JOHNSTOWN — The Johnstown Chiefs will continue a Thanksgiving holiday tradition by hosting the Reading Royals at 7:05 tonight at Cambria County War Memorial Arena.
Over the years, the Chiefs have had strong crowds and usually solid play during the Thanksgiving holiday week. Tonight will be the first of four games this week, with the initial three contests all at home.
Coach Jeff Flanagan’s Chiefs will play Reading tonight, host South Carolina on Friday, and welcome Reading back to the War Memorial on Saturday. Johnstown will visit Reading on Sunday at the Sovereign Center, closing out a busy stretch against the Royals.
The home team has dominated the season series between the Chiefs and Royals this season. Reading took two straight at the Sovereign Center on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 while the Chiefs won on Nov. 11 in Johnstown.
That 6-4 Chiefs win was Johnstown’s eighth straight victory over the Royals on home ice. The streak dates to Feb. 27, 2008.
The Royals have won three in a row against the Chiefs at the Sovereign Center.
The Chiefs and Royals have played close games this season, with the average margin of victory in those contests a mere 1.3 goals.
Ben Gordon and Stefano Gilati have each posted two goals and four points in three games against Johnstown this season. The Chiefs’ Connor Shields has four goals, and Jim McKenzie has two goals and four points against the Royals.
The games against East Division-rival Reading will be important to a Chiefs team climbing back after an 0-6-1-0 start. The Chiefs are 4-2-2-0 in their past eight games, earning 10 of a possible 16 points.
Second-place Reading has 20 points in the East Division, while third-place Trenton has 17, and last-place Johnstown, 11. The Chiefs could gain a lot of ground by beating the Royals.
South Carolina won its last two visits to the War Memorial, but the Chiefs pounded the Stingrays 7-1 on Sunday at North Charleston Coliseum.
In that game, Johnstown’s R.J. Anderson had his first career hat trick and five points. The victory was Johnstown’s first road win against a South Division foe since a 4-2 triumph against Charlotte on Dec. 7, 2007.
Notes: The Chiefs have scored at least one power-play goal in their last seven games (14-for-40, 35 percent) and is 3-2-2 in those games. ... Opponents have scored first in each of Johnstown’s past two wins over South Carolina on Sunday and at Wheeling on Nov. 14. ... Anderson’s hat trick was the Chiefs’ first since Petr Pohl netted three goals on Jan. 30 against the Mississippi Sea Wolves. Anderson is the first Chiefs defenseman to record a hat trick in the last three seasons ... The Chiefs are 7-3-1 against the South Division at home since the 2006-07 season. ... Bakersfield rookie Dan Sexton is the ECHL Player of the Week ending Nov. 22 after scoring five goals and nine points as the Pacific Division-leading Condors went 4-0-0. ... Kalamazoo goaltender Ryan Nie has a league-best 1.81 goals against average and .942 saver percentage. The former Chiefs netminder is 5-0-1 for the North Division leaders.
