Royals upset Stingrays with Shootout Victory

We arrived at the Sovereign Center in downtown Reading just as both teams were taking to the ice for their pre-game warm-ups. As mentioned in my previous entry, this was our first opportunity to see South Carolina in person, and it was great seeing a few familiar names from the Capitals roster. It was certainly not hard to miss the towering Joe Finley, who we had not seen since his short stint in Hershey last season. We also noticed a lot of new names and faces amongst the Royals. We were certainly disappointed to learn that Dan Rudiseula had not been resigned, and like many others that preceded him, was now playing hockey in Europe. It is a shame that players we have come to know, such as Josef Boumedienne and Shawn Collymore, have made such little impact in the North American pro-ranks that they've had to ply their trade elsewhere.

Once the game got underway, it was VERY difficult to root against either team. We are fond of the Royals, but we were also loyal to the NHL affiliation with the Caps. It was hard to cheer respectfully when the Rays scored, and almost impossible to stay seated when the Royals took their turn finding the back of the net. Spotting some friends from Hershey in the crowd, we moved after the first period to both not alienate the fans in our section and to have strength in numbers to support the visiting team.

The game itself was a sequence of fights and a shootout - but this was not a Clint Eastwood western - this was ECHL hockey. Joe Finley would indeed drop the gloves, as would Matt Fornataro and Nate Kiser (an impressive defenseman). However, it came down to a duell between two great goaltending prospects: Braden Holtby for the Rays and Andrew Engelage for the Royals. Needing to stand tall, Holtby would be beaten by Jared Ross in the shootout and the home team would take the victory. In a way, it was a win-win for us - the Stingrays beat the Royals just 24 hours earlier, and then took an extra point in defeat. While the Rays headed home with 3 out of 4 points on the road, the Royals also salvaged a victory of their own for the 5000 fans in attendance.

Torn Loyalties Tonight

We are heading to Reading, PA tonight for our first taste of Royals hockey. While our visits to the Sovereign Center only account for a small percentage of our hockey viewing pleasure, we always enjoy the fast paced action that the ECHL offers. Tonight, however, we face the paradox of having our Royals host the South Carolina Stingrays (affilates of the Washington Capitals), and thus questions arise as to where our loyalties will lie. We are supportive of the Royals, but with no emotional ties to either the Toronto Maple Leafs or Boston Bruins, it will be almost impossible to cheer against the Rays. We look forward to seeing the likes of Josh Godfrey, Michael Dubuc, Joe Finley, Jake Hauswirth, and possibly even Braden Holtby who was recently reassigned. Indeed, talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

So our apologies in advance to the Royals. We support you and always wish you success, but just this once our loyalties to the Capitals will take precedence. Next time we visit the Sovereign Center, we'll be rooting for the home team, honestly.

On a side note, we are looking forward to seeing Kyle Laughlin play tonight for Reading - son of CSN color commentator, Craig Laughlin. Hopefully Craig can take time out to visit Reading and see his son play.

Royals Win 6-5 in a Shoot Out on Sunday evening.

We headed to Reading on Sunday evening to see the Royals take on the Elmira Jackals. The Royals were on a nine game losing skid, but somehow they seem to shine when we visit the Sovereign Center. Maybe the Royals organization could offer us some free tickets in order to help turn their fortunes around. Probably not, but we had a great time last night witnessing a fantastic see-saw battle between two bitter rivals that was ultimately decided with a shoot out.

Reading would take a 3-0 lead into the first intermission, with Dan Rudisuela, Matt Curley and Kirk MacDonald all beating Jackals goaltender Mitch O'Keefe. Elmira would dominate the second period and even up the score during a painful twenty minutes of hockey for the hosts. The crowd were silenced when Elmira added to that lead with a power play goal early in the third period. Ever resilient, the Royals responded quickly with the second goal of the night from Rudisuela, and then the go-ahead score from Chris Stevens. The lead was short-lived once again, however, as the Jackals' Chris Korchinski would tie the game (and record a hat-trick) with under ten minutes remaining in regulation.

