Friday, May 24, 2013
15 Alums Capture ECHL Title
Large group of former college players lead Reading Royals to 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.
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 |