Royals enjoying the view at the top of the ECHL standings

READING, PA – The Reading Royals climb to the top of the ECHL charts has been a long road back from the brink but these days it is the rest of the ECHL who is looking up at the Royals in the overall standings.
The Royals have the most points in the league with a record of 29-12-2-3, good for 63 points, three points ahead in the Eastern Conference and two points in the league standings ahead of Las Vegas Wranglers. The Royals’ best season ever in terms of points (93) and wins (42) was set in 2004-05. With 26 games left in their season, Reading would need 15 more wins to tie the team record for point. A very doable accomplishment but ultimately the goal is to win the Kelly Cup, not the Brabham Cup which is awarded to the team with the most points during the regular season.
Hockey as a sport has a poor history of teams who end the season with their respective league’s best record and winning the championship. The ECHL is no different. Only three teams have performed the feat since the award was given in out during the 1988-89 season. The last team to do so was the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2007-08, but before that the Alaska Aces did both in 2005-06 and the South Carolina Stingrays pulled off the feat in 1996-97.
 
One major reason is that it does not work in minor league hockey is that home ice advantage isn’t as prevalent because attendance plays a big factor in a team’s home success. Buildings are rarely sold out even during the playoffs except if a team reaches the championship round (See the Trenton Titans for details).

Still, no one in Reading will gripe if the team wins the overall standings mark. The Royals have had a solid fan base since they came into the league 10 years ago. Currently they are seventh in average attendance (4,378) out of 19 teams. The league average attendance is 4,120. In comparison with the AHL, their average attendance is 5,049. Reading is doing better than 12 AHL teams and would be 19^th overall.
 
The other reason teams don’t do as well in minor league hockey is that teams are not normally dominating as they are in the upper leagues. Very rarely will a team even dominate on offense or defense. The one thing that does seem to be a constant in hockey is a hot goaltender. If you have one going into the playoffs, it tends to give one team an edge over other, regardless of their records heading into a series. Goaltenders are the great equalizer so having one is as good as gold.
 
The Royals are blessed to have rookie, Ben Scrivens, this season. So far he is putting up great numbers and is one of the top goaltenders in the league. Because he is not accustomed to the ECHL playoffs, with the Royals ability to score goals, they will have more than a legitimate shot at winning the cup this year.
 
For Royals fans who have waited 10 years go make it to the finals, they just might do it this time around, regardless if they end the season with the league’s best record. Still, you can bet no one in Reading will complain if the road to the championship goes through “The Jungle” this time around.
 
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
 
Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com <:u1:p>