Photo Credit: The Reading Royals
While the Flyers season has ended, one of their affiliates the Reading Royals are on fire, finally right!!! They are now headed to the playoffs as first year Head Coach James Henry finished with an astounding record of 41-25-5 on the season. Nolan Maier put forth one heck of a season finishing with 12-8-3 record, with a 2.89 GAA, and a .892 Save Percentage in a high scoring league. This was Maier’s first professional season, as he also saw time with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
Pat Nagle also played well for the Royals, as the tandem of Maier and Nagle really cemented this great team as a contender for the Kelly Cup. Nagle finished the season with a 21-7 record, a 2.61 GAA, and a .908 Save Percentage. Like Maier, Nagle saw time with Lehigh, as well. Per the Reading Royals, with media availability yesterday with Coach James Henry. Pat Nagle will be the starter tonight between the pipes for the Royals.
Simply put, the Royals are flying high right now. This team really is reminiscent of the 2019-20 team, the team that was flying high before Covid-19 halted their season. That team could have done some damage in the playoffs, however, this 2022-23 team stand a good shot to win the Kelly Cup.
Mason Millman was the most steadiest defenseman for the Royals. Millman has definitely earned a shot to play with Lehigh next season for his efforts. Max Newton lead the team in goals with 34, was second on the team in points with 72, and also was third on the team with 38 assists. In a quote from the Royals PR Erik Jesberger Newton said that the team has a BBQ and attended a Reading Fightin Phils game earlier in the week, “We were just trying to be together as much as we can. Anyone that has played team sports knows that bond is what carries you through a series & leads to success.”
Pennsylvania native Evan Barratt came on strong in the latter parts of the season, as he finished with 26 goals and 24 assists for a total of 50 points in 46 games played.
The Royals seem to have everything clicking at the moment, so let’s hope it continues during the first leg of the Kelly Cup Playoffs that begin tomorrow night against the Maine Mariners. The Mariners are an affiliate of the Boston Bruins organization.
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