The Reading Royals close out the third week of the season in Wheeling unable to bring a win home with them as they now hold only one win so far this season. There are many questions at hand but is it too soon to start pointing fingers?
With now eight games played so far this season, the Royals have only come on top of one of those, making fans start to worry. Reading is only stepping into week four but many questions have risen as it seems new problems have ignited since the season started. The only win for the Royals came at the second home game of the season against the Trois-Rivières Lions, which the entirety of that weekend, showed far different results than the games the Royals have played off home ice. When Reading played their first two home games, the games seemed much more balanced than they’ve been on the road. Scoring was more prevalent, and shots were getting in the goal plus the game seemed all around a little more put together. When the Royals take to the road, the game seems to become a little less put together. Now, in the Royals’ defense, the roster has changed greatly since week one and especially since the preseason. Is there an adjustment period that the Royals need to have with this updating roster before the real gameplay can commence? Is it still too early in the season to tell? The answer remains unknown as the season continues.
To get a better understanding of the last eight games, here is a breakdown of the final results as well as important stats to consider looking forward:
10/20 – 4-7 Newfoundland @ Newfoundland
SOG – Reading 33 Newfoundland 21
PP – Reading 3/6 Newfoundland 2/6
10/21 – 1-4 Newfoundland @ Newfoundland
SOG – Reading 21 Newfoundland 26
PP – Reading 0/1 Newfoundland 1/5
10/22 – 1-2 OT Newfoundland @ Newfoundland
SOG – Reading 35 Newfoundland 26
PP – Reading 0/6 Newfoundland 0/4
10/28 – 3-4 SO Trois-Rivières @ Home
SOG – Reading 35 Trois-Rivières 35
PP – Reading 0/4 Trois-Rivières 0/2
10/29 – 7-6 Reading @ Home
SOG – Reading 30 Trois-Rivières 41
PP – Reading 1/4 Trois-Rivières 1/4
11/3 – 2-5 Toledo @ Toledo
SOG – Reading 16 Toledo 36
PP – Reading 1/5 Toledo 1/3
11/4 – 2-3 Wheeling @ Wheeling
SOG – Reading 17 Wheeling 31
PP – Reading 0/3 Wheeling 0/3
11/5 – 4-7 Wheeling @ Wheeling
SOG – Reading 24 Wheeling 35
PP – Reading 2/6 Wheeling 1/4
In their last trip out west, the Royals’ opponent was nearly doubling the shots on goal that the Royals could produce. It goes back to a few factors: could the team still be adjusting to travel? Is the updated roster still getting pieced together? But more importantly, the haunting question from last season still seems to remain: what needs to be done to improve the power play? In the eight games thus far, half of them, the Royals could not capitalize on any of their power play opportunities. In one of those games, the Royals had a total of six power play opportunities and they couldn’t capitalize. What needs to change to get better scoring chances on the power play? Do lines need to be shifted around? New players given a chance that haven’t before? Whatever the answer may be, it’s vital at this early point in the season to figure out the right ingredients before the team falls further down in the division standings especially with Trois-Rivières looking fierce compared to years past.
