The Reading Royals (43-17-9) wrapped their series finale against the Maine Mariners (31-31-8) in a 6-2 loss at the Cross Insurance Arena.
Three minutes and fifty-five seconds into the first period, former Phantom Pascal Laberge (18) put the Mariners up 1-0 with an assist from Michael Kim. At 7:27, the Royals tied it up 1-1 by Dominic Cormier (16) with assists from Trevor Gooch and Patrick Bajkov.
At 9:14, the Mariners took a 2-1 lead by Nick Master (15) with assists from Pascal Laberge and Tyler Hinam.
In the second period, the Mariners extended their lead 3-1 at 8:19 by Cameron Askew (21) with assists from Reid Stefanson and Michael Kim.
Two minutes and twenty-eight seconds into the third period, Royals forward Trevor Gooch (34) scored, making it a one-goal game 3-2. Patrick Bajkov assisted Gooch’s goal. However, the Mariners got the goal back to take a 4-2 at 5:44 by Mathew Santos (24) with an assist from Zach Malatesta.
At 10:31, the Mariners added another goal 5-2 by Cameron Askew (22) with an assist from Connor Doherty. Finally, at 19:13, the Mariners put the game away with an empty-net goal from Tyler Hinam (8) with assists from Andrew Peski and Nick Master.
The Royals finished the night with 39 shots, 0/6 on the power-play, and Hayden Hawkey made 20 of 25 saves.
The Royals have a home-and-home series to close out the regular season starting Friday from the Cool Insuring Arena against the Adirondack Thunder at 7 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased thanks to our friends at StubHub.
