Maine, ME - The Reading Royals (15-17-1-1), proud ECHL affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, defeated the Maine Mariners (14-15-5-0), 5-2, on Friday, January 19th at Cross Insurance Arena. Parker Gahagen (6-3-0-0) earned the win in net for the Royals and had 17 saves on 19 shots faced. Kyle Keyser (2-1-1-0) suffered the loss in net for Maine with 16 saves on 21 shots faced.
Yvan Mongo opened up the scoring for the Royals 10:24 into the game with a shorthanded breakaway goal. Joe Nardi connected with Mongo in the neutral zone for the first shorthanded goal for the Royals in the season.
Maine evened the score back up, 1-1, 1:04 later on Gabriel Chicoine’s power play goal. Billy Constantinou and Nathan Noel earned the helpers on Chicoine’s first of two goals in the game. With 4 minutes left in the opening frame, Tag Bertuzzi finished off a tic-tac-toe connection with Matt Brown, Tyson Fawcett and himself. Bertuzzi slipped a deflection past Keyser for his eighth goal of the season. Reading carried a 2-1 lead into the second period.
In the middle frame, with 6:25 left on the clock, Nardi tapped a redirected puck past Keyser on a power play to extend Reading’s lead to two goals, 3-1. Bertuzzi and Devon Paliani earned the helpers on Nardi’s ninth goal of the season and the Royals first power play goal of the series.
In the final frame, at 5:54, Paliani dangled between past Maine’s defensemen and beat Keyser through his pads. The goal was Paliani’s eighth of the season and his second point in the game (1g-1a). Shane Sellar and Brayden Guy earned the helpers. With 13:12 on the clock, Chicoine beat Gahagen on a faceoff draw for his second goal of the game. Alex Kile and Noel earned the assists on Maine’s final goal of the contest.
Brown restored Reading’s three-goal lead with a shot past Keyser on a 2-on-0 break with Fawcett. Brown and Fawcett connected across Maine’s crease and earned their second points of the game. Brown’s 12th goal of the season ties the rookie with Ryan Chyzowski for the team lead in goals.
The Royals continue their six-game series against the Mariners on Saturday January 20th at 6:00 pm, and Sunday January 21st at 3:00 pm at Cross Insurance Arena.
The Royals return home for Pride Night and a Wild Wednesday on January 24th at 7:00 p.m. presented by the LGBT Center of Greater Reading! Enjoy $2 dollar beers, Buy One, Get One College Student Tickets, and $6.10 Orange Zone tickets! To order tickets, visit royalshockey.com/tickets
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2023-24 Season Memberships
Reading Royals Season Memberships, six-game plans, ten-game plans, and group tickets are available for the 2023-24 season now by visiting the Royals’ box office at Santander Arena or by calling 610-898-7825.
About the Royals
The Reading Royals, proud affiliate of the Philadelphia Flyers and Lehigh Valley Phantoms, are in their 22nd season in the ECHL. They won their first Kelly Cup championship in 2013 and have clinched playoff berths in 12 of the previous 13 seasons. They are five-time division champions and were the 2021-22 Eastern Conference champion. The Berks County Convention Center Authority (BCCCA), founded in 1996, owns the Royals and oversees operations at Santander Arena.
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