have qualified for playoffs in thirty-eight of the team’s forty-eight seasons and have made it to the Stanley Cup Finals eight times, most recently in 2010 when the Flyers were defeated by the Chicago Blackhawks.

 

 

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms, the Flyers American Hockey League affiliate, are slated to play their third season in Allentown, Pennsylvania, this fall. As has been the case over the past two seasons, it is expected that the Royals will work closely with the Phantoms with respect to player movement within the Flyers’ minor professional development system.

 

The Royals, who are entering the team’s sixteenth season in Reading, have qualified for the post-season eleven times, including the last seven consecutively. The Royals won the league’s Kelly Cup Championship in 2013. Last year, Reading advanced to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals prior to being knocked out in Game Seven (in overtime) by the Wheeling Nailers in the second round playoff series. In 2015-16, no fewer that fourteen players, including two goaltenders, played for the Royals under either an NHL or AHL contract with the Flyers. Two players who were under ECHL contract with Reading last season, Joe Rehkamp and Kevin Sundher, were also called up to the Phantoms, and Sundher ultimately signed an AHL deal with the Flyers.

 

From the Royals’ inception in 2001 through 2008, the team was primarily affiliated with the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL and the Manchester Monarchs, who were in the AHL during that time period. From 2008-09 through 2011-12, the Royals were affiliated with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL and the Toronto Marlies of the AHL and, beginning in 2009-10, the Royals added a secondary affiliation with the Boston Bruins of the NHL. From 2012 through 2014, Reading was affiliated with the Washington Capitals of the NHL and the Hershey Bears of the AHL.

 

Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

 

End 16 07-10

ECHL Announces Divisional Alignment and Playoff Structure for 2016-17

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Reading, PA – The ECHL today announced the divisional alignment and playoff structure for the 2016-17 season. As a part of the realignment the Reading Royals will play in the North Division of the Eastern Conference along with the Adirondack Thunder, Brampton Beast, Elmira Jackals, Manchester Monarchs, and Wheeling Nailers.

 

As approved by the Board of Governors, the Conference and Divisional alignment for the 2016-17 Season will be as follows:

 

Eastern Conference

North Division

Adirondack Thunder, Brampton Beast, Elmira Jackals, Manchester Monarchs, Reading Royals, Wheeling Nailers

 

South Division

Atlanta Gladiators, Cincinnati Cyclones, Florida Everblades, Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Norfolk Admirals, Orlando Solar Bears, South Carolina Stingrays

 

Western Conference

Central Division

Fort Wayne Komets, Indy Fuel, Kalamazoo Wings, Quad City Mallards, Toledo Walleye, Tulsa Oilers, Wichita Thunder

 

Mountain Division

Alaska Aces, Allen Americans, Colorado Eagles, Idaho Steelheads, Missouri Mavericks, Rapid City Rush, Utah Grizzlies

 

The first two rounds of the Kelly Cup Playoffs will be played entirely within the division, with the division winner playing the fourth-place finisher and the second-place team meeting the third-place team in the Division Semifinals. The winners of each series will meet in the Division Finals, leading to the Conference Finals and Kelly Cup Finals.

 

Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

End 16 07-11

Royals Agree to Terms with Forward Joe Rehkamp

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the NHL, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Joe Rehkamp. The Royals have announced seven players as signed to ECHL Standard Players Contracts for the 2016-17 season. In addition to Rehkamp, Reading has announced the signing of forwards Justin Crandall, Olivier Labelle, Mike Pereira and Ian Watters and defensemen Derik Johnson and Mike Marcou.

 

Last season, Rehkamp (5’11/191) (25), who hails from Plymouth, Minnesota, scored four goals and assisted on nine others (thirteen points) and registered twenty-five penalty minutes in twenty-six total games with the Royals. Rehkamp began the year with Reading and registered ten points (3g-7a) in his first eighteen games with the team, earning in late November what proved to be a forty-one game call up to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms of the American Hockey League, where he tacked on three points (1g-2a) and sixteen penalty minutes during his first career trip to the AHL. Rehkamp was returned to the Royals on March 21, 2016, and completed the regular season with Reading. He then finished the year by playing in thirteen of the Royals’ fourteen playoff games, scoring his first pro playoff goal and assisting on two others.

 

Rehkamp kicked off his pro career late in the 2014-15 season when he joined the Royals in early April of 2015 after the completion of his senior season at St. Cloud State University. In that stint, Rehkamp played three games with the Royals without registering any points and penalty minutes. Prior to joining Reading, Rehkamp put up career numbers at St. Cloud, registering nineteen points (5g-14a) and sixteen penalty minutes in thirty-eight games for the Huskies, who earned a berth in the NCAA tournament but were eliminated in the West Regional by the University of North Dakota. A two time All-NCHC Academic Award recipient, Rehkamp recorded thirty-one points (8g-23a) and forty-four penalty minutes in 116 career games at St. Cloud.

 

Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

Royals Agree to Terms with Forward Mike Pelech

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Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL, affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League, today announced that the team has agreed to terms with forward Mike Pelech. The Royals have announced eight players as signed to ECHL Standard Players Contracts for the 2016-17 season. In addition to Pelech, Reading has announced the signing of forwards Justin Crandall, Olivier Labelle, Mike Pereira, Joe Rehkamp and Ian Watters and defensemen Derik Johnson and Mike Marcou.

 

Pelech (6’3/220) (26), who will be entering his eighth year of pro, was acquired by the Royals on March 9, 2016, in a trade with the Norfolk Admirals in exchange for forward Robbie Czarnik and defenseman Sam Windle. Pelech, who was second in scoring on the Admirals with thirty-eight points (9g-29a) and seventy-seven penalty minutes in fifty-seven games with Norfolk at the time of the trade, played the final thirteen games of the regular season with Reading, adding two goals and four assists (six points) and two penalty minutes. Pelech, who hails from Toronto, Ontario, proceeded to register seven points (1g-6a) and thirty-seven penalty minutes in fourteen post-season games with Reading. His playoff goal was part of a three-point performance (1g-2a) in Reading’s 4-1 win over the Wheeling Nailers in Game Two of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals.

 

Pelech, a sixth round pick of the Los Angeles Kings in 2009, scored a career high twenty-five goals with the Utah Grizzlies in the 2014-15 season. Pelech, who has played thirty-five career AHL games (2g-4a=6pts)—including one with the San Diego Gulls in February of 2016, was an alternate captain of the 2013 Cincinnati Cyclones club that was defeated by the Royals in the 2013 Eastern Conference Finals. In 479 career pro games, Pelech has scored 100 goals and assisted on 227 others (327 points) and 769 penalty minutes.

 

Season Tickets for the 2016-17 Reading Royals ECHL season are currently available. Call 610-898-7825 for more information or log onto www.royalshockey.com.

 

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