Neither team would score again through the third, nor through the overtime period, and so the penalty shoot out commenced. Reading would connect on 4 of their 6 attempts, and James Reimer would deny 3 attempts to seal the victory. The crowd were ecstatic, and rightly so. Their team had prevailed when most had given up on them. The Royals kept fighting to the end, and edged out the victory in spectacular fashion. The heckling of Bruce Watson only added fuel to a fire that is the Royals and Jackals rivalry (and was thoroughly entertaining - Watson! Watson! Sit down in the box Watson!). Way to go Royals! Look forward to seeing you take it to the Jackals again this Friday evening.

Here's Johnny!!!

We took in two hockey games over this past weekend, and while one was hot, the other was not. Saturday night was spent down in DC as the New York Rangers came to town. Due to another obligation called employment, we were a little late getting to the game. Fortunately, XM radio allowed us to listen in to the first period, and wow, what a period. With Brooks Laich and Tom Poti both beating Lundqvist, we were in great spirits before we even took to our seats during the first intermission. The second period was a great defensive battle, with neither side conceding any scores, and both goaltenders looking more than comfortable between the pipes. The true highlight reel of this period was the penalty shot awarded to Chris Drury, which Brent Johnson poked checked away much to the delight of the delirious fans in the stands. The Rangers would light the lamp in the third, and came close to making it a tied game within the last two minutes after a hooking penalty sent Alexander Semin to the box. Semin may have felt some heat from such a dumb penalty at the most crucial point of the game, but after serving his two minute minor, returned and fired an end to end empty netter to seal the victory. With a 0.966 save percentage throughout the game, Brent Johnson more than earned his first star rating for the evening.

Sunday evening we ventured to Reading to catch the Royals and the Bombers. The Royals came out strong, and quickly took the lead when Ned Lukacevic found the back of the net. The lead was short-lived, however, when a Joe Van Culin shot from the blue line beat Danny Taylor just two minutes later. With two consecutive penalties, the Royals found themselves in a tough 5-3 predicament defensively, but once again looked extra sharp on their penalty kill. During this 2 man disadvantage, Brock Hooton stole the puck and made the dash up the ice, only to be hauled down whilst attempting his shot on net. The penalty shot was awarded, and Hooton made a fantastic highlight reel worthy shot into the back of the net. The Bombers would make the score 2-2 as the second period came to an end. The third period was a different game. The Royals looked tired - they were outhustled and outplayed by Dayton. Frustration led to penalty trouble, and the Bombers capitalized on the man advantages handed to them. Some of the calls were justified, but the goaltender interference penalty on Matt Herneisen was a terrible lack of judgement from the officiating crew. Conceding another goal to Dayton as a result of this call, Herneisen vented his frustration and 'earned' his ejection from the game - as the captain, he HAD to voice his objections to the dubious penalty that ultimately cost Reading the game. Hopefully the Royals can turn things around and move on as the season progresses.

With the Monday night match-up between the Caps and the Bolts, it was strange seeing number 37 wearing the opposing jersey. While Olie will always command my respect, it was bittersweet to see him surrender 4 goals and allow the Caps winning streak to continue. Once again, Brent Johnson delivered for the Capitals in goal, and hopefully will remain the goaltender of choice for Bruce Boudreau for the upcoming road game in Carolina.

Picked the right game last night...

When the season schedules were released for the NHL, AHL, and ECHL just a few months ago, I spent more than a fair amount of time constructing my own schedule of games that wifey and I would like to attend. With our commitment to the Capitals and the Bears, there were always going to be 'fill-in' weeks where these teams would be either away or idle. There were also going to be conflicting schedules, where decisions had to be made over which games we would rather attend. Spaces were filled out on this schedule with a handful of Reading Royals games, and last night we were certainly glad that we opted to see the Royals play the Steelheads over the Hershey-Philadelphia game at the Giant Center. The Royals' new affiliation with the Toronto Maple Leafs meant lots of new faces and talent on the roster, and we were keen to see what they had to offer for the 08-09 season. Of course, we wanted to see Slapshot also - one of the most entertaining mascots out there in this part of the country.

