Friday, May 24, 2013

15 Alums Capture ECHL Title

Large group of former college players lead Reading Royals to Kelly Cup.


15 Alums Capture ECHL Title
UMass alum and Reading forward Alex Berry has two goals in the final series of the Kelly Cup.

Fifteen former college players, representing 14 schools, helped lead the Reading Royals to the Kelly Cup championship with a 4-1 series victory against the Stockton Thunder.

ECHL.com

Reading, led by goaltender Riley Gill (Western Michigan) and forwards Nikita Kashirsky (Norwich), T.J. Syner (Massachusetts) and Evan Barlow (Cornell), has jumped to a 3-0 series lead against the Thunder. After falling in Game 4, they clinched the series with a 6-0 win Saturday in Stockton.

Gill’s shutout in Game 5 was his second in the finals and fourth of the playoffs, earning him Kelly Cup MVP honors.

UMass is the one school with multiple alums on the Reading roster, with Alex Berry joining the rookie Syner. Both are among the team’s top five scorers in the playoffs, with Syner leading all rookies in the ECHL with 21 points (9g-12a) and a +22 rating in 22 games.

Other notable performers in the postseason for Reading have included assistant captain Kirk McDonald (RPI) and rookies Barry Almeida (Boston College) and Bobby Shea (Bowling Green). The Royals are the ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals.

Kelly Cup Champions
Reading Royals
Barry Almeida Boston College
Evan Barlow Cornell
Alex Berry UMass
Julien Cayer Clarkson
Ethan Cox Colgate
Riley Gill Western Mich.
Nikita Kashirsky Norwich
Kirk MacDonald RPI
Mark Mitera Michigan
Bryant Molle Alaska
Ian O’Connor Providence
Bobby Shea Bowling Green
Brock Shelgren Michigan State
T.J. Syner UMass
David Vallorani UMass Lowell