Royals not content with first place

READING , Pa. – The Reading Royals climb to the top of the Atlantic Division standings in the ECHL have not gone unnoticed around southern Pennsylvania these days.  Two seasons removed from one of the team’s worst seasons in franchise history is long gone and only good things are on the horizon on Penn Street. The Royals are in first place with 41 points, five more than second place Elmira and is one of only four teams that have over 40 points.  The team has gone 7-2-1 in their last ten games and is unbeaten in their last five. The Royals are only seven points behind the league leaders the Greenville Road Warriors, who have 48 points.    T he Royals have compiled a record of 19-5-1, for their best record over a twenty-five game span in the ten year history of the team. Most of their success is winning the close games. Reading is 11-1-1 when leading after two periods; they have a record of 12-2-1 when scoring first, which leads the league. The Royals have played thirty games so far this year, and 19 have been decided by one goal, making them 14-4-1 in those games. On offense, Ben Gordon is currently riding a three game goal scoring streak and has 42 career goals in 98 regular season games with the Royals. He is fourth on the all-time goal scoring list, two behind Brock Hooton. Gordon’s 115 points (42g-73a) is eight behind Graig Mischler, for third all time. Gordon leads Reading with 101 shots this year, giving him 358 shots, good for third in Royals history. Gordon is also having a great season on the defensive side of the ice where he is a plus 18, which ties him for the league lead in that category.   Ryan Cruthers has eight regular season game winning goals over the past two seasons for Reading in the thirty-five total goals he’s scored for the team.   Rookie goaltender Michael Hutchinson made 35 saves on 38 shots to register a win on Thursday night against the Florida Everblades, his first as a Royal. He is the fourth goaltender to play this season for Reading and the third to register a win. He is the thirtieth goalie in the ten year history of the Royals to pick up a regular season win for the team. Hutchinson was selected by the Boston Bruins in the third round (77th Overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and was selected as the Providence Bruins Team Player of the Month for November 2010.  Ben Scrivens and Matt Dalton are currently not with the team, on call-up assignments. Until one of them come back into the line-up Hutchinson will be the starter for Reading. Dalton, also a Bruins prospect, is with Providence (AHL) while Scrivens, a former stand-out at Cornell University, is up with the Toronto Marlies. Reading ’s penalty kill unit has allowed 30 goals against, in 155 chances for 80.5 percent kill ratio, which is fourteenth in the league.   The Royals will head out on the road for three straight games starting in Toledo. Reading is riding a three game road winning streak and is 10-2 in their last twelve road games. On a side note, the Royals were represented at both ends of the ice during Saturday’s NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. Dave Steckel, who played for Reading in the 2004-05 season, logged 14:34 of ice time for the Washington Capitals while defenseman, Deryk Engelland, who played for the Royals during the 2006-07 season, played 12:44 for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Another former Royal, goaltender James Reimer, won his first-ever start in the NHL for the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday, stopping 32 of the 33 shots in a 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators.   Contact the author: Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com