We arrived a little late at the Sovereign Center in downtown Reading, with the game half way through the first period and scoreless as we took to our seats. There was a pretty decent turnout of just under 6000 people, and the night was set for a good match-up. Listening to NHL Home Ice on XM as we drove to Reading, we heard part of an interview with Habs GM Bob Gainey, and were surprised to learn that his son plays for the Idaho team that we'd be seeing that same evening. Although we root for the Royals, we were keen to see if Gainey had the skill-set that his father possessed "back in the day".

Less than two minutes after taking our seats, the Royals lit the lamp as Jeff Corey deflected a flying puck into the back of the net. The crowd of just under 6000 in attendance were ecstatic, and celebrated once again just 43 seconds later when Shawn Snider increased the lead to 2-0. A great start, and a glimmer of hope for this team that had only one victory so far this season.

The second period saw plenty of mis-matches, as both teams struggled to keep out of the penalty box. Good (or not good) to see that Reading have a Power Play that is on par with that of the Capitals and the Bears - none of my teams can seem to capitalize on the man advantage. What did impress me about the Royals, however, was their PK unit. The guys showed great chemistry when outnumbered, and looked very cool and collected when facing a 5 on 3 disadvantage later in the game. It was good to see Danny Taylor looking very composed in goal, with the two strikes against him being pretty irrelevant as he collected the second star for the evening. Good to see a fellow wayfaring Englishman having success here in North America.

With a 6-2 victory, Reading collected the much needed two points, and we left the Sovereign Center with a strong desire to return for more Royals hockey. So glad that I added six of their games this season to our season schedule. As things turned out, the Capitals ended the evening blown out by the Sabres, and the Bears took a hammering from the Phantoms. Whilst we were not happy about that, we smiled knowing that the one obscure game we chose turned out to be the most enjoyable of all. Go Royals!

Kudos

to Keith Aucoin for being named the AHL player of the week. A 3-0 start to the AHL season for the Bears is a fantastic start, especially as all games were in the arenas of divisional rivals. I cannot wait to feel the atmosphere on Saturday at the Giant Center when the Bears kick off at home against Syracuse.

Here's hoping that the injury to Viktor Kozlov in DC is only minor, and that he'll be back on the ice soon. Eric Fehr is more than capable of filling that roster spot, but Kozlov has great chemistry on that line with Ovie and Backstrom. Good health to you Viktor.

The Reading Royals open their 08-09 campaign shortly. Good luck to the guys down there for the coming season.

It's Only Been Forever Since We Posted...

Hey, it's the off-season for us as well! However, when Hubs brought home the master list of the games we'll be attending this year (Caps, Bears, and Royals), it became abundantly clear that hockey season approacheth. So, with that in mind, some random thoughts to kick off the 2008-2009 season:

* I remain unconvinced that Jose Theodore is the answer to the Caps' goaltending questions, even short term while the Caps' prospects are developing. Granted, the market was such that there weren't really any better choices available (I would have loved to keep Huet, but his manager screwed that up; and Ray Emery certainly was not a good choice), but I'm in the 'I'll believe it when I see it' line for liking Theodore.

* Come on, Caps/Bears, sign Josef Boumedienne already!!! We need a skilled, experienced defenseman on the Bears, and he's already proven 1) leadership skills and 2) a great chemistry on the ice with Sami Lepisto. Had Josef not been injured in 2007/2008, his numbers would have been exceptional, particularly in the assists category.

* I think Georges Laraque was a great pickup for Montréal... I've thought for a while that where the Habs were sorely lacking was in the muscled, strong, intimidating player department. Sure, Komisarek is fabulous, but we needed more muscle - and Laraque provides that.

* I'm disappointed to see Shawn Collymore leave the area... Shawn, if you're out there, we'll miss you here in central Pennsylvania!

* Is it October yet? :-)