It’s official, the Royals are back.

READING, PA – If there were any doubts that the Reading Royals have bounced back from last season’s nightmare, just check out today’s ECHL standings. You will notice that not only are the Royals winning again, but they are one of the better teams in the American Conference.

Larry Courville’s team might still be allowing more goals than they have scored (44-48), but hey, after what happened last season, there is reason to be optimistic. The Royals are tied for fourth in the conference in points with Florida (16). The Royals offense is led by Stefano Giliati who is tied for 15^th in league scoring with 7 goals and 8 assists. Not far behind Giliati are Ben Gordon and Ben McLeod with 10 and 12 points respectively.
The goaltending has suffered somewhat but that is partially due to the fact that in 13 games so far this season, the Royals have had to use four different goalies, but three of those goalies have posted shutouts. Beau Erickson was recently released so Andrew Engelage is currently the team’s starting goaltender. His .872 save percentage might not look impressive but he has only played in two games so far. His 2.88 goals against average is a sign the that defense has played well in front of him so look for Engelage to get more stars on the royals upcoming road trip starting Wednesday in Florida.
Special teams have to become more than special if the Royals are to move up the standings. In the 20 team league, the Royals are 15^th in both the power play and on the penalty kill. In the thirteen games the Royals have allowed 13 goals while scoring 11 on special teams. Courville is to be commended for turning the team around along with General Manager Gordon Kaye. They had a tough task ahead of them not only in turning the team around but once again regaining the faith of the Royals faithful.
The fans are still in football mode and with baseball season officially over after the Philadelphia Phillies done with their title run, the focus on hockey will become clearer with each passing day. You get the sense that slowly but surely things will pick up once the team comes back from there road trip and football comes to a close.
So far this year’s version of the Royals has earned the right to have more fans in the stands. The team is averaging only 4,279 after eight home games, but things always pick up after football season. If the Philadelphia Eagles look like they will miss the playoffs, you can bet the Royals will benefit from the Eagles demise sooner rather than later.
So far the Royals have kept up their end of the bargain, now it’s time for the fans to keep up their end of the bargain.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
These phoots were taking during Readings 3-2 come from behind win over Trenton on November 1, 2009. The photographer can be contacted at
Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com