Photo Credit: Reading Royals
After a call-up for starter Kirill Ustimenko to the Phantoms, Pat Nagle has stepped into the crease for the Royals. Ustimenko was called up due to Samuel Ersson being injured. Nagle a journeymen with ECHL and AHL experience, I’m sure did not expect to see this much time in the early season. However, injuries happen and teams need players like Nagle to step in and step up to the plate for them. Especially ECHL teams like the Royals who did not have an injury of their own but, the AAA Phantoms did so therefore, Ustimenko needed to go be their backup.
Nagle who last played for Grand Rapids in the AHL last season is a player who adds some nice experience to the Royals goaltending room. This was a very wise move made by the organization to bring in a solid veteran like Nagle to pair with young prospect Kirill Ustimenko. However, as mentioned above Nagle has not paired with Usti at all minus game one this season when he came on in relief of Ustimenko. It has been all Pat Nagle this season and minus a couple of turnovers and a few off goals, he has been pretty sharp and all of what the Royals would ask of the veteran. Nagle has given the Royals a chance to win each game he has been in and that’s exactly what you want from your backup goalie. Especially a veteran backup who for him it is not his first rodeo stepping in for a starter. Nagle on the season has a nice .912 Save Percentgage with a 3.11 GAA. 311 is of course a nice Band, but not a GAA a goalie would like to have. However, GAA doesn’t tell the whole story as like a goal last evening for Norfolk Nagle was hung out to dry by off defense in front of him.
So in conclusion, with a Save Percentage that good early on plus just watching his play, Nagle has made some very big saves for the Royals, I fully expect that GAA number to go down. Plus Nagle plays the puck as a goalie leading him to more chances to make mistakes as he has made 2 early on this season in that facet. However, that is also an positive in his game since it puts less pressure on the defense when he makes the right decisions with the puck which we also have seen him do already this year as well. Nagle’s best game on the season in my opinion, was when he beat the Thunder 3-2 saving 31-33 shots. With his second-best being the win over the newest ECHL team Trois Rivieres 4-3 facing 36 shots in that tilt. Nagle in both of these games made some game-saving saves to keep the Royals on top. So to conclude as I started that is exactly what you want to see from a Veteran Backup. Hats off to Pat Nagle for stepping up for the Royals early this season. Go Royals time to bounce back this weekend after a tough OT defeat to Norfolk last evening.
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