FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Saturday, April 22, 2017
The Royal Playoff Road Ahead
Royals and Best Face-Off in Pivotal Game Five at Powerade Centre in Brampton
READING ROYALS @ BRAMPTON BEAST
Powerade Centre – Brampton, Ontario
Game Time 8:30 PM et – Royals Broadcast: 8:00 PM et
GAME FIVE NORTH DIVISION SEMIFINAL BEST-OF-SEVEN FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF SERIES
Series Tied Two Games Apiece
Game One – Brampton @ Reading: Reading 2 – Brampton 1 (REA Led Series 1-0)
Game Two – Brampton @ Reading: Brampton 2 – Reading 1 (OT) (Series Tied 1-1)
Game Three – Reading @ Brampton: Brampton 2 – Reading 1 (BRM Leads Series 2-1)
Game Four – Reading @ Brampton: Reading 3 – Brampton 2 (Series Tied 2-2)
Game Five – Reading @ Brampton, Saturday, April 22 @ 8:30 pm et
Game Six – Brampton @ Reading, Monday, April 24 @ 7:00 pm et, if necessary
Game Seven – Brampton @ Reading, Tuesday, April 25 @ 7:00 pm et, if necessary
ROYALS BROADCAST
AUDIO: iHeartRadio – Rumba 1340 in Reading
TELEVISION: Royals’ Road Games are televised locally in Berks County, Pennsylvania
on BCTV, which Can Found at Comcast Reading Cable Channel 15,
Service Electric Cable Channel 19, Comcast Southern Berks Channel 965
STREAMING VIDEO: ECHL.TV powered by NeuLion (Pay-Per-View)
ROYALS PRE-GAME NOTES
• Tonight, the Royals take on the Brampton Beast in Game Five of the North Division Semifinal Best-of-Seven first
round playoff series at Powerade Centre in Brampton, Ontario.
o The series is tied at two games apiece after Reading’s 3-2 win over the Beast here at Powerade Center on
Thursday (April 20).
o The Royals took Game One in the series on Thursday, April 14 (2-1); the Beast bounced back to claim
Game Two on Saturday, April 17 (2-1 in overtime); and Brampton won the first game played here at
Powerade Center on Tuesday, April 20, (2-1).
o Game Six will be played at Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania, on Monday, April 24 (@ 7:00 pm).
o If a decisive Game Seven becomes necessary, it will be held at Santander Arena on Tuesday, April 25 (@
7:00 pm).
• The Royals bounced back on Thursday to claim a 3-2 victory in Game Four over the Beast and even the series at
two games apiece. That was ninth game in Reading’s team history over the past three seasons (regular season
and playoff) played here at Powerade Centre, compiling an overall record of 5-1-3 in this building.
• In Game Four on Thursday, Reading struck first for the third time in the series. This time it was Olivier Labelle, who
bagged the first goal of the game and his first of the playoff season 17:55 into the first period.
o The Beast bounced back to tie on defenseman Jordan Henry’s second goal of the series 12:44 into the
second period.
o Fifty-seven seconds into the third period, Robbie Czarnik gave Reading the team’s second lead of the
game at 2-1 with his second goal of the series; but Brampton bounced back (again) to tie the game at
two 3:58 later on a deflection of a Jordan Henry shot by Brandon MacLean.
o However, Reading bagged what proved to be a third-period tie-breaking game winner when Ryan Penny
scored his second of the series with just 5:25 remaining in regulation while the Royals were playing on
the team’s third power play chance of the game.
• This is the twenty-fourth post-season series in team history for the Royals, who have qualified for playoffs in
twelve of the team’s sixteen years since joining the ECHL in 2001. Thirteen of the team’s prior twenty-three
playoff series have been set in the best-of-seven format. Overall, Reading has gone 7-6 in best-of-seven series.
o The North Division Semifinal series against Brampton marks the seventh best-of-seven series in Royals’
team history in which the two teams were tied two-two after four games played, including both series
played last season by the Royals. The Royals have won Game Five in five of the prior six series that fit
this criterion.
o Historically, the only loss in Game Five for Reading when the two teams were tied at two games apiece
came in the 2015 East Division Semifinal matchup against the South Carolina Stingrays, when South
Carolina won Game Five (4-3 in Reading). The Royals bounced back to win Game Six in that series in
North Charleston; but fell in a decisive Game Seven on the road.
o In the five best-of-seven series that were tied 2-2 and in which Reading won Game Five, the team
advanced to win the series three times: (i) the 2008 North Division Semifinals against the Elmira Jackals
(4 games to 2); (ii) the 2013 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Florida Everblades (4 games to 3);
and (iii) the 2016 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Toledo Walleye (4 games to 3).
o The two times the Royals fell in the series despite breaking a 2-2 tie with a Game Five win were: (i) the
2008 North Division Finals against the Cincinnati Cyclones (3 games to 4); and (ii) the 2016 Eastern
Conference Semifinals against the Wheeling Nailers (3 games to 4).
o NOTE: Reading has also historically been tied 2-2 in a best-of-five format four times in team history,
compiling an historical record of 2-2 in decisive Game Fives—the last time coming in the 2012 Eastern
Conference Quarterfinals against the Elmira Jackals, when the Jackals claimed Game Five, 4-2.
