Royals shake off Mariners, 3-1

Reading, PA – Reading Royals goalie Andrew D’Agostini moved to 5-0-1-0 on the season with 22 saves to squish the Maine Mariners, 3-1, Wednesday at Santander Arena. The win moves the Royals to 19-14-3-5, good for 46 points and tied for fourth in the North Division.D’Agostini fought off all eight Maine shots in the third and blocked nine in the first to open the game.Reading scored the first two goals of the contest and led 2-1 heading into the third. Chris McCarthy assisted the game’s first goal and tallied for the second straight game to give Reading the opening two strikes. Frank Hora potted his first of the season to open the scoring. Tyler Brown score an empty-net goal with 30.7 seconds left to ice the game.Brandon Halverson took the loss with 29 denials (2 GA).The Royals are on the road Fri., Feb. 1 vs. Adirondack at 7:00 p.m. The team returns home for a back-to-back against Manchester starting Sat., Feb. 2 at 7:00 p.m.  Box ScoreReading out shot Maine, 10-9, in a scoreless first frame.Hora opened the scoring after converting on a rebound at 3:59 of the second. After taking a slot pass from McCarthy, Hora wristed it off the pads and then gathered left post. He quickly nudged it top shelf for his first goal since Jan. 21, 2018 vs. Brampton. Frank DiChiara received the secondary assist.More beautiful passing near the front of cage gave Reading a 2-0 edge six minutes later. Joe Houk pushed it to Adam Schmidt at the right circle and he redirected it to net front. McCarthy quickly twisted it behind Halverson for his 11th of the season. He is riding a five-game point streak and has three straight multi-point games.Maine struck back on a backdoor pass from Dillan Fox to John Furgele to cut the edge to 2-1 with 6:39 left in the middle period. Fox passed from the left-wing half wall to Furgele at the right post.Brown stole the puck at the defensive line of the Mariners and shot it from the left-wing boards into the empty net, unassisted.Next Home GamesSat., Feb. 2, 7:00 p.m. vs. Manchester: MARVEL Super Hero Night and Diamond Credit Union Wall of Honor Night. The Royals will wear Black Panther jerseys and honor broadcasters Mark Thompson and Pat Richards. The team will give away Thompson/Richards puck to the first 2,000 fans.Sun., Feb. 3, 2:00 p.m. vs. Manchester: Family Four Pack (4 burgers, 4 sodas and 4 tickets for $44).About the RoyalsThe Royals are in their 18th ECHL season and proudly affiliated with the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers and AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Reading plays in the Santander Arena, located in downtown Reading, PA at 700 Penn Street. The Royals won the Kelly Cup in 2013, have made the playoffs in nine straight seasons and are four-time division champions.Listen to all Royals broadcasts at Mixlr.com/ReadingRoyals or by downloading the Mixlr App from the App Store or Google Play.