Royals run win streak to 6 with Norfolk sweep

The Reading Royals defeated the Norfolk Admirals, 2-1, at The Scope Arena in Norfolk, Va., on Saturday for a weekend sweep.

In the back-end of a two-game set in Norfolk, the goaltenders at either end of the ice—Mark Dekanich for Reading and Connor Knapp for Norfolk—put on a clinic. But Reading got a goal out of both ends of the special teams— a short-handed goal and a power play goal—and was able to hold off an energized Norfolk team to complete the weekend sweep. For the Royals (12-8-1-1 = 26), the win pushed the team’s current win streak to six and unbeaten streak to seven (6-0-1-0).

Reading started the scoring 16:33 into the first while killing the first of six power plays awarded to the Admirals. Crandall battled to gain possession in the defensive zone and took off on a shorthanded break. As he carried into the offensive end, Crandall got the edge on a Norfolk defender, cut the top of the crease and tucked it behind Knapp for his fourth of the year.

The Admirals tied the game at one on the first shift of the second period, when Sam Noreau fired a shot off the right point that was beautifully deflected by Nick MacNeil up and over the right shoulder of Dekanich for his sixth of the year.

Reading got what proved to be the game winner 17:21 into the second in the waning moments of the team’s third power play chance of the night, when Chris McCarthy fired a shot from just inside the blue line at the left point. Olivier Labelle, who was planted at the top of the crease, deftly nicked the puck back against the grain into the right side of the cage for his eleventh goal of the year—and his league-leading sixth power play marker of the season.

For Labelle, who was playing in his 250th game as a Royal, tonight’s goal put him at 221 career points with the team (112g-109a), which is one-point behind Yannick Tifu to become the organization’s all-time second leading scorer.

That would be it for the scoring, principally because of the play of the goaltenders as Dekanich and Knapp earned the second and third stars of the game.

The Royals host Indy Fuel for a pair of weekend games, Friday, Dec. 9 and Saturday, Dec. 10. Both games are set for 7 p.m.