• All four games played in this first round series have been decided by one goal. The two teams have each scored
seven total goals apiece (a total of fourteen) in the first four games, which is an average of 3.50 total goals per
game, which is the lowest scoring series in the first round of the ECHL playoffs.
• Reading has been outshot in all four games played in the series, including Thursday’s Game Four (38-30).
Collectively, Reading has been outshot 154 – 123 (-31) (4.43 shots per game) in the series.
o Despite being outshot in each of the games, the Royals have outshot Brampton in five of the thirteen
periods (NOTE: there was one period of overtime in Game Two) that have been played so far, including
the first period of Game Four (15-8).
• The Royals’ game winner in Game Four came while the team was playing with the man advantage (1-3). That was
the second power play goal of the series for Reading (2-15) (13.3%). Including the three regular season games
between the Royals and the Beast, Reading’s power play has gone 3 for 25 (12.0%) against Brampton this year.
• Reading killed off the lone power play chance for Brampton in Game Four. That marked the second game of the
series in which the Royals held the Beast power play off the board. Collectively in the series, Reading has killed
eleven of thirteen power play chances for Brampton (84.6%). Overall, this season, the Royals’ PK has allowed
three PPGAs in twenty chances for the Beast (85.0%).
• Olivier Labelle scored the game’s first goal on Thursday. During the regular season, Labelle scored a team-leading
27 goals, which included a team-leading seven ‘First Goals’.
o Thursday’s goal was Labelle’s first of the playoff season. It was also his fifteenth career playoff goals as a
Royal in his thirty-ninth post-season game with the team. Labelle is second all-time in team history in
playoff goals scored behind only Yannick Tifu, who scored 16 playoff goals in 46 post-season games.
o Labelle also recorded the primary assist on the game winning goal scored by Ryan Penny on Thursday. He
is the only player for Reading in this series to record a multi-point performance (1g-1a).
o Labelle’s multi-point performance on Thursday (1g-1a) gives him thirty career playoff points as a Royal
(15g-15a), which places in sole possession of third all-time with respect to post-season scoring. Assistant
Coach Ryan Cruthers leads in that category with thirty-nine points (14g-25a) in thirty-six playoff games
for Reading; Tifu is second with thirty-six playoff points (16g-20a) in 46 games.
o Labelle, who is the only player in Royals’ hockey history to play in five separate post-season runs for the
team, is expected to become only the third player to reach the forty-playoff game plateau for Reading
tonight, joining Tifu and Todd Perry (who reached that number in Thursday’s Game Four).
• Robbie Czarnik, who generated a team-high five shots on Thursday, became the first Royals to bag more than one
goal in the series, when he notched his second of the series fifty-seven seconds into the third period of Game
Four. He was followed in relative short-order in that regard by Ryan Penny, whose second of the series came
14:35 into the third period.
o For Penny, his goal on Thursday, which was scored while the team was playing with the man advantage,
proved to be his first pro playoff game winner. During the regular season, five of Penny’s twenty-five
goals were scored on the power play, and he notched three game winners.
• Chris McCarthy, who picked up the primary assist on Labelle’s goal on Thursday, has had an assist in each of the
four games played in this series (0g-4a).
• On Thursday, Matt Willows, who also picked up a helper on Labelle’s goal, is the first Royal in this series to play to
a plus-2 (+2) during one of the games.
• Todd Perry, who played in his fortieth career playoff game as a Royal on Thursday (1g-7a=8pts), registered his
second point of the series (1g-1a) when he picked up an assist on Czarnik’s goal early in the third period.
• Justin Crandall picked up his first point of the series when he registered a helper on Czarnik’s goal on Thursday.
• Florian Iberer, who leads the Royals in overall plus-minus at plus-3 (+3), picked up his first point of the series when
he registered the secondary assist on Penny’s game winner.
• Goaltender Mark Dekanich made 36 saves in Thursday’s 3-2 win for Reading. He has now stopped 147 of the 154
shots he has faced for a league-leading .955 save percentage. His 147 saves also lead the league. Dekanich, who
has played 253 minutes (fourth most), has the second best goals against average at 1.66. Dekanich, who is 6-1-1
in his last eight games, has compiled a record of 11-2-3 in his last sixteen decisions.
ROYALS RECENT PLAYOFF TRANSACTIONS
04/14/17
Delete
04/15/17
Add
04/20/17
Add
Delete
Martin Ouellette (g)
Recalled to Lehigh Valley (AHL)
Evan Cowley (g)
Signed to Amateur Tryout Agreement
Johnny McInnis (f)
Mike Pereira (f)
Activated from ECHL Reserve List
Placed on ECHL Reserve List
NEXT UP FOR THE ROYALS
MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017
v Brampton Beast
Game Six of the North Division Semi-Final Best-of-Seven
Santander Arena – Reading, PA (7:00 pm)
End 17 04-22