Royals back on track after slow start

READING, PA – The Reading Royals got off to a rough start the their 2010-11 season by going 1-4-0 in their first five games, but the purple and black are back on track and with a 13-7 record, good for sixth in the Eastern Conference of the ECHL and are one point behind the Elmira Jackals for first place in the Atlantic Division.

While it might be tough to see if there was any one thing that turned their season around but the Royals can point to three things that stand out. Matt Caruana and Ryan Cruthers are tied for tenth in the league scoring race with 22 points with Caruana tied for second in the league in goals with 12. Ben Gordon, like Cruthers, spent last season on the Royals roster during their playoff run that saw Reading come one game shy of the Kelly Cup finals is one point behind with 21.
No doubt, the core of the group, who was a big part of last season’s run, did not forget their collective meltdown at the hands of eventually ECHJL champion Cincinnati Cyclones. As the Boston Bruins found out last season, being up 3-0 in a playoff series means very little if you don’t win the fourth game of a series. Oddly enough, the Bruins are a partial affiliate of the Royals along with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Still, the images are etched in the organizations heads, but you can bet it won’t mean much until playoff time when it is sure to come up again.
Another reason for the Royals success is rookie goaltender Ben Scrivens who is 6-3-0 and is tied for third in the league in goals against average (2.25) and second in save percentage (.936). Last season’s starter Matt Dalton is back with the team and is going well in both categories (3.09, .902).
The penalty killing unit is 11^th and the power play is 13^th in the 19 team league so it’s hard to credit the special teams for the Royals recent success. Head Coach Larry Courville is in his second full season behind the bench and just as he was when he played for the Royals has earned the respect of his players.
Reading underwent a change in management with Mark Wallace sitting in the General Managers seat replacing former boss Gordon Kaye. The Royals are still doing well at the gate. The team has always been above the league average but right now is just slightly about drawing 4,216 a night with the league average at 4,049.
The Greenville franchise is back in the league after a couple of years, league the league with 33 points but they have two games in hand on the Royals. With the season still in its infancy there is plenty of time to chase the regular season trophy but as Reading found out last season just making the playoffs is half the battle with the Royals getting in as the seventh seed and made it to the conference finals.
Christmas is coming and so is the playoffs in 2011, but the Royals can’t let themselves think too far ahead these days. Still, once the playoffs do come, you can bet the Royals will do everything they can to erase last season’s nightmare of an ending.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com