MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com-Reading, PA – The Reading Royals of the ECHL (10-6-1-1=22, 1^st East Division), affiliate of theToronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League and the Toronto Marliesof the American Hockey League, defeated the Trenton Devils, 6-3, at Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania. The win snapped a two game losing streak for the Royals and jumped the team into first place in the East Division of the American Conference for the second time this season. Royals’ goaltender Matt Dalton (win, 3-2-0-0; 40/42) made a number of critical stops at big moments in the game to pick up his third win in five starts for Reading. Trenton’s Gerald Coleman (loss, 5-2-0-1; 30/34) lost in regulation for the first time in his career against the Royals (9-1-2). Reading struck twice with the man advantage (2-4); and both of Trenton’s goals came while on the power play (2-5).

Reading struck 1:06 into the game, when Daniel Steiner controlled into the offensive end on the right wing side and waited for his teammates to join him. Steiner dished to Ben Gordon deep on the right side, and Gordon slid a perfect behind-the-back cross-crease pass to Ryan Cruthers who slipped it in for his fourth goal of the year. The Royals took a two goal 9:45 into the first period while Reading was playing with the man advantage. This time, Steiner took control along the goal line on the left wing side, attacked the net, and slid a cross-crease pass to Danick Bouchard who stepped in and fired the puck into the net to break a nine game goal scoring drought with his fifth goal of the year. Trenton bounced back with a power play goal of their own at the 12:43 mark of the first. Justin Pender ripped a shot from the high slot that Myles Stoez deflected behind Dalton for Stoez’s fourth of the year.

Trenton tied the game at two 4:28 into the second on a power play goal by David Leaderer. Mike Harder took control in the left corner and attempted to slip a centering feed through Royals’ defender, Joey Ryan; however, the puck hit Ryan in the skates and slid to the face-off dot in the left circle, where Leaderer stepped up and ripped a one-timer that went short-side bar-and-in for his third goal of the year. Reading got what proved to be the game winner 9:44 into the second when Rob Kwiet, playing in his first game for the Royals, threw a perfect back-door pass off the right half-wall to a hard charging Charlie Kronschnabel on the left wing side. Kronschnabel blasted a one-timer top shelf for his fourth of the year—and his first game winner.
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Reading added some insurance with a power play goal 10:23 into the third. Kwiet slid the puck to Gordon on the right wing side; and Gordon placed a perfect pass to Ben McLeod at the top of the crease. McLeod fired a quick snap shot over Coleman’s right shoulder for his sixth of the season. Trenton continued to press down the stretch, but Dalton and his teammates held strong to run the team’s home record to 6-2-0-1 after nine games.

The Royals travel back to Cambria County Memorial Arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania—where Reading is winless in the team’s last nine games (0-7-2)—tomorrow night (Saturday, November 28, 2009 @ 7:05 pm) for another showdown with the Johnstown Chiefs. Saturday’s radio broadcast on the Royals Radio Network presented by Transmissions by Arbogast kicks off at 6:35 pm.

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